Family wants to create legacy with opening of funeral home
Rachel Basinger
The former Kezmarsky Funeral Home on South Pennsylvania Avenue in Uniontown has reopened with new owners as the Baker-Terravecchia Funeral Home.
New owners of the Baker-Terravecchia Funeral Home on South Pennsylvania Avenue in Uniontown are (from left) John Terravecchia, Julie Baker and Bob Baker.
New owners of the Baker-Terravecchia Funeral Home on South Pennsylvania Avenue in Uniontown are (from left) John Terravecchia, Julie Baker and Bob Baker.
It was the love of a historic building and a desire to reinvest in the local community that had Bob and Julie Baker purchase the former Kezmarsky Funeral Home on South Pennsylvania Avenue in Uniontown.
“We would drive past the building every Sunday on our way to church, and I always thought how beautiful the building was,” said Bob Baker. “I had attended funerals there, and it was just such a beautiful building.”
Julie Baker said her husband said a number of times how he would like to own the building.
“When it was the (Robert S.) Oats Funeral Home, my dad was the contractor who added the portico to the building, so I had a personal interest in it as well,” said Bob Baker.
When the couple read in the paper that the property was available, they decided to pursue the possibility of purchasing the property.
“I contacted John (Terravecchia), a family friend who was working at Haky Funeral Home,” said Bob Baker. “He had 20 years of experience in the business, and I asked him if he would be willing to run it as a funeral home if I bought the property.”
The answer was yes from Terravecchia, and not long after, they became business partners and co-owners of the Baker-Terravecchia Funeral Home.
“My wife has enrolled in the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science so she can help John at some point,” Baker said. “I was born and raised here, and we have two small kids, and we wanted to create this opportunity for them as a family legacy, while at the same time helping to continue to revitalize the city.”
The owners pride themselves on buying local and reinvesting in the community.
“I’ve been a chiropractor here for 20 years and this is our home,” Bob Baker said of Uniontown. “We took our savings from the sale of another business and decided to reinvest back into this business.”
Terravecchia said he has not wanted to be anything else in life since making the decision as a kid to be a funeral home director.
“When I was 7, I went to my dad’s uncle’s funeral, and I was just completely fascinated with the funeral home,” he said.
Terravecchia said he was drawn to the opportunity to help those through the most difficult time in their lives.
He added that they aren’t just there for the family during the funeral process, but also after if the family would need any grief counseling at their home or at the funeral home.
“John makes this business what it is,” said Julie Baker. “He’s a perfectionist and always puts forward a great presentation. Each of us have certain abilities we’re good at — Bob is a people person and is always on the phone getting the word out. I’m a numbers person and want to see that everything is in the budget, and John is the artist and good at what he does. We make a good team.”
For consultations or services, you can contact Terravecchia at the funeral home at 724-438-3200.
“This business has been here for over 50 years, and we’re happy that we can carry on that tradition moving forward,” said Bob Baker.