Lou has been working in Funeral Service for the last 20 years starting part time, working as a driver and parking attendant while briefly in college. A former seminarian and priesthood candidate and later a caseworker for Northampton County DHS, Children & Youth Division, he is a 1985 graduate of Allentown College of St. Francis De Sales (now known as DeSales University) and later attended the former Mary Immaculate Seminary for 3 years. After graduating 1996 from Northampton Community College with a degree in Funeral Service, he became a licensed Funeral Director in 1997.
Lou is experienced in handling many different family situations, and helping families of all religious denominations and customs to plan a meaningful funeral ceremony to celebrate the life of their loved one. Lou is a former member of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Bethlehem, where he served as Eucharistic minister and on several parish committees. In 2011, he transferred to Assumption BVM Catholic Church, Colesville (Center Valley), where he is very active in the parish community. He is a third degree member of the Knights of Columbus (Assumption BVM), a degreed member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (Lehigh County Division 1), a member of the British Institute of Embalmers, is a past President of Eastern PA Funeral Director's Association and has served several years on the board of directors of Fighting AIDS Continuously Together ( FACT) and currently on the board of the South Bethlehem Historical Society. He enjoys spending time with his family and friends, home improvement projects, weekends in Rehoboth Beach Delaware and annual trips to Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Owning a funeral home has always been a goal for Lou, and the purchase of the former SNYDER HINKLE & LUNSFORD FUNERAL HOME, although presenting some challenges, will be one that he hopes all families will be comfortable with and will consider to call on when they suffer a loss in their family. "A funeral can only be done one time and it is my goal to assist a family to arrange a meaningful service that fits within their budget." For Lou, funeral service is a vocation, not just a job or a business. "I have always tried to live by the paraphrased words my father would say:" "We come into this world with nothing... We take nothing with us when we die... What we leave are lives we have touched and deeds by which we are remembered."