Timeline of Events
- 1893
- D.W. Newcomer asked to make casket and begins business
- "America the Beautiful" written in Colorado
- 1925
- David Newcomer, Jr. expands business and purchases Plaza land in Kansas City
- Teacher John Scopes is arrested for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution
- 1936
- Newcomer's Plaza location expands
- Hoover Dam is completed after five years of construction
- 1945
- Warren Newcomer, third generation, joins family business
- World War II ends
- 1955
- The Scrabble® board game debuts
- 1967
- Thurgood Marshall becomes the first black member of the U.S. Supreme Court
- 1971
- Kansas City location transferred to nephews, Warren Newcomer retains Topeka location
- Nixon lifts 21-year embargo on Mainland China
- 1975
- Warren "Ren" Newcomer, fourth generation, joins business
- U.S. and Soviet Union agree to a joint space mission - Apollo and Soyuz
- 1978
- Ren Newcomer purchases Penwell-Gabel Parker-Price and Mid-Town Chapels
- 1981
- Ren and Theresa marry
- Ronald Reagan sworn in as 40th president
- 1983
- Johnson & Sons in Hutchinson joins Penwell-Gabel family
- Sally Ride becomes first American woman in space on the Space Shuttle Challenger
- 1984
- Apple computers introduces Macintosh
- 1988
- Memorial Park Cemeteries in Topeka and Hutchinson purchased
- CDs outsell vinyl records for the first time in history
- 1990
- Johnson Chapel in Junction City joins the Penwell-Gabel family
- South Africa frees Nelson Mandela, imprisoned 27 1/2 years
- 1991
- Hutchinson Chapel moves to its new facility
- Mikhail Gorbachev resigns, signaling the end of the Soviet Union and the Cold War
- 1992
- Loran Fawcett Chapel in Neodesha joins Penwell-Gabel family
- February 1st, Bush and Yeltsin proclaim a formal end to the Cold War
- 1994
- Memorial Chapel in Olathe joins Penwell-Gabel family
- Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan wins Olympic silver
- 1995
- Mass-Hinitt Chapel in Junction City joins Penwell-Gabel family
- The term "road rage" is added to the English dictionary
- 1996
- Webb & Rodrick Chapel in Independence and Johnson Chapel in Chanute join the Penwell-Gabel family
- President Clinton appoints Madeleine Albright, first female U.S. Secretary of State
- 1997
- Humboldt Chapel joins the Penwell-Gabel family
- The Southeast Chapel in Topeka is built
- Mother Theresa dies at age 87
- 1998
- Parker-Price Chapel in Topeka is remodeled
- The Good Friday Accord, the landmark peace settlement, is reached in Northern Ireland
- Walt Disney's Animal Kingdom opens
- 1999
- Tradition of Caring® Scholarship begins
- Mass-Hinitt Chapel in Junction City moves to a new facility
- Citadel graduates its first woman
- 2000
- Gibson Chapel in Chanute joins the Penwell-Gabel family
- Florida certifies George W. Bush as winner over Al Gore giving Bush the presidency
- 2001
- Flint Hills Chapel in Council Grove joins the Penwell-Gabel family
- Hijackers fly jetliners into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon
- 2002
- Penwell-Gabel opens Memorial Expressions® monuments, markers & permanent keepsakes
- American Idol: The Search for a Superstar premieres
- 2003
- Herington Chapel and Ford-Wulf-Bruns Chapel in Coffeyville join the Penwell-Gabel family
- Arnold Schwarzenegger sworn in as Governor of California
- 2004
- The Olympic games return to their ancient birthplace, Athens, Greece
- 2007
- The Southwest Chapel in Topeka is built
- The Wilson & Son funeral homes in Louisburg and Paola join the Penwell-Gabel family
- 2008
- Penwell-Gabel introduces Online broadcasting of services in selected locations
- 2009
- Penwell-Gabel begins offering Earth-Friendly products and services
- 2010
- Penwell-Gabel Family Center opens in Topeka
- 2011
- Penwell-Gabel begins serving families in Osawatomie.
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