PUNTA GORDA — Most don’t know wedding receptions can happen at a funeral home, but that’s the case at the new Life Celebration Center of Punta Gorda.
Eric and Carolyn Johnson bought the funeral home from Marian Taylor in 2019. They changed the name to Johnson-Taylor Funeral & Cremation.
It’s at 515 Tamiami Trail in Punta Gorda and it’s celebrating its grand opening Friday.
But getting to this point wasn’t easy.
Carolyn signed the mortgage on the facility in May 2022. Four months later, Hurricane Ian hit.
“We spent a sizable amount of money to clean the place up, only to have FEMA 50% rule get applied,” Eric said in a statement. “We went back to the drawing board for a new building and to start the permitting process.”
The couple had to use the new building codes, which required the entire site to be raised by seven feet with fill dirt.
“It wasn’t cheap,” Eric said, adding construction was stalled when the insurance ran out.
Despite delays and three more major hurricanes that impacted downtown Punta Gorda, the couple opened Life Celebration Center of Punta Gorda last month.