05/27/2026
Celebrating 85 years of dedicated and compassionate service to the bereaved
On May 27, 1941, a 22-year-old young man named Carmine J. Parise, fondly called C.J. by his family and friends, received his undertaker’s license from the State of Pennsylvania. His motivation to become an undertaker was inspired by his uncle, Jacob B. Graziano (married to Amelia Parise Graziano), the first undertaker of Italian descent to serve the growing Italian immigrant population in the city of Carbondale.
While serving his internship with his uncle in 1939, the two had a falling out and C.J. had to restart his internship under Simpson undertaker, John Powell. After passing his state examination and with his license in hand, he opened for business with no capital to back him up. All he had was a compassionate heart, desire to help the bereaved and gifted hands to allow families the ability to say goodbye to their loved one. Unlike today, it did not take much to open up in the funeral business back then, all you did was “hang your shingle”, as funeral homes where non-existent since funerals and wakes were held from the family’s home. At first, he borrowed equipment from other morticians such as Joseph Pecko of Simpson and Fuller Blickens of Carbondale, until he saved up to acquire his own. Times were tough in the beginning, as he was one of three undertakers serving Carbondale’s Italian population, the other two were Jacob Graziano and Nicholas Cerra. It was not until June of 1942 that C.J. was entrusted with his first funeral. That year he only conducted three funerals, one of those being his sister, Dolly.
As he conducted more funerals local families started to take notice of his attention to detail, and his skill to allow families the ability to remember their loved one before illness or tragedy. Not only did families take notice but so did his peers and soon area undertakers would call upon C.J. to handle their difficult cases. As a trade embalmer to other morticians he was able to make ends meet financially as he continued to build his business with the help of a network of lifelong friends and family. For years, he and Joseph Pecko of Simpson worked together with C.J. assisting in the daily operation of the Pecko Funeral Home. When Fuller Blickens moved his business to Clarks Summit, he turned over all of his rural trade accounts to C.J. to help him financially.
It should also be noted that C.J. was blessed with many friends who helped promote his business but, one person deserves special recognition. While working at Graziano’s, C.J. became friendly with one of Jake’s non-licensed helpers, Vito Pepe. Vito was upset with the way that C.J. and his uncle had parted and when C.J. received his license in 1941, Vito left his part time employment at Graziano’s to assist C.J. He urged Vito not to leave as he was just starting out and had no way to compensate him, but Vito insisted. They enjoyed a life long friendship and Vito and his wife, Mary, where dedicated funeral assistants for many years until they both passed away.
In 1949, C.J. and his wife Angie, obtained a loan from a local bank, and purchased the Hogan residence located at 89 Farview Street. They converted it to a funeral home and residence for their young family. In the 1950’s, C.J. established the Parise Ambulance Service as funeral homes provided the only means of emergency transportation to the community. Funeral homes would convert their hearse as both an ambulance and funeral coach for the task needed. Throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s the funeral home was enlarged and renovated with the funeral home contained to the first floor and a residence on the second and third floor. The former Baylon residence located at 7 41st Street was acquired in the 1960’s and converted to a casket showroom and parking area.
From there the rest is history, C.J. & Angie’s son, Louis “Chippy” Parise entered the business in 1967. After C.J.’s death in 1980, Chippy continued the same level of compassionate care established by his father, but understood that times were changing in the funeral industry. Funeral homes needed to expanded their services beyond the families in their neighborhood or church. He expanded and remodeled the facilities to serve families of all faiths and changed from black funeral vehicles to white. He embraced funeral pre-planning at a time when it was unheard of and was even accused of advertising for people to die. Today, funeral pre-planning is widely accepted. In the 1980’s when cremation was unheard of, he accepted a family’s choice and offered services and merchandise for cremation. In December of 1986, Chippy expanded to a second location with the purchase of the Shifler Funeral Home in Clifford, offering expanded services and modernized facilities to the families in that community.
As the third generation entered the business, Jason, Jeffry and Jonathan elevated the business with the use of technology and modern conveniences. The facilities were fine tuned to provide every amenity possible. Tribute video’s, web casting services, hospitality rooms, and large parking areas were provided. In 1997, Monuments By Parise was established at the Carbondale funeral home location. Monument services were now offered in house to the families they served and the general public. In 2016, the Parise brothers moved the monument operation to a 5,000 square foot building located on Business Route 6 in Blakely. This facility was remodeled to offer the area’s only all-inclusive indoor monument showroom with over 75 memorials on display. Every aspect of the monument business is handled by the Parise family from point of purchase, design, sandblasting, setting and installation of the memorial. In 2010, the Edward A. Wade Funeral Home in Carbondale was acquired by the Parise family and facilities were upgraded and modernized.
85 years ago today, that 22-year-old young man, C.J. Parise received a license from the Pennsylvania State Board of Undertakers and with a desire to offer compassion to the bereaved and to treat others as he would want to be treated, he took a chance. Times in the beginning were bleak and setbacks were many but with perseverance and hard work he and his wife, Angie were building an institution and legacy in Carbondale. With many sacrifices, their son and grandsons vastly expanded that institution and legacy beyond the limits of Carbondale. 85 years later, norms and traditions have changed, but the basic principle still stands – treat everyone in your care as if they were your family. Whether it’s to care for your loved one and family in their time of need or to design the most perfect memorial for your loved one’s legacy, it is an honor to be called upon.
We thank all our family, neighbors, and many friends from every community who have supported us for three generations. We also thank our spouses and children for all the sacrifices they have made to our home and personal lives with the demands of our calling. We are so blessed by all of you.
