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Funeral director finds rewards in helping people
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George Kinnick, 75, has owned and operated Kinnick Funeral Home on Youngstown’s West Side for more than 30 years.
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Small samples of burial vaults line the walls at the Kinnick Funeral Home on Meridian Road in Youngstown. The home has been in operation since 1973.
By Ashley Luthern
YOUNGSTOWN
Facing death isn’t easy, but a local man has made his life’s work helping others do just that.
George Kinnick has owned and operated Kinnick Funeral Home, 477 Meridian Road, since 1973. The funeral home is undergoing a redecorating project that will be finished Friday, about 18 years after the last project.
“It’s a vocation more than a job,” Kinnick said of his profession, conceding that “a lot of people aren’t cut out for it.”
Kinnick grew up in Youngstown and graduated from East High School in 1954. He said his interest in funerals began when he served with the Army’s Green Berets airborne unit.
“I was in the service, and it always fascinated me. I’m helping people in their saddest moments, and it’s very rewarding,” said Kinnick, who is a licensed funeral director and embalmer.
He graduated from the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science in 1960, after attending Youngstown College for two years.
In 1958, he married Mary Alyce Casey, who is an Ursuline High School alumna.
After an apprenticeship, Kinnick decided to move to the Youngstown side of Meridian Road, rather than Austintown, because it had streetlights and sidewalks.
“I enjoy Youngstown; I wouldn’t want to move,” Kinnick said.
Another thing the 75-year-old doesn’t seem to want to do is retire, said his son Tom Kinnick, who also is in the family business.
“He refuses to retire,” Tom said.
Tom said that his father has taught his four children and eight grandchildren many lessons.
“Death has always been a taboo subject. People are not comfortable discussing it. [George] treats people as though they’re part of our family, as he would like to be treated,” Tom Kinnick said.