Porter-Qualls Funeral Home, 823 S. Yellow Springs St., and D.B. Washington Funeral Home, which opened at 1530 S. Yellow Springs St. this year, are embroiled in what a D.B. Washington employee described last week in Clark County Common Pleas Court as an “internal war.”
At the center of that is Jim Qualls, who in 1998 took over Porter-Qualls from his uncle Dennis Porter and admits to having damaged Porter’s legacy.
Porter was well known in the community as “Uncle Denny,” a man who supported South High School and local sports, and cared for all the families who came to his funeral home regardless of their financial situation.
Now Porter and his funeral home are associated with Qualls’ scandals.
The state revoked Qualls’ license after charging him of stealing $88,000 from Porter-Qualls. It now has charged Qualls with directing funerals without a license after he had it revoked. The allegations involve Qualls’ activities at both Porter-Qualls and D.B Washington, which is owned by his current wife, Tammy Qualls.
In an interview with the Springfield News-Sun, Qualls admitted to both charges.
“I let the memory of my uncle down,” he said with emotion in his voice. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t fault myself for what happened. He deserved better.”
“Too big, too fast”
Qualls said that after buying Porter-Qualls, he began to expand into other markets through a corporation he formed with former wife Lisa Qualls. The two were co-owners under a board of investors primarily made up of family and friends.
Jim and Lisa Qualls opened Porter-Qualls Columbus and Porter-Qualls Xenia in the early 2000s, but soon started to feel the financial strain.
Qualls said because business wasn’t growing fast enough, he found someone else to run his Columbus business so he could focus on Springfield.
The Columbus location soon was under the control of funeral director Marlan Gary, who now runs it as Marlan J. Gary Funeral Home Chapel of Peace.
By 2005, Qualls had to put the Porter-Qualls homes in Springfield and Xenia under receivership with the Columbus-based Martin Management Co. to protect the assets of the funeral homes as he dealt with creditors.
Qualls said the financial problems were caused by a “period of embezzlement” carried out by a number of people, including himself.
According to court documents, the state and Martin Management accused Qualls of embezzling more than $88,000 from 2005 to 2007.
“Because I held the license, I was held responsible for the operations of the facility, so (I) took responsibility for all of it,” Qualls said. “It is my fault. I got too big too fast.”
In 2007, Rev. John Freeman, a pastor at United AME in Xenia, said he purchased Porter-Qualls “at the urging of Jim Qualls with the understanding that together we could rescue the business from receivership and restore financial stability and integrity to the operation.
“While I was somewhat aware of the problems that existed, I quickly realized I was not fully aware of the complicated and extensive number of issues until after purchasing the firm.”
Later in 2007, Franklin County Common Pleas Court ordered Qualls to pay Martin Management $67,000 for the embezzlement he was charged with. Martin Management settled for $45,000 after Qualls agreed not to compete with its homes in Springfield or Columbus.
Qualls admitted to embezzling $30,000, which he said he put in a family and board member’s bank account to pay for items at the funeral homes and Qualls’ personal residence.
“I did what I did to protect my former wife and my children,” Qualls said.
After Qualls settled with Martin Management, the state board took his funeral license for immoral or unprofessional conduct and misappropriation of money paid by a customer.
“I lost my businesses, I lost my home, my children turned against me, and my wife,” Qualls said. “All because this damn business.”
Operating without a license
Even after losing his license, Qualls continued to work in funeral homes.
Rev. Freeman kept Qualls under his employ at Porter-Qualls from 2008 to 2010. During the same period, Qualls also worked as a funeral attendant for Marlan J. Gary Funeral Home, where he still works.
The state board suspected Qualls was acting as funeral director without a license, so in February 2010 it filed a preliminary injunction against him.
Freeman and Qualls’ ex-wife Lisa “ended up using me as a focal person to keep the community happy and then (Freeman) wouldn’t show up for funeral arrangements,” Qualls said. “Then I did arrange them. I was not right in what I did.”
So when the state filed the injunction, Qualls signed it, agreeing to stop engaging in any acts or practices of a licensed funeral director.
But according to the state board, Qualls did not abide by his agreement.
Court documents allege that Qualls met with 11 families as a funeral director from January to June 2010 and with five families to pre-arrange funerals. The board is still investigating instances of meeting families after June 2010.
In addition, he is charged with conducting funeral services, advising families on pre-arranging funerals and falsely advertising himself as an owner of D.B. Washington Funeral Home when it opened in 2011.
In Clark County Common Pleas Court last week, the state sought to punish Qualls for violating the terms of the injunction.
If found guilty, Qualls could face up to 30 days in jail or a $250 fine.
Magistrate Melinda Reardon said she will render her decision as soon as possible.
The Aftermath
In court, Qualls seemed tired, but confident. He maintains that he has not violated the injunction since it was put in place.
“I am tired of John Freeman and Lisa Qualls digging up dirt and trying to destroy me,” Jim Qualls said in an interview. “All they’re doing is destroying a historic African American funeral home.”
And Porter-Qualls Funeral Home has indeed paid the price.
“Our recovery process is slow,” Freeman said. Freeman said he continues to honor any bungled contracts and agreements Qualls made.
“While a few individuals have attempted to take advantage of our situation, the majority of the community has been understanding and supportive,” Freeman said. “It has been a gratifying experience in many instances, where a number of older citizens have come forward and shared their disappointing experiences in connection with Mr. Qualls’ business practices, which in turn has given us an opportunity to right a number of wrongs.”
Lisa Qualls couldn’t be reached for comment.
Freeman’s struggle with Qualls may not be over. In court last week, Freeman testified that Qualls sent him texts — which he had transcribed — that said Qualls and his wife Tammy would some day take back Porter-Qualls.
Tom Stafford contributed to this report. Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0371 or emason@coxohio.com.
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