Our Team

Erica DeRemer

Gen Mgr of Nashville Funeral & Cremation, Nashville Cremation Center, Tristar Cremation & Lumen Cremation; Lic. Funeral Director & Embalmer

Erica DeRemer began her professional career in her home state of Ohio as a Funeral Director and Embalmer. Erica graduated from the University of Findlay with an Associate of Arts degree in English Equestrian Studies in 2002. During her time at the University of Findlay, she worked part-time at her uncle’s funeral home in her hometown of Tiffin, Ohio where she fell in love with funeral service. She then attended the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in Cincinnati, Ohio where she graduated with a Bachelor’s of Mortuary Science in 2004. She completed her apprenticeship at Love Funeral Home in Ottawa, Ohio in 2005 and obtained her Ohio Funeral Director and Embalmer licenses.

Erica has worked in many different roles in funeral service, including the traditional funeral director role, preneed, pet funeral services, as well as public relations and marketing for the Cremation Society of Toledo in addition to building and managing that business before making the move to Georgia.  Shortly after moving to Georgia in September of 2009, Erica unexpectedly lost her Mother and then gave birth to her daughter, Madelynn the following summer.  After having Maddie, Erica stepped into more of a freelance consulting role in the funeral industry, to focus on raising her daughter, Maddie.

With a love of end-of-life care, public relations, and marketing, she couldn’t pass up a position as the Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator for Serenity Hospice in Peachtree City, Ga.  In late summer of 2018, she was offered a position managing Tennessee Cremation Care in Clarksville, TN.  Her goal of living in Nashville became reality when she joined the Park Lawn family as a Preneed Counselor in August of 2020. She transitioned into her current role as General Manager of multiple Park Lawn owned cremation businesses in the Nashville area in February of 2021.

Erica has also been an active member of the Veterans Funeral Care and Cremation Consulting networks, was a guest speaker for the Bowling Green State University Women in Science Day Program, the University of Findlay’s Death and Dying class as well as for the Georgia Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s monthly meeting at the Atlanta VA Medical Center for the We Honor Veterans program. She was also featured on National Geographic’s Taboo series in an episode on death care practices.

Erica currently resides in Mt. Juliet, TN with her daughter Madelynn and husband, Dave DeRemer (retired Air Force, Senior Master Sergeant after 23 years of service). She has ridden horses all her life and enjoys teaching her daughter how to ride. She is currently giving riding lessons part-time at Castalian Equestrian Center, where she boards her horse, Eddie. In the summer, Erica, Dave and Maddie can be found on their boat, cooling off on Percy Priest Lake.  Erica also enjoys hiking, kayaking, running, traveling, spending time with family and friends, and cheering on The Ohio State Buckeyes.  She is passionate about end-of-life care and enjoys helping to inspire people about the beauty of life in all its different seasons.

Taeya Havens

Nashville Funeral & Cremation Location Manager & Licensed Funeral Director

Taeya Havens was born in Artesia, New Mexico. She moved to Texas in 2012 to attend school and to work. She began her career in the Funeral Industry in 2016 when she started school at Dallas Institute of Funeral Service. In 2017, she graduated with an Associates in Applied Science in Funeral Service. She continued her education and graduated from Texas Woman’s University in 2020, obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice. 

Taeya served families in the Fort Worth area for several years. In 2021, she began her career with the Park Lawn Family in Waco, Texas. After less than a year, she was presented with an opportunity to move to Tennessee and become the Location Manager at another Park Lawn firm, Nashville Funeral & Cremation.

Taeya is a powerful force in the workplace and uses her positive attitude and tireless energy to encourage others to work hard and succeed. The compassion and care she gives to the families for whom she cares is second to none. We are blessed to have her as part of our team.

Jennifer Holladay

Licensed Funeral Director & Embalmer

In March of 2014, Jennifer made the moved from Mississippi to Nashville.  After a previous ten-year career as a hairstylist, she felt called to follow a career path into funeral service.  

Jennifer knows that even during the darkest times of loss, there is always hope for happiness and healing and she pulled to help others through that process.  Following a brief period of consideration, she applied to John A. Gupton college and graduated in May 2020. She performed her apprenticeship requirements at an independent firm in Nashville, and subsequently, obtained her Funeral Director and Embalmer licenses in October of 2021.  Looking to improve her knowledge and skill in the field of funeral service, she joined the Nashville Funeral and Cremation family in August 2022.  

A homebody at heart, Jennifer enjoys reading, painting, taking long walks, and spending time with friends during her spare time.  She has a deep love for animals and has a very special, furry daughter named Cleo.  We are fortunate to have Jennifer on our team to help provide the highest quality of service possible to our families.

Sophia Rodriguez

Licensed Funeral Director & Embalmer

Sophia Rodriguez grew up not far from Nashville, in the city of Clarksville, TN where she currently lives with her husband and their three dogs. One of her fur babies, Frosty, is currently waiting for her at the end of the Rainbow Bridge. 

Sophia graduated John A. Gupton Mortuary College as Valedictorian of the class of 2020. Sophia is new licensee in the funeral service industry, but we have been thoroughly impressed by the way she has immersed herself in this career field. We are excited to have the opportunity to mentor and coach her as she continues her journey as a licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer.

Sophia enjoys long naps, riding motorcycles and playing World of Warcraft. She is a big fan of horror movies, and she is well educated in special effects makeup application. It should be noted that Sophia is intensely petrified of crickets.

We are proud to have Sophia as a member of our team and are excited to see where her new career will lead.

Tracy Givens

Office Manager for Nashville Funeral & Cremation, Nashville Cremation Center and Tristar Cremation

Tracy is a native Southern Californian, and is new to the funeral industry, but comes as an experienced office manager. Tracy graduated with a BA from California University San Bernardino in Communications.

In her previous position, Tracy worked  as an office manager for an Adult Day Care Facility that specialized in Alzheimer’s and Dementia for Alzheimer’s of Orange County.

Tracy currently  lives in the Hermitage area with her husband Derek . They have two adult children Reagan and Kennedy and loves their fur babies ( Cat named Memphis and Golden Retriever Dog named Boudreaux).  

Early in her career, Tracy started as a TV and Film actress, but left the industry due to an unexpected illness in the family; and later perused a career as an Administrative Professional. 

We are fortunate to have Tracy as a part of our work family.