OUR HISTORY

Nearly 150 years ago, Wilhelm Middendorf began a livery service. As was customary of the times, since services were held in the deceased’s home, church, or at the cemetery, the funeral director, in lieu of having a funeral facility, would come to the home of the family to make all arrangements and preparations.



The original Middendorf Funeral Home was located on 12th and Madison Avenues in Covington. In 1929, John N. Middendorf (Wilhelm’s son) purchased the current location at 917 Main Street in Covington. After John N.’s passing, his sons, Charles and John W. Middendorf, continued operating the business. Eventually, James “Jim” Middendorf (Charles’ son) ran the family business until he sold the funeral home in 1988 to Muehlenkamp and Erschell Funeral Homes of Campbell County, Kentucky. Jim remained employed under the ownership of Muehlenkamp and Erschell Funeral Homes as the General Manager of Middendorf-Bullock Funeral Home until his retirement in 1999.

Similarly, to Wilhelm Middendorf, W. A. Bullock established a funeral service in Boone County in 1902. W. A. was investigating the purchase of the current Hebron location at the time of his death in 1933.

Upon his father’s death, Dan Bullock entered the funeral business in Ludlow, partnering with Ray Catherman. The funeral home was known as Catherman and Bullock Funeral Home. Just a few short years later, Dan died and with no planned succession, the Bullock name was dropped from Catherman Funeral Home.



Upon his return from World War II, Wilfred E. “Shorty” Bullock (W.A.’s son, Dan’s brother) decided to build a funeral home in Ludlow. In 1949, Bullock Funeral Home was opened at 461 Elm Street.

In 1953, Shorty brought to fruition his father’s desire for a funeral home in Hebron and purchased the current location at 1833 Petersburg Road.

In 1980, Shorty and his son, W. Daniel Bullock, began operating the Bullock Funeral Home in Erlanger at its present location of 3614 Dixie Highway.

In 1988, the Bullock’s sold the three locations, Ludlow, Hebron, and Erlanger, to Muehlenkamp and Erschell Funeral Homes of Campbell County, Kentucky. This acquisition, which included the Middendorf Funeral Home in Covington, merged and the two individual businesses and they became known as Middendorf-Bullock Funeral Homes.

From 1988 until 2007, Middendorf-Bullock Funeral Homes was under the ownership of Muehlenkamp and Erschell Funeral Homes.

In 2007, wanting to fulfill a career desire and to return to community ownership, the Middendorf-Bullock Funeral Homes was purchased by Pendleton County natives, William “Bill” and Nancy Mullins. Bill had been an employee of Middendorf-Bullock Funeral Homes, having lived over the Ludlow location since 1999.

In 2021, the Covington funeral home was sold, and the business offices were relocated to our Erlanger location. That property was converted into a multi-unit Airbnb. In 2024, the company that purchased the Covington location, sought to purchase the Ludlow property to convert into their property management offices. The Ludlow funeral home was sold and the business moved to our Hebron and Erlanger funeral homes. The sell necessitated the Mullins moving and they currently reside in Walton.



Each succession, owner transition, and sale has proceeded smoothly with no disruption to the families we serve. Bill and Nancy have a long-term staff that excels at what they do. Serving the members of the communities where they live, work, and volunteer, they strive to offer caring, compassionate, and dignified services to every family. Everyone is committed to honoring the legacies that were established over 100 years ago.