Pat R. Caniff

funeral director and owner, Caniff Funeral Home, Ashland, Kentucky, died May 1, 2022, at age 87. Caniff served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War and then in the U.S. Marine Corps as a corpsman. He graduated from Cincinnati College of Embalming (now Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science). He established Caniff-Riggs Funeral Home in Westwood with Eddie L. Riggs. Later, he obtained ownership of the funeral home, renaming it Caniff Funeral Home. He was also instrumental in the formation of the Westwood Volunteer Fire Department.

Caniff held multiple offices with the Funeral Directors Association of Kentucky (FDAK) and served as president in 1978. A proud accomplishment was the creation of the FDAK Scholarship Program (now the Pat R. Caniff Scholarship Trust), for which he served as chairman until his death. To date, the program has awarded 48 scholarships and more than $123,000 to students who now practice as licensed funeral directors in the state of Kentucky.

Caniff was a member of the Kentucky Funeral Directors Burial Association, an NFDA member since 1962, a former NFDA Policy Board representative and a charter member of Tri-State Livery Service.

He was a 50-plus-year member and past master of Fred M. Gross Lodge 953 F&AM, 33° Valley of Covington Scottish Rite Mason, past president of Ashland-Russell Scottish Rite Club, past potentate and life member of El Hasa Shrine, charter member of Westwood Chapter 569 Order of Eastern Star, past president and current treasurer of Westwood Lions Club and emeritus member of the Shriner’s Hospital for Children Board of Governors in Lexington.

He is survived by wife Dana; son Patrick Jason, “P.J.”; daughter Marcia; and granddaughter Olivia.