Press Release

Longtime Community Funeral Director Teams Up With Millennial Son to Reinvigorate the Funeral Space

Called Keystone Funeral Services, father-son team seeks to invest in the local funeral home industry with customized approach that recognizes need for both time-honored traditions and life celebrations that connect with more generations

(BESSEMER, PA) January 6, 2022-  Keystone Funeral Services (KFS), a newly established funeral home entity founded by a father and son, formally announced that its co-founder, Anthony J. Quahliero, Jr., is now the Funeral Director for Terry A. Cunningham Funeral Home. Terry Cunningham, upon retirement and after working with Quahliero on transition planning, officially sold his business to KFS late last year. The hand-off now makes TAC Funeral Home the flagship location for KFS, which is pursuing other hyper-local transactions. 

“It has been my honor to help comfort the people of this community during their most difficult days,” said Cunningham. “I  have known Anthony for decades. He is among the most dedicated, compassionate, and experienced funeral professionals in the region. Handing over this legacy to Anthony, along with the next-gen insights from his son, feels right because there is no one I trust more to care for our family, friends, and neighbors.”

Founded in 2020 by Quahliero Jr. and his son, A.J. Quahliero III, KFS unites more than four decades of hands-on funeral experience with Fortune 100 operational excellence. 

A Lawrence County native, Quahliero Jr. joins TAC Funeral Home with more than 45 years of funeral experience, including 15 years as funeral director at Kirila Funeral Home in nearby Struthers, Ohio. A former president of the Ohio Funeral Director Association, he’s worked in all facets of funeral service. Now, Quahliero is combining his decades-long funeral experience with the real-life memorialization needs inspired by younger generations, like his 36-year-old son’s. 

“The pandemic shone a light on a glaring need my dad and I saw years ago: families deserve time-honored funeral services that also embrace the outdoors and modern technology and actually give people options for how they will best find a sense of peace, comfort, and healing during a very difficult time,” said A.J. Quahliero III, a Carnegie Mellon University graduate of the Heinz School of Public Management, who has more than 10 years of operational experience working with Fortune 100 companies, including Giant Eagle. 

While the Terry A. Cunningham Funeral Home name won’t change, KFS is instituting some changes to help families. Soon, families will be able to connect digitally with their services, including online obituaries sharable to social media pages, and user-friendly educational content, such as how to explain death to a child. 

“I have the utmost respect for Terry and the business he has built. It is a privilege to be given this gift to evolve his legacy in the community. As I work to introduce my new role with the local community, at the same time, my son is leading the modernization of many aspects of the business so that more people can honor their loved ones in the way that best helps them through the grieving process,” Quahliero Jr. said. “That is what it’s all about: helping people of all ages pay tribute to their loved ones. This is one of life’s great responsibilities.”

“My father’s passion for honoring life extends beyond community funeral homes. In college, I remember my dad being deployed for weeks in New Orleans, helping families to recover and bring dignity to the thousands of deceased loved ones after Hurricane Katrina. I’ve experienced the importance of what my dad teaches all families — that grieving is essential to the healing process.  I’m thrilled to help elevate his expertise and passion in order to improve lives.”

About Keystone Funeral Services

Keystone Funeral Services (KFS) is a comprehensive funeral services organization built to bridge the gap between time-honored tradition and the needs of the future.  Founded in 2020 by a father and son team, KFS unites more than four decades of hands-on funeral experience with Fortune 100 operational excellence. The result is an expansion-minded business driven by the belief that all families deserve the opportunity to pay proper tribute to those who have passed. KFS is headquartered in Bessemer, Pa., the home of its flagship location, the Terry A. Cunningham Funeral Home.

For further information, contact Stephanie McHale at smchale@premoconsultants.com or 717-424-2661.