Our History

Over 130 years of service…

Our Business was founded by Charles E. Howell in 1891 and was located at 55 South Main Street in Downtown Pittston City where it was called the Howell Funeral Home. It was also a Furniture Business out of the same location.

Charles had the combination business because back in those days Funeral Parlors or Funeral Homes were unheard of so the business requirements were very different.

Viewings, Masses, and Services were held either in the Family Homestead or Church.

Charles used Horse Drawn Carriages that were pulled by Black horses that were housed in the basement of the businesses.

Mr. Howell was the first Funeral Home in the area to have Motorized Cadillacs as cars
for Funeral Services.

Charles Howell also established an Ambulance Service in the early 1900s also out of the 55 South Main Street Location.

Charles had the combination business because back in those days Funeral Parlors or Funeral Homes were unheard of so the business requirements were very different.

Viewings, Masses, and Services were held either in the Family Homestead or Church.

Charles used Horse Drawn Carriages that were pulled by Black horses that were housed in the basement of the businesses.

Mr. Howell was the first Funeral Home in the area to have Motorized Cadillacs as cars
for Funeral Services.

Charles Howell also established an Ambulance Service in the early 1900s also out of the 55 South Main Street Location.
For decades the Howell Ambulance Service provided ambulance services to the Greater Pittston Area
and the vehicles were always maintained in tip-top condition and were frequently replaced by newer models.

Mr. Charles Howell on October 15th , 1947 on the eve of his 80th birthday was helping with traffic on South Main Street when the Fire trucks emerged from Spring Street which is now Tomato Festival Drive. Charles was in the street stopping traffic and was struck by one of the trucks by accident responding to an alarm.

Charles’s son Harold E. Howell assisted him for years and then took over the family businesses after his father’s death.

Harold in 1930 disbanded the furniture business and converted the storerooms into a Funeral parlor and continued doing business at 55 South Main Street until January of 1954.

Harold, also in 1953, sold the Ambulance to the Greater Pittston Ambulance Association.

Harold sold the 55 South Main Street location to the Knights of Columbus then identified as Pittston Council 372 and is still there at this present day.

In 1954 the Howell’s bought the current location and moved the business to 509 Wyoming Avenue in West Pittston. The 509 Wyoming Avenue location was also a Funeral Home under the Name Minichello.

The Howell’s then began to operate the funeral home there at the present location. Harold was joined by his wife in the business the former Ruth Speece. Harold named the business the Howell Funeral Home.

Harold passed away in 1984. Ruth then ran the business and then her son in law Robert T. Lussi then joined the family business. The firm the Howell-Lussi Funeral home was established in 1985.

Robert Lussi Married Jane Howell, the daughter of Ruth and Harold.

In 2007 Dion E. Fernandes began to work for the Howell-Lussi Funeral Home.
Robert, Jane, and Dion have worked together since 2007 operating the business and providing top-quality services to the families of the Greater Pittston Area.

In May of 2020, Robert and Dion formed at Corporation to ensure that the business is continued to the Next Generation.

Dion, who is the President of the Corporation, runs the day-to-day operations at the Howell-Lussi Funeral Home Inc.

We are blessed to have a staff of a total of Four Funeral Directors who all assist when needed.

Our facility was remodeled in 2018 and we are constantly making improvements to make our facility better for serving our families.

We have two parking lots for ample parking, handicap ramps and our whole facility is handicap accessible. Our facility also has a coffee lounge private Family room, arrangement area, and Casket and vault selection rooms.

We take Great Pride in our facility and work to provide top-notch services to our families in their time of need.

We at the Howell-Lussi Funeral Home Inc. hope that you will trust in us at your worst time to serve you in grieving your loved ones.

We are very thankful for what we have been able to do for our families and community for over 130 years and we look forward to the future of our business serving the people of the Greater Pittston Area and beyond.

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