Our Staff

Katharine K. Wagner-Elfner

Funeral Director, Owner

Email: katharine@webfhs.com

Katharine was born and raised in South York and graduated from the Oldfields School in Glencoe, Maryland in 2005. She attended Albright College for a year where she went in as a Pre Med major and left at the end of her freshman year undecided. She took time off school and eventually worked in an outside sales position, covering York and Adams Counties. As time went on, something pulled within her to pursue a career in the funeral industry. In 2017, after almost 12 years of being in sales, she decided to return to school full time, working simultaneously and finished her credits needed to apply to Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. She left her sales career to pursue a position at the former Burg Funeral Home, Inc. in 2019. Katharine completed her required internship and embalmings at Burg and graduated from PIMS in 2021, becoming a licensed funeral director in Pennsylvania in January of 2022. Since meeting with the former owners of Burg and learning of their desire to retire, Katharine made it her goal to learn every aspect of the business in order to eventually own the funeral home, which became a reality on May 16, 2023. She and her husband Nathan have two boys, Sam and Maxwell, who are often at the funeral home along with their two golden doodles, Pete and Frank. In her free time, Katharine enjoys spending time with her boys, cooking, running, cruising and the weekly Sunday family dinners at her in laws. Katharine loves being a funeral director and being the first point of contact with a family to the last person, seeing them through the entire process of putting their loved one to rest. To be able to receive a call from a family who has lost a loved one and being given the honor to care for a decedent is a privilege.

From Katharine: “I am humbled to carry on the legacy of the Burg’s with my own added touch and will always strive to do my very best to make sure your experience with our funeral home is memorable and pleasing. We are a locally owned and operated funeral home and our goal is to create a calm and welcoming atmosphere for the families we serve. Having a peaceful environment for families where they can relax during arrangements and know we are with them through the entire funeral process is extremely important to me. If you need a hug, we will give you one and if you need to cry, we are always here to listen. Your loved one is special to us and it’s necessary for us to understand who they were so we can create a service to honor their legacy. We are easily accessible by phone or text and are available at your convenience.”

In Loving Memory

Patricia C. Hushon Lovelidge

Email: Harkins@WEHFH.COM

Patricia C. (Thomas) Hushon Lovelidge, otherwise known as Patti, has been with Harkins since 1994. Over the   years Patti’s job has changed significantly. She now not only handles many of the day-to-day functions of the business; she is also actively involved with many of the families we serve at Harkins. Her ability to tackle any task is invaluable, but it is her genuine compassion and care for the families that makes her another exceptional member of the Harkins staff. Patti also is the coordinator for the Gone Too Soon by Harkins program that provides compassionate care for little ones, typically at no cost to the family.

For additional information on this program, please visit the Gone Too Soon section of our website.