ROBERT “BOB” R. WATT
May 20, 2024
ROBERT “BOB” R. WATT of Wapakoneta, OH died May 20, 2024 at the age of 77. He started his career at Chiles-Laman Funeral & Cremation Services in Lima in 1981. Watt served 43 years as a senior funeral service associate and was a certified crematory operator.
WAYNE D. KNAPP
May 16, 2024
WAYNE D. KNAPP of Watseka, IL died May 16, 2024 at the age of 93. He worked as a mobile embalmer in Europe and Africa while serving in the military. Following his discharge from the military, Knapp served as Iroquois County Coroner from 1960-1976 and was the owner and operator of Knapp Funeral Homes. A 1952 graduate of the Worsham College of...
THOMAS W. “TUCKER” RODAK
May 13, 2024
THOMAS W. “TUCKER” RODAK of Coldwater, MI died May 13, 2024 at the age of 80. A funeral director, he was a named partner and worked as a manager at the Elzey-Patterson-Rodak Funeral Homes in Fort Wayne and Ossian, IN until his retirement. Tucker received his associate’s degree from the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science.
CYRIL H. WECHT
May 13, 2024
CYRIL H. WECHT, M.D., J.D of Pittsburgh, PA, died May 13, 2024 at the age of 93. Dr. Wecht’ s career began as he combined his training in medicine and law and his then-rare expertise in the nascent field of forensic pathology. He served several terms as Allegheny County Coroner, where he modernized the office and made it into an...
JOHN WILLIAM FIRESTONE
May 12, 2024
JOHN WILLIAM FIRESTONE of McKinney, TX died May 12, 2024 at the age of 82. He was CEO and part owner of Pierce Chemical/Royal Bond and Pierce Mortuary Colleges. Firestone had worked at the family company for his entire professional life spanning 6 decades. He received his bachelor’s degree from North Texas State University in Denton at the School of Business.
ROBERT ANDREL ALLEN
May 10, 2024
ROBERT ANDREL ALLEN of Ferriday, LA died May 10, 2024 at the age of 41. A Louisiana licensed funeral director for 18 years, he and his family owned and operated Concordia Funeral Home in Ferriday.
BERNARD MARTIN O’BRIEN, SR
May 6, 2024
BERNARD MARTIN O’BRIEN, SR. of Pittsburgh, PA died May 6, 2024, at the age of 76. Licensed in 1972 and a graduate of Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science, he worked with his father and eventually took over as owner of O’Brien’s Funeral Home in Allegheny-West, PA.
CHARLES S. “CHUCK” BANKS JR
May 4, 2024
CHARLES S. “CHUCK” BANKS JR of Clarksville, IN died May 4, 2024 at the age of 63. A licensed funeral director for over 40 years, he owned and operated Chapman Funeral Home.
BROCK TUMBLESON
May 3, 2024
BROCK TUMBLESON of Kewanee, IL died May 3, 2024 at the age of 67. A funeral director, he started working with Herman “Bud” Schueneman in 1974 at the Golnick-Schueneman Funeral Home. Tumbleson purchased the funeral home alongside Mark Schueneman in 1997. They continued to own and operate it until his retirement in 2017, making Mark the sole owner. He graduated from Southern Illinois...
THOMAS A. “TOM” MARTIN
May 2, 2024
THOMAS A. “TOM” MARTIN of Hot Springs Village, AR died May 2, 2024 at the age of 85. A funeral director and embalmer for over 65 years, he owned and operated the Martin Funeral Home in Wiona, MN before moving to Arkansas, where he was a manager of Roller Funeral Home in Memphis and later Gross Funeral Home in Hot Springs....