Learn our story, from the beginning and into the future.
Ever since we opened our gates we have approached life (and death) differently. While some just see the end of a loved one’s life as a time for grief and mourning, we prefer to think of it as a time for reflection, appreciation and even celebration. This is evident in everything we do, from the way we conduct our services to the amenities we choose to offer. We are not a burial ground. We are a close knit community dedicated to honoring, sharing and preserving the amazing and inspirational stories that are life.
Why Us?
In a nutshell? Experience, professionalism, compassion, and empathy.
We've learned a lot over many years. Like how to present options without overwhelming. And how to meet the needs of many caring parties. People come to us in difficult times, and we respond kindness, calmness and expertise. Our goal is to create a beautiful occasion and make you feel welcome, always. We spend our days planning with families. We stay up to date with industry developments. And we make hard times a little easier.
Learn the legacy.
Tunie Funeral Home was established years ago, and serving families has always been our focus. We take pride in being able to guide people through some of their most difficult days. We take pride in maintaining a setting that allows people to find solace. Celebrating life is our mission. That’s never changed. And with pride, it never will.
In more than five decades as a funeral director, James W. Tunie, Sr.
- - reserved but otherwise capable of talking to anyone and everyone like a childhood friend - - had a compassionate nature trained on helping the families who needed him. In the summer of 1941, Mr. Tunie - - then 14 years old - - went to work in the Larimer funeral home owned and operated by the late George W. Gaines, a close friend of Mr. Tunie's parents. He lived and worked at the funeral home while attending Westinghouse High School, and was so impressed by Mr. Gaines's work that he decided to follow in his footsteps and become a funeral director. After graduating from Westinghouse in 1945, Mr. Tunie served in the Army during World War II until 1946. After his discharge, Mr. Tunie returned to his parents' house in Homestead, PA and used the benefits of the GI Bill to enroll in the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science in 1947.
After graduating from mortuary science school in 1948, there was no immediate openings available at local African-American funeral homes, so Mr. Tunie worked as a laborer for four years at the Hay's Brick Yard, where he made and stacked bricks to fill orders.
A funeral director apprenticeship finally became available, and Mr. Tunie was able to work at Frances A. Keith Funeral Home in McKeesport, PA while also working a night shift at a hotel in the HIll District to make extra money, Ms. Hawkins Tunie said. Mr. Tunie became a licensed funeral director in 1956 and established his own funeral home in 1960. With the help of friends and family members including Ms. Hawkins Tunie - - who became a funeral director after graduating from mortuary school in 1968 - - and Mr. Jenkins, who became a funeral director in 2005 after 38 years as a mill worker, the modest business grew so much that it had to relocate several times.
Who We Are
Meet our staff. Members of the local community make everything that happens possible. Together, we make this place amazing.
James W. Tunie
Founder
James W. Tunie was raised, along with his six siblings, In the then thriving steel capitol of the world, Homestead, Pennsylvania. His parents, the late Rev. Edgar Price and Effie D.Tunie were close friends of the late George W. Gaines, a prominent Pittsburgher and proprietor of the Gaines Funeral Home located In the East Liberty section of the city. In the summer of 1941. a fourteen year old James Tunie went to work for Mr. Gaines. That was the beginning of a relationship which would last a lifetime. He lived at the funeral home and that invaluable and most impressionable four year on call work experience exposed him, from the ground up, to every aspect of the funeral business. After graduating from Westinghouse High School In 1945, he answered the call to duty and served in the United States Army. Upon his discharge he returned to his parents home and using his G.I. Bill's benefits, enrolled at The Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science (PIMS) graduating in the Class of 1948. With no immediate openings available within the local minority establishments, he worked as a laborer for four years at the Hays Brick Yard. In 1953, he accepted a position with the Frances A. Keith Funeral Home in McKeesport. Pennsylvania. While serving his apprenticeship there he married longtime sweetheart, Evelyn Hawkins. This union would produce five children: James, Jr., Terri. Linda, Tamara, Stacey, and the later adoption of daughter, Michelle. In 1956, James became a Licensed Funeral Director, and in 1960, established the James W. Tunie Funeral Home In Homestead, Pennsylvania; a modest operation with a volunteer staff of dedicated family and supportive friends. With his encouragement and support his wife, Evelyn, attended PIMS graduating in the Class of 1968 and eventually receiving her LF.D. After a number of moves (all within the core service area of Homestead) The Tunie Funeral Home, Inc. is now located at 218 E. 11th Avenue: James W. Tunie, Jr., CEO; James W, Tunie, Sr., L.F.D-Supervisor; and Ronald W. Jenkins. L.F.D.-Manager. James W. Tunie, Sr. Is celebrating 52 years of continuous funeral service, His decades of dignified service and compassion to all have earned him the respect of his peers and the gratitude of the generations of families that he has so faithfully served. He is the proud grandfather of 10.
Ronald W. Jenkins
Lisa Denise Johnson
Funeral Director/Supervisor
My professional journey began at a historically Black college, Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama where I attended after graduating from John A. Brashear High School in 1981. I joined the Pittsburgh Police Department and remained there until retiring in 2004. During those years I saw so much carnage that I decided to make a career change. I became a licensed funeral director in 2005 after graduating from the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. My goal was to help families in one of their greatest times of need and I took a strong interest in restorative art. I take pride in providing families with comfort as my goal is to make their loved one look as they did whenever possible. I am currently enjoying the most rewarding aspect of my career, as I am working at Tunie Funeral Home Inc., and a clinical embalming instructor at PIMS, instructing new students the art of embalming.