Our Staff | Kornerstone Funeral Directors (2024)

Matt was raised in Petersburg and graduated from high school there. He attended South Plains College and Texas Tech prior to graduating from the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service. He started his career in the funeral industry in Lubbock while attending college. He has been in Tulia/Plainview since the summer of 1999. He is married to Jenifer who is a registered dietician for WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) and serves as a Director for a 10 county area. She grew up in White House, Texas and her family moved to Denver City, Texas where she graduated from high school. She graduated from Texas Tech University and Texas Tech University Health Science Center . They have a daughter, Kamryn who attends the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and a son, Mason who attends Baylor University in Waco.

Gabriel was raised in Plainview and graduated from Plainview High School. He attended DeVry Institute of Technology and Amarillo College before graduating from the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service.

Gabriel and his wife Ruth have four children, Victoria, Rebeka, Gabriel, and Aaron, and seven grandchildren.

Braden was raised in Plainview, where he attended high school and began his journey in the funeral industry. He graduated from Texas Tech University in 2018 and then attended the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service, where he became a licensed embalmer, funeral director, and crematory operator.

After a few years of serving the Dallas community, Braden started at Kornerstone Funeral Directors in March of 2022. He is married to Jontana, who is from Weatherford, TX, and serves the panhandle as a respiratory therapist. Braden and Jontana currently live in Plainview with their beloved dogs, Milo and Snickers.

Mayra Avila Vega was raised in Tulia and graduated from Tulia High School in 2008. In May 2014, she graduated from Amarillo College with a degree in mortuary science. She became a licensed funeral director and embalmer and began working with Kornerstone in 2011.

Mayra is married to her best friend, Homero Vega, and she thanks God for putting him in her life. They have four children, Aidan, Tomas, William, and Ulicies.

William Pond is the oldest son of one of Kornerstone's business partners, Steve Pond. He graduated from Tulia High School in 2006 and attended Hardin Simmons University for one year before transferring to Wayland Baptist University. He graduated with his bachelor's degree in Justice Administration in 2010.

In 2011, William joined the United States Army, where he served for two years with the 82nd Airborne out of Fort Bragg, NC. He was badly injured in a training exercise and honorably discharged less than a year later.

William started working for Kornerstone in February of 2014 and married the love of his life, Tara Newland, two months later, in April of 2014. In 2016, he passed his national boards and received his embalmer's license.

Bethany was born and raised in Lockney, TX. After graduating high school, Bethany began her career in the funeral industry as a funeral assistant. She graduated from Northeast Texas Community College on December 8, 2023, with an associate degree in Funeral Service and Mortuary Science.

Bethany lives in Lockney with her husband, Brennen Ballard, who is pursuing a career in law enforcement. Bethany is involved in children's ministry, has a passion for serving her community, and continues to be a caring and heartwarming member of our Kornerstone family.

Ruth has worked for us since 2002. She has two grandchildren and three grandchildren, and her husband, Arlen, passed away in 2010. She is a member of the First Assembly of God.

We are happy to introduce Oliver Tux as Kornerstone’s newest addition to our family! Oliver is a trained grief therapy support dog and graduated for the K9 Intgrityprogram.

Our favorite furry friend enjoys greeting people when they walk into the funeral home as well as napping and playing in the funeral home. Oliver is a standard poodle who loves to comfort those who walk through our door.

One of the founding partners in Kornerstone, Joel was raised in Plainview and graduated from Plainview High School, Texas Tech University, and the Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science. He worked at Lemons Funeral Home for many years before managing Wood-Dunning Funeral Home. He was also in charge of Parklawn Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Plainview.

Joel was married to Sonja Sue Culp, who is retired from Hale County State Bank. After serving his community for over 50 years, Joel retired from the funeral industry, and he and Sonja enjoyed traveling to Colorado in their 5th Wheel. Joel passed away on November 25, 2022.

Kornerstone would not be where it is today without Joel's leadership and knowledge of the funeral industry. He was instrumental in teaching Matt, Gabriel, and Steve how to serve their communities and what it took to run a business.