EDWARD JOSEPH “ED” TATKO
Aug 31, 2026
EDWARD JOSEPH “ED” TATKO of Pittsburgh, PA died August 31, 2026 at the age of 78. A second-generation funeral director, he began his career working alongside his aunt, Mara Cieslak, at Cieslak Funeral Home in Brentwood. In 1972, Ed became a partner in the firm, which was renamed Cieslak & Tatko Funeral Home. In 1979, he became president and supervisor...
RONALD F. “RON” HULEC
Aug 25, 2026
RONALD F. “RON” HULEC of Westlake, OH died August 25, 2026 at the age of 92. A funeral director and embalmer, he co-founded Inman Shipping and Cremation with Bob Inman. Hulec later worked at Schulte, David & Son and Corrigan Funeral Homes. A member of the Embalmers Association of Cleveland, he served in the pathology departments at St. Luke University...
CHRISTOPHER M. BECK
Aug 22, 2026
CHRISTOPHER M. BECK of Spring Grove, PA died August 22, 2026 at the age of 62. A licensed funeral director, he served as president of Beck Family Funeral Homes & Crematory. In 2009, he purchased the former Robert E. Irwin Funeral Home in Spring Grove, where he continued to serve families for the next 17 years. In 2019, he established...
LEE O. WOOD
Aug 20, 2026
LEE O. WOOD of Greensboro NC died August 20, 2026 at the age of 84. A licensed funeral director and embalmer for more than fifty-five years, he began his career as an apprentice at Chapman Funeral Home in Mount Vernon, NY, and later worked at Benta Funeral Home in Harlem, NY. He went on to establish Camelot Funeral Home and,...
CARL JOSEPH HASSON
Aug 16, 2026
CARL JOSEPH HASSON of Shamong, NJ died August 16, 2026 at the age of 52. With 31 years of experience in the funeral industry, he most recently worked at Schetter Funeral Home in Cherry Hill, NJ. Hasson graduated from Mercer County Community College in 1995 and earned his certification as a Funeral Service Practitioner in 1996.
JAMES ALAN PETRILLI
Aug 15, 2026
JAMES ALAN PETRILLI of Hazleton, PA died August 15, 2026 at the age of 79. A funeral director, he owned and operated the former Vincent Petrilli Funeral Home and Cotterall-Petrilli Funeral Home in Freeland, PA, as well as the former Beltz-Petrilli Funeral Home in Hazleton, PA for 36 years. A graduate of the American Academy McAllister Institute of Funeral Service,...
CHARLES T. GHOLSON
Jul 26, 2026
CHARLES T. GHOLSON of Haughton, LA died July 26, 2026 at the age of 79. A dual-licensed funeral director with 55 years of experience, he began as location and general manager of Hill Crest before advancing to area general manager and later market manager, overseeing operations throughout North Louisiana and Northwest Arkansas. Gholson eventually returned to Hill Crest as general...
WARREN E. BARTH
Jul 24, 2026
WARREN E. BARTH of McGraw, NY died July 24, 2026 at the age of 99. He served as vice president of the Chenango Mutual Insurance Company. Barth was the former owner of the Denniston Insurance Agency in McGraw and the Hartwell Funeral Home in Tully. For 48 years, until his retirement, he owned and operated the Barth Funeral Home in...
WILLIE W.G. BETHEA
Jul 23, 2026
WILLIE W.G. BETHEA of Bronx, NY died July 23, 2026 at the age of 85. A funeral director for over 50 years, he owned and operated Amsterdam Memorial Chapel in Harlem, NY and had served as a senior director at Benta’s Funeral Home in Harlem. He graduated from the American Academy of McAllister Institute of Funeral Service.
WALTER LEE CROX
Jul 14, 2026
WALTER LEE CROX of Chattanooga, TN died July 14, 2026 at the age of 82. A licensed embalmer in Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, Crox was a fourth-generation funeral director at Covenant Funeral & Crematory. He also dedicated many years to funeral service education, serving as program chair at Milwaukee Area Technical College, associate dean at Gupton-Jones College of Mortuary...