After more than a century, a local family-owned funeral home chain has been sold to a national funeral company. Carriage Services Inc., which is based in Texas, is taking over control of the Lombardo Funeral Homes.
Carriage Services, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange, is new to Western New York. However, it operates 183 funeral homes in 29 states and 29 cemeteries in eleven states.
While Carriage Services will take over control, the Lombardo family will continue to manage and operate local services, as it has through three generations back to its founding in 1907 on Swan Street by Joseph Lombardo.
Current President, Joseph P. Lombardo, the founder's grandson, oversees four area locations and processes some 2,000 deaths per year. Lombardo said he spoke with four different companies before settling on Carriage Services.
