About Us

Thomas & Associates provides world-class Aftercare, Continuing Education and Pre-Need Marketing, Sales and Training to the funeral profession. Founded in the summer of 2003, we offer independent funeral home owners proven ways and means to keep their business competitively strong and economically viable into the future.

Thomas & Associates is on a mission to help you every step of the way on your journey to success. Careful and strategic planning can put you on a positive path to achievement and success. All our services and programs are custom designed to meet your unique needs as well as those of the families you serve. Since our earliest days, we have developed and adhered to a strict set of conservative guiding principles and values that have helped shape our destiny and given us a unique identity in the marketplace. As a result, we are one of the nation’s fastest growing and most admired companies, serving the funeral profession; dedicated to bringing you total funeral service solutions.

Thomas & Associates seeks to establish and nurture a symbiotic relationship between our company, employees, partners and clients – with each part working in concert with one another to achieve mutual goals and objectives. Thomas & Associates owes our success to all these entities who translate the company’s values into everyday action.

Thomas and Associates is the endorsed preneed marketing agency of the Oklahoma Funeral Directors Association.

Thomas & Associates is fully committed to:

Doing what is always right for our clients and the families they serve.
Creating unmatched value.
Enhancing and preserving the nobility of the funeral profession.
Delivering world-class service, quality pre-need funding products and expert guidance that address the changing needs of our profession.
Building and preserving a foundation of loyalty among our clients through developing enduring relationships built over time and based on accountability, success and trust.

Let Us Introduce Ourselves…

David Thomas
David Thomas is a 3rd generation Oklahoma funeral director. He graduated with distinction from the Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science in 1974. After working in the Thomas family funeral homes until 1985, David decided to steer his career in a slightly different direction and began his work in the funeral preplanning industry.

David worked for Homesteaders Life Company, Des Moines, Iowa for 14 years in various capacities; the last 7 of which holding the prominent position of Chief of Marketing and Sales. Feeling that he had significantly more to give to the funeral profession that his position at Homesteaders Life Company would not allow him to contribute, David and his wife, Margaret moved back to Oklahoma in 2003 and created the Thomas and Associates marketing agency. The agency is on a steady upward growth path serving family owned and operated funeral homes principally in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. David can be reached via e-mail at thomasandassociates@hughes.net.

Margaret Thomas
Margaret Thomas began her funeral industry career over twenty-five years ago working in her husband’s family’s funeral homes as a funeral prearrangement counselor. Sensing the need for contact with families after the funeral service, she created a checklist for in-home visits to aid in identifying the needs of grieving family members.

In 1992 Margaret accepted a position with Otten Management’s Friends of the Family aftercare division. Coast to coast travel and interaction with funeral home owners of diverse backgrounds provided the aftercare background that would play a large part in her future success. In 1994 she contracted with Homesteaders Life Company to help formulate the aftercare program, Families in Transition, which is used in many funeral homes across the country. She also worked as Manager of Customer Relations for Homesteaders until 2003 and is a recognized Certified Funeral Celebrant. Margaret and her husband, David, currently reside on magnificent Monkey Island, Oklahoma. Margaret can be reached via e-mail at thomasandassociates@hughes.net.

Steve Paris
Steve Paris has a twenty-one year association with the funeral industry. He formed his own agency in 1987 doing preneed marketing and sales for many funeral homes around the state of Oklahoma. He has witnessed the change in the preneed market from” outside” sales reps who worked direct mail leads, to “inside” Family Service Representatives.

In 2005, Steve merged his agency with Thomas and Associates and has become a part of the management team that serves funeral home needs in Oklahoma and Texas. Active listening, giving honest feedback and then helping to find workable solutions for the challenges that funeral home owners and managers face has provided Steve the incentive to face each day with gratitude. According to Steve, “Learning about the available resources we have at our finger tips to help our customers, then putting those resources in their hands and watching them work successfully is a real thrill for me.”

Other facts:

BA in Psychology-University of Central Oklahoma
Advanced Study in Human Relations-University of Oklahoma
Received FLMI designation in 1995
Married to Jacquelyn Burkett and have four grown children and four wonderful grandchildren.

Sheryl Zuker
Sheryl Zuker began her career in the funeral industry over 18 years ago. First working in cemeteries as a Sales Manager and General Manager, then going on to become a Funeral Account Sales Manager. Over her career she has won Numerous Regional and National awards for Sales, Family Service and Administrative Excellence including Both Sales Manger and General Manager of the year Awards. Sheryl has worked in several funeral homes with pre-need sales, assisting funeral directors from the first call all the way through the funeral and assisting the families with after care, giving her a great understanding of the inner working of the funeral home. She also is a certified funeral celebrant. Sheryl has served as Vice-President and as 2008 President for the Oklahoma Funeral Sales Supply Club. Sheryl joined Thomas and Associates in 2008 and looks forward to serving more family funeral homes as the company continues to grow.

Jackie Hartman
Jackie Hartman joined Thomas & Associates in 2004 as a Sales Counselor for a large, multi-location funeral home in Derby, Kansas. Since that time she has achieved outstanding personal pre-need sales success, demonstrated extraordinary leadership skills and attended two national pre-need leaders’ conferences. In 2008 Jackie was promoted to Territory Development Manager – Kansas. Jackie brings a unique perspective to her new role with the company. After a successful career, operating her own Interior Design Studio; two years ago she became CEO & President of Hartman & Associates. As a small business owner she has a good understanding of many of the challenges a family owned business must face on a daily basis. Hartman attended Labette Community College, Parsons, Kansas and recently attended the prestigious Outlook Group sales conference in Chicago Illinois.

Jackie’s primary responsibility is to work with Kansas family owned and operated funeral homes to help them develop a proactive advance funeral planning program. Together with client funeral homes Jackie has implemented a state wide campaign to educate consumers so that no one has to face the loss of a loved one uninformed or unprepared. Jackie takes pride in the diverse background that allows her a perspective of a small business owner, a consultant and a successful pre-need sales professional.