The first “undertaker” to help in the early colony of Lompoc was Joshua Barker. He came here in the mid-1870’s. The first actual mortician, Henry (also known as Harry) W. Lambert arrived in 1876. He operated a furniture store, which he sold to James H. McGee in 1893. The furniture store still exists today in the 100 block of South H Street. In 1900, James Campbell Long took over the furniture store with the casket room and mortuary operation upstairs. Services were held in families’ homes. James Long used an ornate black hearse drawn by black horses. He served both the Lompoc and Santa Ynez Valleys for two decades before selling the business to Frank Belcher in 1923. In 1928, Frank Belcher sold the business to Henry Alter and his wife, Florence who came to Lompoc from Porterville in 1920. Henry worked with Frank for nine years, conducting the mortuary business, while Frank took care of the furniture store. When Henry took over, he named his undertaking establishment Alter Undertaking Company. It was located in what is now the Lompoc Chamber of Commerce building on South I Street.
Patrick Lind was born, raised, and educated in Illinois. He worked part time in a local funeral home in 1960 and moved to California in 1961 to begin his internship and studies in the field of Mortuary Science. He graduated from the California College of Mortuary Science in Los Angeles in 1963. He worked in Los Angeles and Oxnard before purchasing the mortuary from Mr. and Mrs. Starbuck in 1974. He made two major renovations before selling the business to the Grants in January 2006. Patrick is an active member of La Purisima Catholic Church and has served on both the Finance and the Parish Councils. He is a past president of the Lompoc Valley Flower Festival Association and was its parade chairman for 12 years. He is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Lompoc and the Vice President of the Lompoc Hospital Foundation. At the end of 2006, Patrick will have completed 46 years in the funeral service profession. He currently is a consultant at the business and plans to pursue other interests, including travel, at the beginning of the new year.
