Our welcoming Florida funeral home

Kays-Ponger & Uselton in Venice is a comfortable venue to plan funerals, memorials, remembrance receptions and cremations. Whether you are looking to hold a traditional funeral service, contemporary celebration or cremation gathering, we are here to guide you every step of the way.

Our South Tamiami Trail funeral home has a nondenominational chapel for small services. We accommodate larger celebrations at Kays-Ponger & Uselton in Punta Gorda or any other location that you choose—church or cemetery, boathouse or beach. Our goal is to create a memorable event that tells a personalized story.

Let’s celebrate life

The compassionate professionals at Kays-Ponger & Uselton pride themselves on asking good questions and catering to your needs. Certified funeral celebrants specialize in creating services that deeply reflect the personality of yourself or your loved one. These services are as unique as the lives lived. They are a priceless opportunity to share a person’s passions and create a lasting, healing memory.

With a custom memorial, you can celebrate in the way that fits your family’s traditions and preferences. We are happy to arrange catering—from a breakfast buffet to a sit-down dinner, cake and coffee to an ice cream social. We can decorate any way you choose, turning a space into a beachcomber’s paradise, a fisherman’s dream, a book club tribute or a poker den. Start with a story—we’ll take it from there, arranging every detail from venue to food to music and more.

Cremation services

Not everyone knows that there are many cremation choices. If you are interested in cremation, the funeral home team can explain the process and different memorial and burial options. From a direct cremation without a service or a witness to a full funeral service before or after the cremation and more, we help you understand this increasingly common choice.

Cremations are performed at the private crematory at Kays-Ponger & Uselton in Punta Gorda. If desired, cremated remains may be buried at Gulf Pines Memorial Park.

Distinguished veteran services

Our part of Florida is home to a large population of U.S. military veterans. When it comes to honoring those veterans, our level of dedication and commitment is unrivaled. There is no limit to what we will do to recognize, honor and pay respect to the courageous men and women who risked their lives for our country.

To that end, we offer extra services and recognition to fallen veterans that include:

• Veteran’s first call—When we transport the deceased veteran, we drape the stretcher with the American flag.

• Veteran’s final march—When we accompany the veteran to his or her final resting place, the coach is identified with the American flag and the emblem of the veteran’s branch of service. For those who want a truly special march, we offer a horse-drawn carriage.

• Pallbearer identification—We identify pallbearers by providing each with a lapel pin of the American flag as our gift to them in recognition of their service to a veteran.

• Patriot’s walk—Prior to the arrival of the funeral procession, the cemetery staff installs a double row of flags from the road where the coach will stop to the graveside, creating a patriot’s walk in honor of the veteran. The gravesite is also decorated with special draping for the chairs and lowering device.

• Honor guard—Our local Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion Posts maintain a volunteer group of veterans to serve as an honor guard to provide a final salute to a comrade.

Other options range from a dove release and cannon firing to the playing of Taps. Veterans are also eligible for valuable savings on pre-planned funeral and cremation services.

Pet cremations and memorials

Kays-Ponger & Uselton wants to be there for your whole family—including your cherished pets. We offer cremation services for all sizes of dogs, cats, birds and other small animals. Forever celebrate your beloved pet with an online tribute, where friends and family can post memories and photos of your pet.

Pet cremations take place at the private crematory at Kays-Ponger & Uselton in Punta Gorda and are never co-mingled. You may bring your pet to us or have us pick up at your home or veterinarian’s office. Should you wish to memorialize your pet’s cremated remains, Gulf Pines Memorial Park’s Companion Meadow accommodates both pets and their owners among its tall pines.

Lean on us

We are always available to take your call right away, day or night, and we welcome you to tour the funeral home. Please don’t hesitate to reach out, whether you are planning ahead or have an immediate need.

History

The history of Kays-Ponger & Uselton Funeral Homes & Cremation Services reaches back well over a century, when McClelland Funeral Home opened in 1907. That location would eventually become Kays-Ponger Funeral Home when, in 1972, Edward Ponger and Ronald Kays, both long-time Charlotte County residents, merged their funeral homes—Kays Funeral Home and Ponger Funeral Home—into a partnership that served all of Charlotte County.

Meanwhile, Steven Annecone, Robert Brady and Ray Williams opened a second location of their Lemon Bay Funeral Home to serve the Venice and North Port communities. In 1975, they joined Edward and Ronald and changed the name of their Venice business to Kays-Ponger, in the hopes of serving more families.

In 2005, Edward and Ronald merged their funeral homes with that of another long-time Charlotte County resident’s, when Michael Uselton, managing partner of Remembrance Services of Florida, acquired the firms. That’s when the name Kays-Ponger & Uselton Funeral Homes & Cremation Services came to be.

Today, the Kays-Ponger & Uselton group of funeral homes are part of the Dignity Memorial network.