At the encouragement of a friend, Joseph Farone, Sr. moved to Syracuse, New York, in 1911 to open a funeral home to serve the large Italian immigrant population. From 1911 to 1946 his funeral home was in various locations on State Street. In the early 1900s funeral homes were mostly store fronts because funerals were conducted in the deceased’s family home. But after World War II, funerals were held more often in a funeral home.

In 1939 Joseph Farone, Jr. entered the business after his older brother, Pasquale, passed away. In 1946, Joseph Farone, Sr. and son Joseph Jr. purchased a mansion on James Street next to an empty lot that later became the new St. Peter’s Church. In 1955 Joseph Farone, Sr. passed away, and in 1967, Patrick and Anthony Farone joined their father, Joseph, in the funeral home business.

In 1975 Joseph and Anthony designed and built a new funeral home, which is the current facility. At 17,000 square feet, it was the largest funeral home built in central New York at that time, and may still be the largest.

Joseph Jr. passed away in 1981. In the late 1980s, Marie Farone and her brother, Joseph, joined their father, Anthony, in the funeral home. In 1988 Farone & Son Funeral Home joined the Dignity Memorial® network of funeral and cremation service providers. Marie and Joseph, who represent the fourth generation of Farone funeral directors, are still managing the business.

There have been many changes in funeral services over the past 20 years, as the services have moved from being just an at-need service to include pre-need and after-care services. In addition, at-need services have increased with many different types of services – memorial, non-traditional and traditional services. The services today have become more personalized to meet the family needs and wants.

Families are increasingly requesting pre-need services, whether for a tradition, non-traditional or memorial service, to help them through this difficult time. It also helps when pre-arrangements are made with the disposition of the remains.

After-care is now becoming a part of being a funeral director, as people often want and need someone to talk to after a death of a loved one. We offer many after-care services through our affiliation with the Dignity Memorial network. Dignity Memorial providers offer exclusive benefits, including National Transferability of Prearranged Services, the Bereavement Travel Program, the 24-Hour Compassion Helpline® and access to an acclaimed grief management library.

Another positive change in funeral service has been the influx of women in the profession. They bring a caring side to the service that for many years was left only to men.

The greatest compliment we can receive is when the fourth generation of a family comes to us in their time of need. Having a fourth-generation family coming to the Farone fourth-generation for services is all that is needed to be said.

As North America’s largest provider of funeral, cremation and memorialization services, the Dignity Memorial brand is your assurance of quality, value, caring service and exceptional customer satisfaction.