Case study · East Haven Memorial & Shoreline Cremation · Connecticut
How East Haven Memorial ditched their corporate supplier and built a better funeral home with one partner.
When James Integlia and Joseph Deko took over in 2022, they made a clean break from a supplier that treated them like a number. This is what changed when they went family owned.
- 100%
- Of families are offered personalization
- 75–80%
- Of cremation families purchase an urn
- 30+
- Daily phone calls eliminated by automated tracking emails
- 10/10
- Staff rating of the new proofing system
01 · The situation
Two new owners and one inherited corporate supplier.
When co-owners James Integlia and Joseph Deko took over East Haven Memorial and Shoreline Cremation in 2022, they inherited a funeral home that bought everything through one massive corporate supplier.
The showroom was full of consignment inventory nobody could account for. Ordering was expensive, impersonal, and complicated. Personalization? Too much hassle. Most things shipped from Indiana, and when something went wrong, there was nobody to call who actually cared.
At a glance
- Funeral home East Haven Memorial & Shoreline Cremation
- Co-owners James Integlia and Joseph Deko, since 2022
- Growing Opening Hawley Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home in Guilford
- In one word Easy.
02 · The problem
“You’re just a number in Indiana.”
“You’re just a number in Indiana and you hope it shows up when they said it did.”East Haven Memorial
Expensive and impersonal
Ordering was expensive, impersonal, and complicated — and most things shipped from Indiana.
No accountability
A rep from the corporate supplier visited and couldn’t even identify which urns were on consignment. Nobody knew what was sold, what wasn’t, or what was even in stock.
Complicated personalization
The process for ordering and customizing was so cumbersome that some funeral homes in their area still don’t bother offering it.
No emergency support
When a casket wasn’t available, they had to drive to a competitor to borrow one from their showroom.
Zero personal touch
No relationship, no flexibility, no one willing to go the extra mile.
03 · The decision
A clean break, on day one.
“The minute we took over, we said we’re not buying a single thing from [our corporate supplier]. Any supplier we can — we’re going family owned.”East Haven Memorial
They chose Turner Memorial.
04 · The One-Call Partnership™ in action
One call, one account, one relationship.
East Haven Memorial consolidated urns, supplies, and personalization with Turner Memorial. The vendor juggling ended.
How an urgent order sounds now
“Hey Chris, I need this urn tomorrow. You got to get it to me.” — “No problem.”
05 · The Complete Confidence Guarantee™ in action
Saturday phone calls get answered.
Problems get solved before they become crises. When product had to move fast, Chris offered to drive to Massachusetts and meet them on the highway to deliver it.
“I don’t think [our corporate supplier] would do that if we were paying twenty grand.”East Haven Memorial
06 · The Signature Memorial™ in action
Personalization offered to 100% of families.
Personalization used to be too much hassle. Now it’s built directly into their website: families can select urns, choose engraving, and approve proofs online, and 75–80% of cremation families purchase an urn through the funeral home.
“Every time we deliver exactly what they asked for, they’re blown away.”East Haven Memorial
07 · Operational improvements
Less friction, every day.
- 10/10 — the new proofing system, as rated by their staff
- 30+ calls a day eliminated by automated tracking emails
- Live catalog link on their website — no more outdated pricing or discontinued products
08 · The results
What changed at East Haven Memorial.
75–80% urn rate
Urn purchase rate from cremation families.
100% offer rate
Every family is presented personalization options.
Exclusive supplier
Turner Memorial is their sole urn partner.
Growing across categories
Now exploring body bags, pallbearer gloves, chemicals, register books, and promotional items through Turner.
Active brand advocates
Recommending Turner on social media, to peers, and to other funeral homes.
Expanding operations
Opening Hawley Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home in Guilford, and planning to consolidate even more supply needs with Turner.
09 · In their words
Asked to describe Turner Memorial in one word: Easy.
“The customer service is beyond a 10. Family owned, pricing is fair, and we never have to worry. We tell everybody about Turner. If I had to describe it in one word? Easy.”James Integlia, Co-owner, East Haven Memorial