Funeral Home Manager Honored for His Compassion and Innovation

Smithtown resident John Vigliante, a fourth generation funeral home director and manager of The Branch funeral home in Smithtown, was honored by the Smithtown Chamber of Commerce at the 22nd Chamber Golf Outing earlier this month.

"We [were] excited to have John Vigliante as our honoree at our Golf Outing this year," said Barbara Franco, executive director of the Smithtown Chamber. "Evidenced by his affiliations with so many associations, John still finds the time to continue to support the many events at the Smithtown Chamber. John's dedication to the Smithtown community makes him the perfect choice for this year's honoree."

Vigliante comes from a long line of funeral directors.

"My great-grandfather came over from Italy and in 1900 became a funeral director and opened a home in Brooklyn," Vigliante said. "In 1973 the family moved out to Smithtown and opened the home here."

Some may think that working in the business of death is difficult. But Vigliante says he finds the job very rewarding.

"My most gratifying experience is helping people through their time of need," he said. "The hardest time in a person's life is putting a loved one to rest. I can feel their concern being taken away from them, and the relief they feel when the funeral is arranged and they know now everything will be handled."

Vigliante's friends and colleagues say he has a sincere compassion for the people he serves.

"He's very conscientious and very personable,"said Vigliante's brother and colleague Paul. "He makes people feel comfortable in their time of need. He goes out of his way and he never says no. He's innovative with his ideas as far as a personalized funeral."

Vigliante's personalized funerals include webcasting, which allows those who are unable to attend a funeral to be able to watch it live, and a video tribute, where a person's life journey is put on a video and played during the service. He also places memory boxes at the wakes, where people write down memories of a moment with the deceased that maybe they won't share with the family verbally, so that the family can enjoy those memories long after the funeral services end.

"He's a great individual," Paul said. "He's in the business for the right reasons, he cares for the families. He's compassionate and gives everyone the send off they deserve."

Vigliante is a long-time friend of CJ Allen of Smithtown.

"He's a family guy," said Allen, who met Vigliante at St. Anthony's high school. "He's very caring. When I send friends his way I always get a call saying how great Johnny was. Throughout the years he has made friends with everyone, even people that are not so easy to get along with."

His funeral director peers see his passion for his work and admire his innovations.

"He has a passion for what he does," said Matthew Fiorillo, funeral director at Ballard-Durand Funeral and Cremation Services in White Plains. The two met at a national funeral director's convention five years ago.

"He's always looking for ways to enhance the services he provides," Fiorillo said. "He holds events in and around Smithtown that make him stand out as a businessman."

These events include visits from motivational speakers and end-of-life planning seminars. He also holds yearly bus trips around the winter holidays where he takes families of veterans – usually around 150 people - to Calverton National Cemetery. He takes family members to each grave whether he handled that funeral or not, Fiorillo said.

Vigliante is a Smithtown native. He is currently engaged and plans to raise his family in Smithtown.

"Smithtown was a great place to grow up," he said. "I went to St. Philip and James grammar school in St. James. I was always involved in sports. My parents were very involved in the community. Smithtown is a friendly, caring community where everyone is concerned about each other. I think it's going to be a wonderful place to raise kids."

Vigliante is active in the Smithtown community. He is a member of the Smithtown Sunrise Rotary club and he's public relations director for the Senior Resource Alliance and chancellor for the Knight of Columbus. He is a member of the Smithtown, Nesconset and St. James Chambers of Commerce and is the president of the Sons of Italy at the St. Thomas Aquinas Lodge in Hauppauge.

"I was always brought up with a sense of community," he said. "I believe if you give back to the community it'll give back to you."