Hopler & Eschbach Funeral Home

08/02/2025

We are honored to be entrusted with the final care of Evelyn Rangel, 66, of Venice, FL.

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08/02/2025

Some thoughts on the importance of holding some sort of service when someone dies.

A lack of some type of service creates immense complications for many who are left behind to grieve.

Services help initiate the healing process of grief. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to have a healthy grief experience.

Few do so without some sort of familial and community support as found in a remembrance event.

08/01/2025

Just a reminder - the parking lot is open. The cost is $4 per car and the proceeds go to benefit Preston for his personal needs.

A reminder that once again we will be offering the use of the funeral home parking lot to park you car when attending the Spiedie Fest this weekend.

The lot will be available Friday from 4:00 pm and all day Saturday and Sunday.

Cost is $4 per car and the proceeds will go to help support Preston.

We are located about a 7 minute walk from Otsiningo Park - much more convenient than waiting for the shuttle bus at SUNY Broome - cheaper too! (with the added benefit of supporting a youth in need)

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08/01/2025

This was shared with us by one of our friends - a theological discussion of using cremation as a form of disposition for a Christian.

We frequently hear client families engage in questions and discussions on this topic - some interpret the scriptures as allowing cremation, others believe it to be a desecration and a sinful act.

We do not insert our own faith related beliefs of practices in serving our client families, but we do encourage people to consider the religious values of the dead when it comes to providing for the final care of their physical body.

What are your thoughts?

Is It Right to Cremate the Dead? See the Biblical View

07/31/2025

This is something we have experienced dozens of times over the past decades.

It is our practice to keep on top of families with regular communication, so that this does not happen, but occasionally, it does.

Cremation creates complications families never had to experience previously -

Will the remains be buried or scattered or kept at home?

Who takes custody of the cremated remains?

Do you divide them as keepsakes for family and friends?

While these decisions are being made, it is not uncommon to ask the funeral home to shelter the cremated remains - and before you know it a year or two or ten has passed with no resolution.

Worse, sometimes people take the cremated remains and haphazardly store them and they end up being thrown in the garbage , sent to the junkyard in a car, donated to the local thrift store or simply forgotten.

Have any of you experienced (or known someone who has) any of these circumstances?

"We've held cremated remains for months, years, and in some cases, decades," the funeral director told Newsweek.

07/31/2025

We awoke this morning to another nice review left by a satisfied client family.

There is a difference among funeral homes and funeral directors locally - and the skills they possess - both interpersonal and technical.

Be certain to factor those traits in when selecting your funeral director.

Of all the things we as funeral directors do, the one most important function we can provide is the gift of allowing someone to say goodbye to a loved one as they knew them, not as they became through decline and disease. Physical preparation and care is a skill that requires dedicated attention to detail - and it makes a difference a family will notice.

2025-07-30

When my husband passed recently after several hospitalizations, Kurt was compassionate and caring. He helped us through the process to have the funeral my husband wanted. When we arrived for calling hours, my husband looked like he did 10 years ago. I highly recommend Kurt and his staff for anyone going through this difficult time. They make it much easier. Thank you Kurt.

— Terri Garuto

07/30/2025

We are honored to be entrusted with the final care of Marvin N. Moore, Jr., age 60, formerly of Binghamton.

He served his country in the Gulf War.

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07/30/2025

We are honored to be entrusted with the final care of Yenny Concepcion, age 48, of Binghamton.

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07/30/2025

We are honored to be entrusted with the final care of Janet Webb of Port Crane.

The family has opted for a private service at Port Crane Cemetery.

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07/30/2025

We are always investing back in our business - today, we are making some parking lot repairs and improvements.

We thank B&B Paving and Construction from Endicott for doing such a fine job for us.

07/30/2025

The past week we have had the pleasure of having Giovanna Caminiti, a graduate of Johnson City High School work a three week work study program through BOCES.

She plans to study forensic anthropology.

She will be with us one more week.

It has been a pleasure having her work with us.

She has spent most of her time digitizing some of our funeral home records.

07/30/2025

Today in history - On July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine and sinks within minutes in shark-infested waters. Only 316 of the 1,196 men on board survived.
Shortly after midnight on July 30, halfway between Guam and Leyte Gulf, a Japanese sub blasted the Indianapolis, sparking an explosion that split the ship and caused it to sink in approximately 12 minutes, with about 300 men trapped inside. Another 900 went into the water, where many died from drowning, shark attacks, dehydration or injuries from the explosion. Help did not arrive until four days later, on August 2, when an anti-submarine plane on routine patrol happened upon the men and radioed for assistance.
The greater history behind this tragic incident is that the Indianapolis just four days earlier had completed its mission: the delivery of key components of the atomic bomb that would be dropped a week later at Hiroshima to Tinian Island in the South Pacific.
The Indianapolis made its delivery to Tinian Island on July 26, 1945. The mission was top secret and the ship’s crew was unaware of its cargo. After leaving Tinian, the Indianapolis sailed to the U.S. military’s Pacific headquarters at Guam and was given orders to meet the battleship USS Idaho at Leyte Gulf in the Philippines to prepare for the invasion of Japan.
In the aftermath of the events involving the Indianapolis, the ship’s commander, Captain Charles McVay, was court-martialed in November 1945 for failing to sail a zigzag course that would have helped the ship to evade enemy submarines in the area. McVay, the only Navy captain court-martialed for losing a ship during the war, died by su***de in 1968. Many of his surviving crewmen believed the military had made him a scapegoat. In 2000, 55 years after the Indianapolis went down, Congress cleared McVay’s name.
A famous monologue in the film Jaws recounts some of the events of this tragic attack and its aftermath.