Memorializing loved ones has changed quite a bit since Nicholas and Rose Marie Gattozzi opened their first funeral home in Cleveland’s Collinwood neighborhood back in 1946.
People tended to be more somber and traditional in how they sought closure and camaraderie in the wake of losing a friend or a family member. But, in recent years, thanks in part to technology and changing attitudes about decorum and how to commemorate people’s personalities and what they did with them on Earth, the definition of a funeral has evolved dramatically, said Jay Jones, funeral director at Gattozzi & Son Funeral Home.
Jones took some time Jan. 4 to show The News-Herald and its readers how these trends have manifested themselves in the recently completed remodeling and renovation project at Gattozzi & Son’s present-day facility, 12524 Chillicothe Road in Chester Township, which opened its doors in 1972.
“Families do expect, and have requested, different types of services, more personalized services, compared to what some people might call the ‘cookie-cutter’ services (funeral homes) have had for years,” Jones said. He added that people tended to stick with more traditional memorials because that’s what they knew and what others had done for so long.
According to an article on the National Funeral Directors Association website highlighting changing trends in the industry, as the baby boomer generation has aged, its constituents are finding “themselves having to plan funerals for loved ones and themselves, they are making funeral choices based on values that are different than previous generations. Baby boomers see funerals as a valuable part of the grieving process and are seeking ways to make them meaningful.”
A big part of that is celebrating late loved ones’ passions, quirks and personalities, commemorating their lives rather than mourning having lost them.
“Today, funeral service consumers are planning funeral services that are as unique as the person who died. The idea of personalization has resulted in an explosion of unique services that reflect the hobbies, passions and interests of someone who has died,” the article reads. “Through personalization, funeral services can be more meaningful.”
One reflection of the Gattozzi & Son Funeral Home’s response to this trend is its new catered event room, which allows for the kind of flexibility required to accommodate today’s variety of memorial events, Jones said.
“We’ve been wanting to be able to broaden newer services for the families that we serve for years,” he said. “We were successful in offering a broad range of services before. But we wanted to add the catered event space to be able to provide an even greater range of services here.”
He said that’s a direct result of more and more families wishing to add a culinary element to their memorial events in place of, or in addition to, a meal at a location other than the funeral home.
“A lot more people are encompassing food as part of celebrating those who have passed away,” he said, adding that this often helps families achieve a more casual, celebratory affair. “All of these ideas help us celebrate a life well lived and are a lot about the family and loved ones. And it’s a lot about how they can remember their loved one (who has passed away).”
Not having families and friends of the deceased split between a lower-level lounge area and the chapel space on the funeral home’s ground floor is another big benefit of the expansion and remodel, which also includes more chapel space, Jones said.
“There were times when we’ve had to have people, families down in the lounge area and upstairs,” he said. “So it’s really nice to be able to eliminate that disconnect.”
In all, the $1.2 million expansion, which began May 15 and lasted about 5 1/2 months, more than doubled the facility’s public space, adding 3,088 square feet for a total of 6,088 square feet, he confirmed, adding that this is the Gattozzi & Son Funeral Home’s sole location these days.
In addition to the catered event room, which now stands in place of a parking lot just south of the funeral home’s original structure, the original structure, itself, was renovated and its chapel space expanded. A new hallway and entrances were incorporated between the original building and the addition, along with new offices and numerous technological upgrades.
And, although they’re “semi-retired,” its founders and Jones’ in-laws, Nicholas and Rose Marie Gattozzi, remain active in the business, Jones said, which perhaps has helped make the facility’s mission to serve the families and community it’s served all these years a reality.
He said the family and funeral home staff appreciate their clientele’s patience while the expansion and renovation was underway, at which time they held services at other funeral homes and area churches.
“We’re just really grateful for Greater Geauga County having supported us since 1972 and we feel this will help us to continue to serve those in Geauga County who have been so loyal to us,” he said. “We’re so grateful for their support over the years.”
He said the community’s feedback since the Nov. 18 grand reopening has been positive.
“We’ve had a great response from the community to what we’ve done with the new, larger facility, as well as the remodeling,” Jones said. “And we’re really appreciative of the response we’ve gotten from the community, both at the grand reopening and during subsequent services.”
But don’t just take the location manager’s word for it.
Office Manager Mairyl Stapleton, who has been a Gattozzi & Son Funeral Home employee for 15 years, said the renovation/expansion has shed new light on the facility.
“It’s made it much more inviting and approachable, in my opinion,” she said. “And it shows when I see a family walk in for a meet and greet.”
She said that, after 15 years with the business, it’s a refreshing change both for the funeral home, itself, and for the community it serves.
“I think it’s so refreshing to begin a new era with the change in generations and the up-and-coming community,” she said, adding how families have been “so wowed over how nice this has been and how accommodating we’ve been.”
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