H.E. Turner & Co. Funeral Home
Batavia native helping grieving families in NYC with body transports, H.E. Turner to assist this Saturday
David Penepent, a Mortuary Dcience professor, has been volunteering his time, along with two of his students, in New York City since April to assist with handling the remains of COVID-19 victims.
The 57-year-old Batavia native started "Hands with a Heart" to transport the bodies of those who have died from overwhelmed funeral homes to other states in behalf of grieving families.
Penepent was featured today in a story in The New York Times.
“It’s a godsend,” said Joe Neufeld Sr., the owner of the Gerard J. Neufeld Funeral Home in Queens, which is just blocks from Elmhurst Hospital Center in one of the hardest hit areas in the country. “He came out of nowhere to save us.”
This Saturday, staff from H.E. Turner, including Steve Johnson, who teaches with Penepent at SUNY Canton in the Mortuary Science Program, will join Penepent's team to help with the effort.
"We will be doing so voluntarily and without charge to the state, funeral homes, or families affected," Johnson said.
Local funeral homes take health and safety precautions for families suffering loss in these uncertain times
Press release:
We recognize that amid this pandemic, we all have fears and concerns for the safety of our families and loved ones. Unfortunately, death and grief do not pause during a crisis.
To that end, our firm cares about your safety, and we are taking every precaution to create a safe environment for you to honor those you have lost.
In accordance with New York State and the CDC guidelines, the following best practices will be instituted:
1. Funeral services, memorial services, and visitations will be limited to no more than 50 guests in the facilities at one time.
2. H.E. Turner & Co. is the first funeral home in Genesee County to provide streaming services on demand. We will continue to offer this service free of charge.
3. With the education we have received from the National Funeral Directors Association and the New York State Funeral Directors Association, we are utilizing the best preventative measures to ensure guest and staff safety, including but not limited to:
a. Increased sanitation throughout our facilities.
b. Providing hand sanitizer stations throughout the funeral homes.
c. Providing optional avenues for arranging services with families via telephone or video conferencing.
d. Utilizing social distancing during visitations and funerals by removing all temporary seating in our chapels and encouraging families to utilize a receiving line while not shaking hands, hugging, or kissing.
e. If you are not feeling well or are concerned about coming to the funeral home to pay your respects, we encourage you to leave a condolence on our website (www.bataviafuneralhomes.com)
Simply put, we want to assure you of the plan and procedures we have in place so that your family and loved ones feel comfortable and safe during these uncertain times. We are available 24/7 to answer any questions and concerns you may have, and will continue to monitor state regulation, county guidance, and CDC updates.
Yours in service,
Justin, Josh, Randy, Steve, and Jim
H.E. Turner & Co.; Bohm-Calarco-Smith; Burdett & Sanford Funeral Homes
Photos: Annual holiday remembrance service
H.E. Turner Funeral Homes hosted their annual Christmastime service of prayer and worship to remember loved ones who have passed in 2018.
Pastor Masha Rivers conducted the service at Northgate Free Methodist Church in Batavia.
H.E. Turner, affiliated funeral homes temporarily without phone service
Press release:
H.E. Turner & Co., Bohm-Calarco-Smith, and Burdett & Sanford Funeral Homes have temporarily lost telephone service coming into and out of our four locations. However, we remain ready to assist our community as the need arises.Therefore, if you find yourself needing to contact us, please call (585) 322-3249 or (585) 356-1668 until further notice.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Our telephone provider is experiencing a system-wide outage. We will update this release when the situation is resolved.
UPDATE Wednesday morning: The regular phone lines are back in working order.
Photos: Remembrance service at Grace Baptist Church
H.E. Turner Funeral Homes hosted its annual service of remembrance for local residents who lost a loved one during the past year last night at Grace Baptist Church in Batavia.
Rev. Bill Hockey, above, delivered the message for the service, and Pastor Jeffrey Bartz, below, read Bible passages of the Christmas Story.
Service at Grace Baptist offers families a chance to remember loved ones
H.E. Turner Funeral Homes held its annual Service of Remembrance last night at Grace Baptist Church in Batavia. The candlelight service is a chance for members of the community to come together and reflect on loved ones who have passed in the previous year.
H.E. Turner makes $1K donation to Joint Veterans Honor Guard
Press release:
On Friday, Dec. 2, funeral directors Justin Calarco-Smith, Joshua Smith and Steven Johnson of the H.E. Turner & Co., Bohm-Calarco-Smith, and Burdett & Sanford Funeral Homes were honored to present a check in the amount of $1,000 to Jim Neider and Tom Cecere of the Joint Veterans Honor Guard of Genesee County.
This donation was made in the names of the 31 area veterans who the funeral home group was privileged to arrange funeral services for in the past year.
The Joint Veterans Honor Guard is a dedicated group of volunteers comprised of veterans from across our county. They provide funeral honors to our fallen. The honors include a color guard, the playing of TAPS, and a firing squad. This year, they have rendered honors to more than 60 fallen veterans throughout Genesee County.
One of only a handful of such organizations statewide, Genesee County is extremely fortunate to have selfless volunteers who are at the ready in a moment’s notice. They stand, without complaint, in the heat, cold, wind, snow and rain to pay final tribute to their comrades.
“We are humbled by the members of our community who selflessly served this great nation. Additionally, we consider it a privilege to care for our veterans and their families when called upon,” said Funeral Director Justin Calarco-Smith, who along Joshua Smith, Randy McIntire, James Smith and Steven Johnson operate H.E. Turner & Co. Funeral Homes in Batavia and Bergen, Bohm-Calarco-Smith Funeral Home in Batavia, and the Burdett & Sanford Funeral Home in Oakfield.
“This donation will allow us to continue to honor and serve Genesee County’s veterans in the manner they deserve for a long time to come,” said Jim Neider, commander of the Honor Guard.
The funeral homes plan to honor the veterans they care for annually by making similar donations to a local veterans organization each year.
Photo: Steven Johnson, Tom Cecere, Joshua Smith, Jim Neider and Justin Calarco-Smith.
Photos: Remembrance service at Northgate
H.E. Turner & Co., along with Bohm-Calarco-Smith and Burdett & Sanford, held their annual candlelight rememberance service at Northgate Free Methodist Church in Batavia on Monday evening.
Photos: Service of Prayer and Remembrance at Northgate
A service of prayer and remembrance was held tonight at Northgate Free Methodist Church in Batavia, hosted by H.E. Turner Funeral Home.
The annual service is a chance for those who lost loved ones during the year to honor their memories.
