Our Caring Staff

Mickey Pore is Manager of Smith & Buckner Funeral Home.  Mickey has been with Smith & Buckner his entire career beginning in 1974 after graduating from Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. Mickey and his wife, Lynda, have 2 sons and 1 granddaughter.  In his spare time, Mickey enjoys washing cars and moving lawns.  He is a Mason and an active member of First United Methodist Church. He works to help people during the most difficult times in their lives.

Chuck graduated in 1995 from Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service and has been a Funeral Service Licensee for Smith and Buckner for 30 years.  He is married with 1 child and 2 grandchildren who are his pride and joy.  Chuck loves the outdoors and in his free time you can find him kayaking or backpacking.

Mitch Jenkins joined the staff of Smith & Buckner in September 2023. A native of Guilford County, he is a graduate of Fayetteville Technical Community College’s funeral service program. Mitch has been helping families in funeral service for 25 years. He values time spent with his family, enjoys cooking and is a veteran of the United States Coast Guard.

“My life’s been led by the overwhelming desire to help others. I love what I do and can’t imagine doing anything else.”

Tonya Walters is our Administrative Assistant for Smith & Buckner Funeral Home in Siler City. She has been in various areas of administrative work for the better part of 20 years. Tonya prides herself on organization and the ability to handle multiple tasks at one time. Her passion outside of helping the families at Smith & Buckner is photography.  She was born and raised in West Jefferson, NC where she lived until she was 19 and then moved to Statesville. Tonya has one son, Logan. After living in Myrtle Beach, SC for 9 years, she realized she missed home which led her back to North Carolina. Tonya enjoys the mountains and finding hidden waterfalls and photographing them. Her version of heaven is a cabin in the woods with a little stream in front where she can drink coffee and enjoy a good murder mystery novel. 

Patricia has been with Smith & Buckner for over 25 years.  She has also been a Cosmetologist for 48 years along with working at Family Pharmacy for 25 years.  In addition to Smith & Buckner, Patricia currently works at Chatham Cares Pharmacy as a Pharma Tech. She graduated from Chatham Central High School as well as Jordan Matthews High School with a degree in Cosmetology.  She has been married for 48 years and spends her free time volunteering and is Treasurer at Goldston Methodist Church.

David (aka “Big Law”) was born and raised in Chatham County.  He came to work at Smith & Buckner in 2011 after a long career in law enforcement.  David started out in the construction business and then went on to work for 27 years at the Sherriff’s office.  He then continued his law enforcement career with the Siler City Police Department for 17 years.  In addition to his law enforcement work, David has been a member of the Silk Hope Fire Department since 1969 and Chatham Rescue Department for the past 25+ years.  He is a lifelong member of Rocky River Baptist Church.  David is married with 6 children and many grandchildren.

Les has been with Smith & Buckner for 10 years working as a Funeral Assistant.  Born and raised in Chatham County, Les began his career as a purchasing agent for a textiles company and went on to be a logistics manager and inside sales representative for a pallet company.  Les has been married for 57 years.  He and his wife have 2 grown children and 3 grandchildren.  In his free time, Les enjoys all sports, especially golf and baseball.

Natasha was born and raised in Siler City.  She began working at Smith and Buckner in 2016.  While working here, she decided to go to Fayetteville Technical Community College for her degree in Funeral Service Education/NC Funeral Director, which she accomplished in 2018.  She enjoys traveling with her family.  Natasha is married with 2 daughters.  She was the owner and operator of Take and Bake Catering in Siler City and now uses her kitchen talents baking at home for fun.

JJ Moore is a Licensed Funeral Director, a 2009 graduate of Fayetteville Technical Community College in their Funeral Service program. He is a resident of Robbins in the Spies Community in Moore County. He is happily married to wife Jo Ann for over 50 years. They have 3 children, 3 Grandchildren, and 2 Great Grandchildren. He is member of Brown’s Chapel Christian Church in Robbins, where he serves as Deacon, Sunday School Superintendent, and Cemetery Director. JJ is also a Mason, at Elise Lodge #555 in Robbins, where he is the treasurer. He also is a Charter Member of Northern Moore Lions Club in Robbins. JJ also is well known for being on radio stations, JoyFM, WYTR, WCSE, and WGWR. He has also been a licensed Insurance agent since 1976. He feels his job as a Preneed Funeral Director is to help families plan for their funeral with peace of mind and eliminate the worry of how they are going to pay for those expenses. In his free time, he loves to spend time with his family, and travel.

Jim Pendell began his career with Pugh Funeral Homes and New Hope Memorial Gardens in March of 2005. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and spent his childhood years in and around that area. Upon graduation from Era Christian Academy in 1985 he came to Randleman NC to follow his heart, and in September of 1986 he married Tonya Ferguson. Together they have two children, a daughter Natalie, and son James. Their granddaughters are the joy of his life. Jim enjoys family time, collecting Craftsman tools and cooking BBQ. Jim and Tonya attend Back Creek Friends Meeting. You may find Jim at one our locations making improvements or in a cemetery opening or closing a grave.

Faye was born and raised here in Asheboro.  After graduating, she worked at Bossong Hosiery Mill for over 7 years and then went on to numerous positions in Randolph County including March Furniture, BB&T Bank, and Randolph Memorial Park.  In 2009, Faye came to Pugh Funeral Home to help grow our New Hope Memorial Gardens.  In her spare time, she has won many trophies for her bowling skills and when her grandchildren were younger, she enjoyed roller skating with them.  Her favorite vacation now is to go on cruises.  She has already been on 7 cruises and plans to take more. Faye spends most of her free time now with her 2 daughters, 3 grandchildren, 3 great grandchildren and 1 great, great grandchild.

Gentry began working at Pugh Funeral Home in 2017 and quickly transitioned into Superintendent of New Hope Memorial Gardens.  He was born and raised in Asheboro. After graduating from Asheboro High School, Gentry spent 30 years in law enforcement. He is married with 3 children and 3 grandchildren.  Gentry and his wife are members of Cross Road Baptist Church and in his spare time he enjoys hunting and fishing.