Hopler & Eschbach Funeral Home

04/02/2026

World Autism Awareness Day, proclaimed by the United Nations in 2007, is observed on April 2nd. Historically, many people have taken part in “Light It Up Blue,” a campaign started by Autism Speaks to raise awareness of those affected by Autism.

It’s a global campaign that fosters understanding, inclusion and support for individuals with autism. Businesses and individuals can show their support by using blue lights or wearing blue clothing.

04/02/2026

This is an issue we are confronted with several times each year.

The cremation of an obese person is a complicated process that requires oversized equipment and a different incineration process. First, just to fit the person in the crematory in a respectful manner and second that the burning process occurs at a controlled temperature to prevent rapidly converting the fat to oil and creating an unintended oil fire.

Due to the design of the retort, the local crematory we utilize is not able to provide a cremation for someone much over 200-250 pounds (depending on the height of the person and if the weight is muscle or fat tissue). They are in the process of replacing and upgrading their cremation retort to allow for the cremation of larger (fatter) bodies.

When the need arose we have used a crematory in Chenango County which could accommodate people to the weight of about 600 pounds. That crematory is temporarily closed after a structure fire unrelated to a cremation.

When we exceeded that capacity we would utilize a crematory in Oneida County that can accommodate a person as large as 1,000 pounds..

It is more practical to drive the distance to a crematory with the proper equipment than to require every crematory to have equipment to provide for scenarios they do not frequently encounter.

A larger cremation chamber will necessarily consume more fuel and also space. They cost more to purchase and to operate.

We can understand the concern of a family enduring such a loss, but to require every facility to be built out for such limited situations is not purposeful.

We do question why the daughter claims no local funeral home could assist in providing the cremation by delivering him to the crematory some 200 km away (A funeral firm should be able to meet that need). There might be more to the story than is being fully revealed (Possibly cost/payment issues). Even the act of transferring the body is complicated, requiring special equipment and extra staff (both of which we have at the Hopler & Eschbach Funeral Home).

A Kelowna, B.C., woman says she has faced challenges ensuring her father’s cremation is handled with dignity after his death.

04/01/2026

A little light humor for April Fool's Day.

04/01/2026

We are honored to have been entrusted with the final care of Michael Canestaro Jr., age 84, of Endicott.

He was a local YouTube personality.

Celebrate the life of Michael Canestaro Jr. and join others in sharing memories, stories, and condolences.

04/01/2026

Continuing our tomb tour.

The crypt beneath Center Church on the Green in New Haven, Connecticut.

Usually a tomb is built beneath a church or other sacred edifice, but unique to this tomb - the church was built above an exiting burial ground, creating the enclosed tomb.

This was originally part of a regular burial ground, located on the New Haven Green. However, in 1812 a new meetinghouse (church) was built on the Green, and rather than moving the headstones or exhuming the bodies, the meetinghouse was built directly above a portion of the burial ground.

Later in the 1800s, the headstones elsewhere on the Green were relocated to Grove Street Cemetery. However, the ones here in the crypt remained in place, providing a unique opportunity to visit a colonial-era burial ground in its original configuration. And, because the stones have been sheltered from the effects of weathering for more than 200 years, they are remarkably well-preserved compared to other colonial gravestones.

The crypt is open to the public once a month for guided tours, starting at 10am on the second Sunday of every month.

03/31/2026

We are honored to have been entrusted with the final care of Angeline Aquino, 51, of Endicott.

Celebrate the life of Angeline Aquino and join others in sharing memories, stories, and condolences.

03/31/2026

If you are looking for a special start to Easter Sunday, join our friends at the Windsor Masonic Lodge for their monthly breakfast.

Happy Easter! We are still having our public breakfast this Sunday, April 5, 2026. Come start your holiday at Windsor Lodge with a hearty breakfast. We hope to see you! 🐣🐰🍳🥞🇺🇸

03/31/2026

Today's ask a funeral director question comes not from an online friend, but actually from 2 different families we have served in the past three or four weeks

Can we dress our loved one for their viewing? The answer is yes.

In each case not only did they dress their loved one but they also attended to hair and cosmetology issues (we might add they did an exceptional job!) (The two requests also does not include two families who dressed their loved one at home prior to the funeral home arriving to transfer the body to the funeral home).

Our funeral home staff assisted as needed, but tried to let the family members take the lead.

For some (not everyone) it can be a very meaningful act to participate in this final act of personal care for their loved one. For the ladies, they shared stories as they gave her a manicure, just as they would if they were giving it to her while she was alive)
In years past it was actually quite common for family members to dress their dead at home (after a funeral director embalmed the person at home).

In these particular cases the families are all foreign born and it is a custom they brought to America with them.

Additionally, it is not so uncommon a tradition as you might think. We serve families with many religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds and in addition to some foreign born families, it is quite common particularly with the Islamic and Jewish families to have family and friends wash and dress the deceased for services (a ritual ceremony is involved).

In any event, we are always pleased when we can help our client families find meaning in comfort in caring for their loved ones.
Our question to you -given the chance, would you help dress your deceased loved one? Share your thoughts here please.

03/30/2026

At least one crematory in Denmark is now using the heat generated and released during the cremation of human bodies to provide heat to local homes.

Assume we have very strong opinions on this subject.

No matter how they rationalize the "sustainability" of this process, we find it dehumanizing and disgraceful. No matter how a physical body is disposed of, it should be done in a manner that is respectful, not as fuel to heat houses. A human body is not a log.

Read on for the full story"

On an average day at the municipal crematorium in Aalborg, Denmark, this scene repeats about 14 times, according to technician Jerrick Park Bisgaard. And as part of a wider national effort to reuse energy, the heat from cremations also helps warm nearby homes.

As this has been considered by other regions, the ethical questions centered on whether this system would use the dead as fuel.

One of the biggest opponents of the practice was the International Cremation Federation, a Hague-based group promoting the interests of the industry. But times have changed, “Even ethical concerns are not written in stone,” “And we think that striving for a good sustainability is as valuable as working on ethical principles. So, we considered that … for sustainable reasons, we could accept the reuse of the heat.”

Back to our opinion - we find many new ideas regarding how to dispose of a body are disrespectful, but this one take the cake.

In Denmark, cremations are helping to heat the homes of the living. While crematoriums generate only a small portion of district heating in Danish cities, this sustainability strategy of “waste heat recapture” is saving cities money on their heating bills.

03/29/2026

We are honored to have been entrusted with the final care of Munawar Hussain, age 80, of Endwell, NY.

Celebrate the life of Munawar Hussain and join others in sharing memories, stories, and condolences.

03/29/2026

Something new and innovative - A fully portable embalming facility has been designed, manufactured and delivered for eventual use. It is the first of its kind.

Duncan Stuart Todd Ltd, a mortuary design and equipment firm delivered the fully self-contained Mobile Embalming Unit to Dover Air Force Base, home of the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Office.

The Mobile Embalming Unit, or MEU, is a fully equipped OSHA compliant preparation laboratory built inside a standard 20-foot shipping container. It can be transported anywhere in the world, connected to site utilities, or self-supported, independent of local connections. It includes a tracked lift system, hydro aspirator, water controls, and climate systems engineered by DST to function in extreme cold and extreme heat.

The concept was years in the making. The designers had long wrestled with a question from funeral homes facing renovation shutdowns, mechanical failures, and natural disasters: what do you do when your prep room is out of commission? A transportable lab was the answer.

In December 2023, Kevin Smith, Chief of the Mortuary Affairs Division of the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Office, reached out to DST with a vision: a self-contained mobile embalming capability that could be deployed anywhere in the world. DST said yes to developing a deployable lab, and later won the bid to build the world's first mobile embalming lab.

The expected use will extend beyond military applications. Funeral homes facing temporary downtime, regional disasters requiring surge capacity, and underserved communities without access to traditional fixed facilities are among the scenarios the MEU is designed to address.

03/28/2026

Another ask the funeral director question -

How are monuments carved?

Watch the attached video.

As a ;reminder, we offer monument sales and lettering services to both our client families and the general public.

Call 607-722-4023 for an appointment.

Curt is working on a Gravestone from start to finish we just need the snow to leave so we can get it set.