About Us

 Louis Martin Tondre purchased Wernette Saloon, located at 1201 Fiorella Street in Castroville in 1919. This marked the beginning of the L.M. Tondre & Sons store that served the community as a general merchandise and hardware store and bank.

   To also address the needs of the community, caskets were sold in one corner of the second floor where furniture was sold. A December 17, 1920 edition of the La Coste Ledger in La Coste, Texas ran an advertisement for L.M. Tondre & Sons that read as follows:

“Funeral Supplies, Caskets, Coffins. Our line of Caskets and Coffins is up to date in Quality and Style. We have a Casket or Coffin to fill any demand, from a cheap coffin to the high-priced first-quality Casket. By buying from us, you not only patronize a home enterprise, but we can give you a more attractive and better-quality article for your money than any undertaker.----WHY? Because this is not our only business. We handle these supplies for the benefit of the people in the surrounding community, and therefore also expect their support when in need of such supplies: L. M. TONDRE & SONS – Castroville, Texas.”

When a death occurred in Castroville, Mr. John Horger, owner of Horger Funeral Home in neighboring Hondo, would travel to Castroville to take care of preparing the body for the funeral. He was the only licensed funeral director and embalmer in Medina County at that time.

Herbert’s older brother, Julius, sold the caskets at the store and became interested in becoming a funeral director and embalmer. Julius died in 1929 at the age of thirty-two and was never able to fulfill that dream.

Mr. Horger advised and encouraged Herbert Tondre, one of the four sons of L.M. Tondre, to go to college and get his funeral director and embalmer's licenses. Herbert took his advice and attended the Dallas School of Embalming shortly after he married Margaret Kilhorn on July 17, 1934. At the age of thirty-five, Herbert received his Texas funeral director’s license in 1935 and Texas embalmers license in October 1937.

In a November 19, 1937 edition of the La Coste Ledger newspaper, the completion of his studies and return to Castroville was documented and his employment with L.M. Tondre & Sons Funeral Home was announced: “TONDRE IS NOW A LICENSED EMBALMER” “Herbert A. Tondre of Castroville has completed a thorough course in embalming at the Dallas School of Embalming and passed a successful examination before the state board and, as a consequence, is now a full-fledged embalmer, capable of handling the most complicated cases. He will be with the L. M. Tondre & Sons Funeral Home at Castroville as heretofore, but instead of sending to the city for a licensed embalmer, will be able to handle the work himself. Young Mr. Tondre made an enviable record in his studies and practical demonstrations and has acquitted himself with credit, mastering the complete course and his training period with honors.” The June 21, 1935 edition of the La Coste Ledger had an advertisement that reads: Undertaking Services Up to date caskets and supplies. We make arrangements for undertaker and automobile hearse if desired. In hour of sorrow, turn your troubles over to us. L. M. TONDRE & SONS Castroville, Texas.

Another advertisement was found for Tondre Funeral Home in the February 3, 1939 edition of the La Coste Ledger. It reads: TONDRE FUNERAL HOME: Complete Funeral and Ambulance Service Licensed Embalmer and Funeral Directors Castroville, Texas.

After Herbert earned his funeral director and embalming licenses and returned to Castroville, the family purchased a historic home at the corner of Lorenzo Street and Lafayette Street. The home was built by Martin and Elizabeth Schmidt, who emigrated from Alsace in 1845. In 1848, Martin Schmidt, along with six other families, made a settlement on the West side of the Medina River. He built a home there and raised twelve children in the home. Most of his children and even some of his grandchildren were born in the home. 

It is unclear when, but at some point, the property changed ownership to Louis M. Tondre. That property became the location of the Tondre Funeral Home and later Tondre-Guinn Funeral Home. The funeral home was spared, barely, when the new U.S. Highway 90 was built and cut through the middle of Castroville in the 1940’s. With the addition of the highway, the North corner of the funeral home was now situated alongside the highway.

Additional rooms were added to the home to make room for the Tondre family to continue to live at the same location. There was only a wall separating the funeral home from the family home.

The funeral home also operated the only ambulance service in the community, as they had the proper vehicle, equipment, and “on call” personnel to handle emergencies. Herbert and Margaret, and other family members, had to be available to work any time of the day or night. Herbert’s nephew Victor Tondre, one of four sons of Herbert’s brother, Joe, worked at the store and helped Herbert at the funeral home and went on ambulance calls with him. A young Felix Fuentes also worked at the store and assisted at the funeral home and also went on ambulance calls.

Herbert and Margaret’s younger son, Jim, recalls that when they needed to go shopping or wanted to visit relatives or friends, his father would hang a sign on the porch that read “Call the girl at the telephone company.” Before leaving town, he would call the telephone operator and give her their itinerary. Jim can remember his dad would often get a page at Joske’s Department Store in downtown San Antonio while they were shopping, or receive a phone call at the home of relatives or friends they were visiting.

Jim also recalls times when locals would see the light on at the funeral home late at night and were curious about who had died. They would call the telephone operator, and she would relay the information to them!

In 1970, after operating the funeral home for thirty-three years, the Tondres retired and sold the funeral home to William P. “Bud” and Jeannine Guinn of Hondo. The Guinns had already purchased the Horger Funeral Home in Hondo in 1966. They had previously been employed at Hurley Funeral Home in Devine. The Guinn Family name was added to the funeral home name to reflect their ownership and to continue the traditions and excellent services the Tondres were known for. Thus began Tondre-Guinn Funeral Home as it is known today. Tondre-Guinn Funeral Home is still owned by the Guinn Family, making it only the second family to own it during its long history.

Russell Guinn, youngest son of Bud and Jeannine Guinn, and his wife Dolores (Weynand) Guinn, have been managing the funeral home since January 1, 1980, when they returned to Medina County after completing their studies. After attending Texas A & I University in Kingsville and completion of studies and graduating from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos in 1978, they married on August 26, 1978, at Holy Cross Catholic Church in D’Hanis, and enrolled at Commonwealth College of Science in Houston to study embalming and funeral directing. Russell passed his Texas state board exams for embalming and funeral directing in 1979, and Dolores passed her Texas state board exam for funeral directing also in 1979. They have been the current owners and managers of the funeral home since January 1st, 1980.

Russell and Dolores' second-oldest daughter, Ashley Guinn Cooper, is a third-generation funeral director. She attended the Mortuary Science program at San Antonio College and passed her Texas state board exam for funeral directing in 2002. She is employed at the funeral home. Her husband, Aaron Cooper, also attended the Mortuary Science program at San Antonio College. He received his Texas funeral director and embalmer license in 2010.

Tondre-Guinn Funeral Home is located at its original location at 1016 Lorenzo Street in Castroville. In 2000, a larger chapel and a parking lot were added to accommodate the needs of the growing community and the surrounding area for generations to come.

In 2014, Tondre-Guinn Funeral Home was presented with the “Texas Treasure Business Award” by the Texas Historical Commission. The Castroville Area Chamber of Commerce recognized Tondre-Guinn Funeral Home as “Business of the Year” in 2018. In 2020, they were presented with an award by the Medina County Economic Development “Best of Medina County 2020” campaign as the Best Funeral Home in Medina County. Tondre-Guinn Funeral Home also won the Best of Medina County award in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.