Celebrating 70 Years of Craftsmanship: A Tribute to Charles Minozzi

At Travis Monument Group, we believe every monument tells a story. This year, we are honored to share the remarkable story of one of our own. In 2025, our father and mentor, Charles Minozzi, marks 70 years in the memorial industry. This milestone is a testament to a lifetime dedicated to preserving memories in stone.

The Minozzi name has long been tied to stone. Generations before Charles, his grandfather and father were stonecutters in Italy, shaping cobblestone roads and lettering by hand. That skill became the foundation of Minozzi and Sons, the family business that Charles stepped into as a boy.

At only 13, he began working alongside his Uncle Fred, learning to cut letters with stencil, hammer, and chisel. What started as small tasks quickly became a passion. His uncle nurtured his natural eye for design, and Charles soon discovered a gift for creating lettering that was precise, beautiful, and lasting.

That early training instilled in him a standard of excellence that has defined his entire career. Even today, Charles can look across a cemetery and know which stones were hand-carved and which were sandblasted.

Adapting Through the Decades

The memorial industry has changed dramatically in 70 years. From hand-cutting stencils to the introduction of sandblasting, and later, computer-aided design, Charles has witnessed it all. His grandfather resisted the move to machines, preferring the feel of hand tools. Charles, too, has always valued the craft he learned as a boy. While he welcomed technology into the business, he never lost his dedication to the artistry of handwork.

As computers entered the trade in the 1990s, Charles remained committed to the methods that set his work apart. To him, no machine could replace the eye, patience, and touch of a skilled artisan.

Crafting History in Stone

Over the years, Charles has been entrusted with projects of great significance. He helped restore the resting place of Mother Cabrini, designed a monument honoring Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in Hillburn, New York, contributed to memorials for the 15th anniversary of September 11, and reimagined tributes spanning from World War II to Vietnam.

Each project carried its own weight of responsibility, but Charles approached every design with the same philosophy: offer ideas, listen carefully, and collaborate until the family’s vision comes to life.

An Artist in His Own Right

Though Charles modestly says he is not the artist his uncle was, his creativity is evident in every design he has brought to life. Whether sketching concepts, selecting the right stone, or envisioning the placement of a monument, his work has inspired generations of families and shaped the identity of Travis Monument Group.

What Charles values most, however, is not the projects or the recognition. It is the human connections. For him, the greatest reward has been the gratitude of the families he has served. As he often says, “I have gotten a lot of hugs over the years.”

Seventy years in this work is not just about skill or longevity. It is about heart, commitment, and the belief that every memorial deserves the same care as if it were for our own family.

Today, we celebrate Charles not only for his decades of craftsmanship, but for the compassion and integrity that have defined his life’s work. His legacy lives on in every monument he has touched and in the values he has passed down to us at Travis Monument Group.