Our Caring Staff

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. 

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.