ST. LOUIS — Austin Layne. The name is an institution in St. Louis – Black St. Louis in particular – because the man who bore it devoted more than a half-century of service to the mortuary industry. Layne passed away on Sunday, October 1 after an illness. He was 87.
“He was a living legend,” said Layne’s widow Lady Eneazer Layne. “He was larger than life, and a force to be reckoned with.”
For context regarding his standing within the community, one didn’t need to see his name written in massive cursive letters across the funeral chapels he founded. They didn’t have to walk down Austin Layne, Jr. Way – an honorary street located near his chapels on West Florissant in Jennings. All they needed to do was see his random encounters with passersby as he went about his life.
He was often approached by the family or loved ones with whom he was entrusted with providing final services. They would go on and on about how impressed they were with the services he provided. Layne would look on with sincere appreciation. He was patient with them as they gave detailed accounts of their favorite moments from the “homegoing.”
“He was so engaging,” Eneazer Layne said. “You could just tell he loved people.”
For Austin Layne, his life’s work was more than a profession. “Some people think this is a morbid business. This is not a morbid business,” Layne told The American in 2009. “It’s a very unique industry because we do help a lot of people.” For Layne, the industry was his form of ministry. Eneazer Layne said that her husband of nearly 12 years knew that he was a catalyst for healing.
“When you are at your lowest of lows, you need someone to help you through the process of what you are going through,” Eneazer Lane said. “Lifting people up and making the journey a little easier, that was his purpose. He loved that.”
It was also his passion. His number one priority was to serve them with empathy and to always bring dignity to the loved one being laid to rest.
“I try to put myself on the other side of the desk,” Layne told The American. “I try to feel what they’re feeling. And they don’t always know what they want to do. The first time you do it is one time too many, to make a funeral arrangement.”
Faithful beginnings
Austin Augustus Layne, Jr. was born in St. Louis on July 12, 1936. He was one of eight children born to Bishop Austin Augustus Layne, Sr., and Selena Layne. Originally from Barbados, West Indies, the Laynes came to St. Louis in the name of faith. The elder Layne became pastor of Temple Church of Christ of the Apostolic Faith in 1918. He remained pastor for nearly 50 years and his son Austin Layne, Jr. was a lifelong member.
When Austin A. Layne, Jr. Way was dedicated, Temple Church of Christ’s current pastor Bishop Ronald Stephens was among those who offered remarks on Layne’s remarkable career within the funeral services industry – and beyond. “Austin Layne has been a real hero and champion in the St. Louis community,” Stephens said at the ceremony, which was held in May of 2014.
Layne was also an accomplished musician who recorded and released several gospel CDs. He was often a featured singer at the homegoing celebrations of some of the region’s most distinguished citizens and faith leaders. His tenor voice was soft and tender, but his performance of “Holy Dove,” a song he co-written by Layne and his mother – would move the audience to become his “amen choir.”
It was music that originally connected Eneazer and Austin Layne, Jr. in 1998.
“I was moved every time he sang,” said Eneazer Layne, who is an accomplished singer and writer within the faith community in her own right. “[It was] That feeling that you get not only because you hear the voice and hear the music, but you heard the words – and felt their meaning.”
A graduate of Vashon High School, Layne served in the U.S. Army as a computer specialist prior to entering the mortuary services industry. Admiration for famed local funeral director G. Wade Granberry compelled Layne to enroll in St. Louis Community College at Forest Park’s nationally recognized School of Mortuary Science. He walked away from a comfortable government job to pursue his new profession.
Granberry mentored Layne – and employed him for more than a decade at Wade Funeral Home.
“He taught me one thing: Every family’s needs are different,” Layne said of Granberry in 2009. “Some of them like to talk. Some of them don’t want to talk, they’re all business. Some of them like to talk and do business. The main thing is to make the families relax a little bit.”
Over the years, Layne mastered the art of putting families at ease.
“You have to show people you care – and he did that,” Eneazer Layne said. “I would hear them say ‘okay baby. It’s okay. I’ve got you. I’ve got this.’ The way he would reassure them that he would help them through the process. I heard the trepidation in people’s voices dissipate. Because they believed what he said.”
In 1979, Layne branched out from Wade to establish his own funeral chapels. In the 44 years that followed, Austin Layne became synonymous with excellence within the field.
“People trusted him,” Eneazer Lane said. “When they walked through the doors, they knew, ‘This is a man of integrity, so I’m not going to have to worry about anything.’”
Eneazer Layne says her late husband’s legacy will continue through the services of Austin Layne Mortuary, Inc., where she now serves as president.
“My mission for Austin Layne Mortuary is like Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Greater works shall you do in my name,’” Eneazer Layne said. “I’m saying we are going to do it in Jesus’ name – and in Austin Layne’s name. We just want to make his name proud. We want to do him proud.”
In addition to his wife Eneazer Layne and countless family, friends and loved ones, Austin Layne, Jr. is survived by his daughter. Ingrid S. Layne.
Final services for Austin Augustus Layne, Jr. are as follows:
Layne will lie in state from 12 noon – 7 p.m. on Friday, October 13 at Austin Layne’s original chapel, located at 7239 West Florissant, St. Louis, MO 63136
Funeral services will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 14 at Greater Grace Church, 3690 Pershall Road, St. Louis, MO 63135.
