April 2021

Page A26 APRIL 2021 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A Funeral Supply Store 1-800-392-2936 • www.funeralsupplystore.com FREE COT COVER! Magnum Mortuary Cot $1,595 00 1,000 lb. Capacity Dressing Table $895 00 Elite Mortuary Cot $995 00 Scissor Lift $5,395 00 Junkin Mortuary Cot 650 lb. Capacity $1,830 00 FREE COT COVER! FREE SHIPPING! Continued on Page A28 Continued from Front Page Cusimano & Russo changes and stretch their resources unlike any oth- er time in history. The Cusimano & Russo Funeral Home felt the effects of coro- na from the middle of Brooklyn, NY where Covid 19 spread quick- ly, leaving a path of loss and families struggling to manage the situation. Cusimano & Russo was established in 1929 on Court Street in down- town Brooklyn. The area was near the port where ships came in. It was populated and an ideal location for the home. As time passed, the more rural areas out- side Brooklyn began filling with little homes. In 1948, the families built a second location in the Gravesend sec- tion of the city, which is the current lo- cation for Cusimano & Russo. “Cusimano & Russo is small with great community ties and a great reputation,” says Michael Rizzotto, funeral director with the location. Rizzotto has been a fu- neral director for 29 years, 28 of those years with Cusimano & Russo. “I worked for the original Cusimano family,” he adds. Michael earned his degree in mor- tuary science from the American Academy McAllister Institute in 1990, graduating Magna Cum Laude and president of his class. He also earned an associate’s degree in science from St. John’s University. The funeral home is immersed in the community. “We live and work amongst these families,” says Rizzotto. “I have a personal knowledge or relationship with the families that we serve.” When the pandemic hit, certainty fad- ed. The organized system of the funeral industry disappeared overnight, and a panic set in among families who needed to bury a loved one when all of the fu- neral homes were simply overextended. The ramifications of the pandemic were “something no had ever seen be- fore in our lifetime,” says Rizzotto. “We made the best of everything that we could. We were handling as many of the services that we could.” But they were limited by the number of hours in a day. Cusimano & Russo has a small staff. They were working as best they could considering the circumstances. “The staff was amazing. They all stepped up. No one shied away from their job,” Rizzotto says. Elizabeth Botti, funeral services as- sistant, had only been with Cusimano & Russo for a month when the pan- demic began causing problems in New York. Botti is in training to become a funeral director. Rizzotto says of Bot- ti, “If you can withstand this, you have what it takes to be a funeral director.” And she definitely pulled her fair share of the weight. www. nomi spub l i cat i ons . com Website Options designed to assist with Your Trade Work Your Real Source. Anywhere. Anytime. 9:41 AM 100% http://www.nomispublications.com Search 1-800-321-7479 • PO Box 5159, Youngstown, Ohio 44514 • Fax: 1-800-321-9040 info@nomispublications.com Simplified Navigation Advanced Search Options More Advertising Options Mr. Phredrick “PH” Dold