Our Family Serving your Family Since 1953

Our First Generation

Memorial plaque titled “Our Founders” with black-and-white and color portraits and names/dates of James W. Cato and Lisa R. Cato
Black-and-white photo of a small roadside building with parked cars and trucks in front
Two formally dressed people smiling against a purple backdrop

James W. Casto had served with the United States Army in the European Theater during World War II. In 1949, he graduated from the Cincinnati College of Embalming, and Lila (Baker) Casto graduated from the Martz Beauty College in Huntington, WV. They began their life together working in Huntington.


In 1953, these young Cottageville, Jackson County natives embarked on a dream to return home and serve the friends and neighbors of their youth, and established the Casto Funeral Home and Casto Monument Company in Evans, WV. Throughout the 1950’s and 1960s, they engaged in many different business endeavors: a service station, store, tractor sales and service, farming, trucking, light construction, and an ambulance service.

As more and more families responded, in 1968, James and Lila were able to expand the funeral home with an addition that would more than double the size of the existing structure. In 1970, an adjacent property was purchased, and the parking area was greatly increased.


Unfortunately, in the late 1980’s, James was stricken with a debilitating muscle disorder. He remained as active in the business as his health would allow until his death in 2002. Lila remained a vital and active force in the family business into her 86th year. She passed away on January 9, 2015, at the age of 88.

Our Second Generation

Two people posing indoors in front of a framed portrait.

James W. Casto, Jr. had grown up assisting with the family businesses and, by his high school years, had decided to follow his father and mother in providing funeral services to the community. In March of 1975, he graduated from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science, and in May, he married Karen Conner from Cottageville. A graduate of Parkersburg Beauty College, Karen immediately became an important part of the family business. She and Jim made the commitment to devote all their time and efforts to improve, enhance, and expand the funeral home, while offering the highest professional standards, yet maintaining a personal, family-oriented service to the community in a homelike, rather than commercial setting.

As families responded, during the early 1980’s the exterior of the building was completely revamped, and the parking areas were again expanded and enhanced. From high school days, Jim had visions of expanding the business to include the northern part of the county and the Ravenswood area. In 1992, at the continued request and encouragement of many local residents, that vision became reality, and a new facility was built in Ravenswood. In 1995, the interior of the Evans facility was completely redecorated, and by that point the family business had begun to routinely serve more communities throughout the county.

Our Third Generation

Man in a black suit and tie, smiling in a formal indoor portrait.

J.W. Casto, III, like his father, had assisted with the business from his youth. He graduated from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in the fall of 2002 and immediately returned home to join the family business, which had suffered the loss of James, Sr., that same year.


During J.W.’s tenure with the family business, we have continued our vision of growth and improvement. In 2009, the parking lot at Evans was again expanded; in 2011, the interior of the Ravenswood facility was enhanced, and a new 2200 square foot chapel was added at Evans. In the spring of 2013, the interior of the Ravenswood facility was completely reconfigured to accommodate larger crowds and increase seating capacity, and in the summer of 2014, the parking area at Evans was again expanded. Now, many decades later, the funeral home is serving residents from all corners of Jackson County, Mason County, and portions of Wood, Wirt, Kanawha, Roane, and Meigs Counties in Ohio.
Two small white commercial buildings with parked cars on a sunny street corner

In January of 2015, J.W. Casto entered discussions with Greg Roush, the owner of Foglesong-Roush Funeral Home, in Mason, WV. Mr. Roush was making plans to retire and had decided to sell the funeral home. On March 30, 2015, the historic Foglesong Funeral Home, in the “Bend Area” of Mason County, was acquired.


The Foglesong Funeral Home was established in 1902 by William Hoy Foglesong and was later managed by his son, William Donald “Don” Foglesong. It has become one of the oldest continually operated funeral homes in the state of West Virginia. We are committed to continuing the personal, family-oriented, and stable service to the Bend Area, which was begun by the Foglesong family more than a century ago.


In February of 2019, thanks to the support of the community, we were able to continue our vision of growth and improvement and completely redecorate and modernize the entire interior of the facility.


We are pleased to announce that on June 20, 2020, the former Anderson Funeral Home in New Haven, WV, became part of the Casto Family Funeral Homes. All services will now be scheduled at the Foglesong Funeral Home in Mason, WV.

Red building with an American flag and a sign reading “Fogelson” by the roadside
Single-story beige building with an American flag, trimmed shrubs, and a small lawn under a blue sky.