June 2020

Page A38 JUNE 2020 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A GERALD F. BROWN of Durham, CT died April 4, 2020 at the age of 70. After graduating from the American College of Mortuary Sci- ence in New York, he began his career of over 45 years as a fu- neral director. He had been em- ployed by Howard K. Hill Fu- neral Services for over 10 years, and was president of the Dur- ham Cemetery Corporation . PETER M. BROWN of Nutley, NJ died April 11, 2020 at the age of 53. He was the manager of S.W. Brown & Son Funer- al Home in Nutley. He was a graduate of Mercer County Com- munity College , where he obtained his degree in Mortuary Science in 1992. LEON J. GROFF of Sandusky, OH died April 14, 2020 at the age of 68. He received his associate’s de- gree from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in 1972, where he graduated Cum Laude. He joined his father as a funeral director and embalmer at the Frey-Groff Fu- neral Home and built the new Groff Funeral Home in 1987. He continued expanding the with several more locations, as well as developing Mead- ow Green Memorial Park in 1989, opening The Remem- brance Center & Gift Gallery in 2001, and opening Groff Pet Loss Services in 2010. He was a member of Ohio Funeral Directors Association , Ohio Embalmers Association , National Funeral Directors Association , In 1990 he was appointed to the Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors of Ohio and served both as secretary and president during his term until 1995. EDWARD F. “TED” CARNEY of New Bedford, MA died April 24, 2020 at the age of 70. He an- swered the call of the family busi- ness and became partners with his father at Austin-Carney Fu- neral Home . He studied mor- tuary science and funeral service at Boston’s New England Institute of Anatomy and Embalming , grad- uating in 1970, and becoming the then-youngest licensed funeral director and embalmer in Massachusetts. He dedi- cated his career to his family’s business, took over manage- ment of the enterprise after his father’s passing in 1992, and ran the funeral home for twelve more years. He was also a member of the National Funeral Directors Association. CHARLES W. BILLOW and RETTA HASKINS BILLOW of Akron, OH died March 27 and April 1, 2020 at the age of 92 and 90, respectively. They were the fourth generation of the fam- ily to operate Billow Funeral Homes in Akron and Cuyahoga Falls, OH. The firm, founded in 1875, was Akron’s first funeral home. Billow Funeral Home was a founding member of the Ohio Funeral Directors Association in 1881 and one of the first firms to join the National Funeral Directors Association . It was also one of the first firms invited to join National Selected Mor- ticians in 1933. Mr. Billow was past board member of NSM. KEVIN STOUT of Whites- tone, Queens, NY died April 28, 2020 at the age of 57. He joined the family’s funeral home business, taking after his father, before going to work for Thomas F. Boland Funeral Parlor in College Point. DAVID A. MILLER of Tonawa- nda, NY died April 15, 2020 at the age of 71. He attended Simmons School of Mortuary Sci- ence in Syracuse, then served in the Army in the Vietnam War, deployed with mortuary affairs search and rescue from 1969 to 1971. Upon returning home, he began working for the Les- ter H. Wedekindt Funeral Home in Tonawanda, and provided services for numer- ous other funeral homes in the area. He also worked in the morgue for the Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office. EDWARD W. MILLER, II of De- pew, NY died April 15, 2020 at the age of 73. A graduate of Simmons School of Mortuary Science in Syracuse, he worked as a fu- neral director with the Carlton- Ullrich Funeral Home , then served in the Army in the Viet- nam War with a graves registra- tion unit. He returned to work at the Barron Funeral Service in Buffalo, NY and bought the business in 1973. Barron-Miller Funeral Home opened in its current location in Cheektowaga, NY in 1989. WILLIAM JAKUBS of Cleve- land, OH died April 6, 2020 at the age of 91. He was proud to be a funeral director for 70 years with his family firm, now known as Jakubs & Son Funeral Home , Cleveland and Jakubs-Waite Funeral Home , Eastlake. RICHARD “DICK” LEE KAATZ of Elk Township, MI died May 5, 2020 at the age of 82. Own- er of Kaatz Funeral Directors , he graduated from Wayne State University with a Mortuary Sci- ence Degree in 1960. He pur- chased the former Peters Fu- neral Home in Yale, MI in 1960, where he began working in 1953. He purchased the for- mer Gillian Funeral Home in the early 1970s, the Bar- nard Funeral Home in Capac, MI in 1986, and the Ris- ter Funeral Home in Avoca, MI in 1991. In 2001, he built a new funeral home in Richmond, MI. In 2017, he purchased the former William R. Hamilton Co. Funeral Home in Mount Clemens, MI, which opened in 2019. A longtime member of the Michigan Funeral Directors Associa- tion , this year marked his 60th as a licensed funeral director. He was also a member of the Thumb Funeral Directors Asso- ciation and Charter Member of Michigan Embalmers Society. ROBERT LEE FINCH of Altavista, VA died April 9, 2020 at the age of 90. He spent over 65 years as a licensed funeral director and em- balmer at Finch and Finch Fu- neral and Cremation Service , established in 1905 by his grand- father. He was a past president of the Southside Funeral Directors As- sociation and the Virginia Funeral Directors Association , as well as a former member of the National Funeral Directors Association Policy Board. He was voted Virginia Funeral Director of the Year in 1991, and recognized by the VFDA with the Golden Licensee Award in both 2002 and 2017 for 50 and 65 years of service to the profession. PAUL R. SCHELM, JR. of Port Charlotte, FL died March 28, 2020 at the age of 87. He was a graduate of Miami-Dade Com- munity College in Miami. In Oc- tober 1979, he founded Paul Schelm Funeral Home , and most recently he was a funeral director at Charlotte Memo- rial Funeral Home and Gar- dens in Punta Gorda, FL. BOBBY M. PROFFITT of Brownsville, KY died May 2, 2020 at the age of 89. He start- ed working with Patton Funer- al Home as a licensed funeral director and embalmer in Au- gust of 1972. A funeral direc- tor for over sixty years, he was the manager of Patton Funeral Home’s Park City Chapel. RICHARD CHARLES STEELE, II of Bay City, MI died April 4, 2020 at the age of 52. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Wayne State University and Mortu- ary Science License in 1991. He was a partner and vice president of the family business, Penzien- Steele Funeral Home . He was a member of Selected Independent Funeral Homes and was past district president of the Michigan Funeral Directors Association . JOHN PAUL GEE of Kokomo, IN died April 29, 2020 at the age of 51. He earned a degree in Mortuary Science at Vin- cennes University in 1989, and his Indiana Funeral Director’s Li- cense in 1990. Since 2001, he had served families as a funer- al director at Ellers Mortuary , Kokomo. He was also a board member of Crown Point Cemetery and past member of the Indiana Funeral Directors Association . ANTHONY L. PREZIOSI of Massapequa, NY died April 16, 2020. He was manager at Massapequa Funeral Home where dedicated over 35 years as a funeral director. He received his degree in Mortuary Science from SUNY Farmingdale and was a member of the Nassau Suf- folk Funeral Directors Association . H. CHARLES “CHUCK” NELSON of Gaylord, MI died April 8, 2020 at the age of 83. He and his wife, Patricia , opened Nelson Funer- al Home in Gaylord in 1965. He earned a degree in Mortuary Sci- ence at Worsham College in Chicago, and was a passionate funeral direc- tor for over 50 years. He was also a member and past board president of Michigan Funeral Directors Association . MARY LOU COTTON of Kensing- ton, OH died May 1, 2020 at the age of 84. She was a funeral direc- tor, EMT, and president of Maple Cotton Funeral Home & Ambu- lance Service, Inc ., Kensington. She received her first EMT certifica- tion in 1973, and her funeral direc- tor’s license in April 1994. She was a member of the Ohio Funeral Directors Association District 15 & 16. CYNTHIA GILMORE DOUTHIT of Winston-Salem, NC died April 25, 2020 at the age of 75. A 1966 graduate of John A. Gupton College of Mortuary Science in Nash- ville, TN, she joined her parents at the Gilmore Funeral Home in Winston-Salem. She was the first licensed female funeral di- rector and embalmer in Forsyth County, and one of the first women to drive hearses and am- bulances on emergency calls. She was a member of the Twin City Funeral Directors , Central District Funeral Directors , the Fu- neral Directors and Morticians Association of North Carolina, Inc , and the National Funeral Directors and Morticians Association, Inc . Death Notices Send obituary information to Funeral Home & Cemetery News, PO Box 5159, Youngstown, OH 44514 • Fax (800) 321-9040 • E-mail info@nomispublications.com a a Featuring NEWS FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY online If you have an obituary you would like to see listed here, please send information to: PO Box 5159, Youngstown, OH 44514 • Fax 1-800-321-9040 • info@nomispubl ications.com