for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com octo ber 10, 2013 • BUSINESS • The Queens Courier 43 around the city. The person with whom a family makes pre-arrangements is often never seen again. Other directors, unfamiliar with the family, take over and a period of adjustment needs to be repeated. We at Gleason’s pride ourselves on being with the family every step of the way. We are the ones who make arrangements with the family and who also direct every aspect of the funeral. Gleason’s Funeral Home serves all faiths, and prides itself on developing relationships with the families they serve. Over the years, it has developed great relationships with several churches in Queens, including St. Luke’s, St. Andrew Avellino, the United Methodist Church, the Flushing Korean Church, and many others. Gleason’s mission is to maintain an efficient operation and to always act with compassion towards its clientele. John and Tom Golden also believe in constant application of the Golden Rule. According to John, one of the biggest differences he has noticed with the passage of time is how large of a role technology has played in the evolution of how Gleason’s operates. “We even have television screens in the chapel now,” he said. “Families use them to do video tributes for the family, which wasn’t done in the past until relatively recently. Until now, families just used to bring physical copies of pictures from home and put them by the casket. Also, there is a pre-planning fund now which allows families to plan and pay for their funeral in advance, and that whole process is FDIC insured. Also, in the past couple of years there has been a rise in cremation rates, and we’ve become experts in that field as well. We also have a large selection of urns and cremation caskets available in all of our chapels.” Going forward, Gleason’s would like to expand and eventually open up some more locations. Although it currently services Nassau and Suffolk County along with Queens, John would also like to expand to the other boroughs. Gleason’s Funeral Home is also very active in the community. It is a member of the Rotary Club, the Knights of Columbus, the Bayside Kiwanis, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, Bishop Dimarzio’s Code of Honor Club, and many more. In addition, John Gleason Sr. founded and was the Chairman of the Board of the Flushing Community Ambulance Service, an organization to which Gleason’s Funeral Home also donated the first ambulance. “We do our best to treat everyone who comes in here as though they are somebody in our own family,” said John. “We try to make this difficult process as easy as possible for them. It’s one of the most difficult times a family has to go through, but we try to make it a little easier for them by helping them through funeral arrangements. Some deaths are naturally more tragic than others, so we try our best to be as sensitive as possible and take care of the families in a dignified manner.” According to John, part of the what makes Gleason’s great is that families in the area do not just know them as a funeral home - they know John and Tom Golden by their first names. When a death occurs, families know that they will be more comfortable dealing with friends. At the end of the day, Gleason’s Funeral Home is more friendly, flexible and accommodating than most other funeral homes, and that is the edge that being family-owned gives Gleason’s. John says the employees of Gleason’s Funeral Home are exceptional and like part of the family. A lot of our employees have worked for Gleason’s for many, many years. In fact, for some, not only have they worked for Gleason’s, but their mothers, fathers, children and grandchildren have as well. As a result they take great pride in their work and it shows in their caring service to the public. “You get satisfaction knowing that we’re a family-owned company helping other families,” said Tom. “In a way, it’s nice to be there to help people who are at their worst or possibly lowest points in their lives. Some may have never experienced a death, some weren’t expecting it, and some people don’t have anyone left at all. You’re the sole person there, and it’s up to you to give a comforting word and lend a hand.” ADVERTORIAL Gleason’s Funeral Home has three locations: Bayside 36-46 Bell Boulevard Bayside, NY 11361 • 718-428-2210 Flushing 149-20 Northern Boulevard Flushing, NY 11354 718-359-6300 Whitestone 10-25 150th Street Whitestone, NY 11357 • 718-359-1122 To learn more, visit www.gleasonsfuneral.com
QC10102013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above