History & Staff

Wes Hiott Owner / Licensed Funeral Director (LFD 4246)

Gary Weston Hiott, Jr. (Wes)

Wes was born and raised in Pickens, South Carolina and continues to call this small town home. He graduated from Pickens High School in 1998 and continued his education at Greenville Technical College and is a recent graduate of Piedmont Tech with a degree in funeral services. Wes has been serving Pickens County families in the funeral/cemetery business for 20+ years. During this time, he has earned many service and sales awards honoring his excellence in this field.
He is married to Lindsey Gilstrap Hiott, who is also a Pickens native. They have two young children, Hadley and Hayes, which make the investment in this community even more important to Wes. He is passionate about the revitalization of Pickens and hopes to contribute and ensure that it will be a thriving and desirable community for future generations. Wes and his family are well-established in Pickens, the Hiott name goes back to 1871 when the first issue of the Pickens Sentinel was published. Hiott Printing, established in 1924, is the oldest family-owned business in Pickens. His family has significant and meaningful ties to this community. In fact, his great-grandfather, Gary Hiott, Sr. discovered the Pickens High School legendary mascot, the Blue Flame. The future of this community depends on innovation, while maintaining an emphasis on small-town family values. Wes has the desire to follow the footsteps of his family heritage and make a lasting impact and positive impression on the Pickens community.
Wes has seen many families impacted by the rising costs of funeral expenses. Most families are put in a financial crisis if there is no insurance or other forms of payments. Wes is proposing a more affordable funeral option to the Pickens community and extending this service to Oconee County by opening a second facility in Seneca. There is no other option like this within the Pickens and Oconee areas. We believe there is high demand for the services that Mountain View Funerals and Cremations will offer with a superior level of service to back it up.

Don Turner Manager, Licensed Funeral Director/ Licensed Embalmer (LFDLE 2086), Pre Arrangement Funeral Director

Don Alan Turner Sr.

Don has lived and served families in the upstate for over thirty-five years.

He and his wife, Suzi Turner, have two sons: Dr. Don “Alan” Turner Jr, who lives in Charleston with his wife Hope Ellen and their son Don Alan Turner III "Tripp", Adam James Turner and his wife Maddie.

Don graduated from Gupton Jones College, Atlanta Georgia in 1989, receiving his degree in Mortuary Science. He is licensed Funeral Director, Embalmer, and Preneed Director.

Don started working in the funeral business in Travelers Rest, SC at the age of 16 in the 10th grade. At that time, he worked summers and weekends.

“My calling is to assist families in the time of need, when they have lost a most precious loved one. The rewarding part to me is seeing a small smile and hearing them say thank you through their sadness!”

Robb Ragan Licensed Funeral Director / Embalmer (License #4044)

Robert “Robb” Ragan

Robb is a resident of Oconee County, where he graduated from Seneca High School Class of 87. Directly after graduating, Robb moved to Florida where he began his journey in serving families with their death care needs. Robb has experience in all aspects of the funeral business, from running crematories to working and assisting Dr’s at the third largest medical examiner’s office in Florida. Robb worked alongside of Dr. G, Medical Examiner from the popular tv show.

In 2015, Robb graduated from Gupton Jones Funeral School in Atlanta Georgia with an Associates in Funeral Service. He is a licensed Director, Embalmer and Preneed Director.

Robb is married to Callie, also a lifelong resident of Oconee County, as well as their daughters Jennifer and Sarah.

“It is a blessing to be able to walk along with a family that has experienced a loss, and help lead them through the path of creating a meaningful tribute to their loved ones life”

Ginger D. Selby Licensed Funeral Director / Preplanning Funeral Director (LFDLE 2017)

Gregory Stewart Licensed Funeral Director (4286)

Josh Hiott Administrative Assistant / Funeral Assistant (APFD 4311)

Chad Trotter Administrative Assistant (Unlicensed)

Katie Gilstrap Garrett Administrative Assistant

Dennis Porter Funeral Assistant / Celebrant

Justin Williams Apprentice Funeral Director & Embalmer (APFD 4396),Certified Crematory Operator

Zachary Golden Funeral Assistant (Unlicensed)

Zachary James Golden (Zach)


Zach is a native of Pickens and has been serving families in the funeral and cemetery business since 2012. He is attending Piedmont Technical College working on his funeral service degree.

He and his wife, Kayla Golden, have three young children; Connor, Karleigh, and Colton. Zach and his family are members of Fairview Independent Baptist Church in Pickens. Zach also answered his greatest calling which is to preach the gospel in 2018.

Zach sees the funeral business as a great honor to help those in their greatest time of need.

Sam Couch Funeral Assistant (Unlicensed)

Gary Meek Funeral Assistant (Unlicensed)

Steve Culbertson Funeral Assistant

Alan Sayre Certified Crematory Operator - Funeral Assistant (Unlicensed)

Mary Grant Administrative Assistant (Unlicensed) - Retired

Mary worked with Mountain View from the time it opened in 2017 until she retired in 2020. Mammy as we know her, was always there to be a listening ear to families that needed someone to talk to. Mary and her husband Doug live in Pickens.

Debra Lovinggood Harris In Remembrance

Deb joined Mountain View in January of 2018 and worked as an administrative assistant until March of 2020. She was a special part of our team and always loved talking with the families that we served. She would always want to help them in any way she could.