Anna F. Nesbit
Soxman Funeral Homes LTD., Funeral Director, CFSP, & Co-Owner

Even as a teen, Anna F. Nesbit was curious about the funeral service profession.

As a student at Plum High School, she completed a job shadowing at Soxman Funeral Homes Ltd. — which has been serving the Penn Hills, Plum and surrounding communities since 1992 — and found her calling. After high school, she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Slippery Rock University before attending the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. “All the while, I was working at the funeral home,” she says.

In 2008, she was licensed by the state of Pennsylvania as a funeral director and has proudly served as such with Soxman Funeral Home ever since. Today, she is on the Board of Trustees for the Allegheny County Funeral Directors Association and a 2024 inductee as a Plum High School Distinguished Alumni. She also continued her professional development by earning her state Life Insurance Producer License. She has also earned the designations of Certified Celebrant by Insight Institute, Certified Funeral Service Practitioner by the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice and Certified Pre-Planning Consultant by the National Funeral Directors Association.

In 2017, Nesbit invested in Soxman Funeral Homes as a shareholder with longtime colleague Brian T. Soxman. “My work in ownership at the funeral home has proven to be very rewarding; the staff we have is simply incredible,” she says. “Most everyone is local to the area, adding a sense of comfort to many families as they see a familiar face when entering our building.”

As a funeral director, Nesbit says she strives to serve the families in her care with dignity, respect, compassion and professionalism. Among her many duties are arranging all details of the disposition of a family’s loved one, whether burial, entombment, cremation or another method, as well as any services that may be requested. “My job at the funeral home has never been about answering the question ‘why’ but more about focusing on what I can do for the families, and very simply, that’s what I do,” she says.

Over the years, the funeral home’s services have evolved and expanded. In 2021, Nesbit, who is the immediate past chairperson of the Plum Chamber of Commerce, introduced a Bereavement Care service dog, Lilo, to the staff. “Lilo has been extremely well received and certainly changed the impression many have of the funeral home,” Nesbit says.