American Cemetery & Cremation
December 2020
“More than a dozen years ago, Anthony “Tony” Fatale paid a visit to Travis Monuments with a very special request – he wanted the Nyack, New York-based firm to design a private mausoleum as his final resting place. Patti Martin Bartsche reports…”
A lifelong resident of Putnam County, Sheri was drawn to Putnam County Monuments because she wanted to serve the community she loved and do something with purpose to help others.
Sheri has great attention to detail and enjoys helping families with the many steps involved in the monument creation process. She is dedicated to ensuring that families receive the highest level of communication every step of the way to help them feel at ease as they go through this difficult time.
Sheri enjoys creating meaningful relationships with every family that she works with and loves finding special connections with others that have grown up and live in the community. She has a genuine compassion for others and believes this helps families feel more comfortable throughout the process.
When Sheri is not working, she likes spending time with her adult children, her mom, and her rescue cats. She also enjoys creative writing, reading, and watching live music. She is passionate about rescuing stray kittens in her community and has placed over 50 kittens in loving, forever homes.
Cornelia is our Administrative Assistant and has been a great fit for our family-owned company from the moment she began working with us. She chose to work with us at Travis Monument Group because of her love for design and her desire to help families take their memorial ideas from concept to finished product. She has an innate ability to help families from every background feel comfortable and welcome and has been a rock for our team.
Cornelia has a background in financial marketing. Working in an industry that required the development of a deep level of trust between herself and her clients helped uniquely prepare her to serve our families during their most vulnerable times. She is trustworthy and compassionate and understands the significance of losing a loved one after suffering loss herself.
Cornelia truly enjoys helping with the creation of a beautiful monument, from concept to installation. Seeing the deep and healing impact these memorials have for the families she serves brings her immense satisfaction.
She is also beloved by her coworkers, always willing to lend a helping hand and step up for others in the busiest of times. Cornelia brings fun and levity to our team, especially with her implementation of new traditions, such as the meeting “ice-breaker” where everyone must answer one random riddle before our meeting can begin!
When she is not working, Cornelia loves to spend time in Upstate New York – hiking, antiquing, and going to farmers markets. Cornelia extends her love of helping others to her community as well. She is a huge advocate for Read Across America, a literacy program for young children, and Paws in the Park, an animal adoption program in Fort Lee, NJ.
Charles Minozzi Jr. brings expertise garnered from over 30 years as a construction foreman to assist in the design and to oversee complex projects that on the surface appear insurmountable. A team player and a master supervisor, he ensures that even the most difficult and elaborate projects go according to plan and schedule.
Raised in the family trade at a young age, he employs this creative expertise in addition to his added construction knowledge to help families memorialize a loved one. His construction knowledge is leveraged not only in memorial work but in restorations of memorials and mausoleums and commercial granite applications like signage. In a recent project, the team had a slab of granite over 7 feet long and needed to fit it into an existing curved wall. This meant that the granite piece had to be curved to the exact same slight imperfections as in the original structure so it would fit. The margin for error can be non-existent on projects like this, so he -and the rest of the company- is grateful for his background in construction.
It helps him sleep better at night knowing he helped someone accomplish something that maybe they would not have been able to without him. He is always cognizant when he is installing a stone memorial or fixing a statue, that “this is for someone’s mom or dad, or someone’s spouse or sibling, someone loves this memorial.” He cares for your stone memorial in the same way he would for that of his own family.
A brave giver of his time and heart, Charles Minozzi, Jr. is a volunteer firefighter for Hastings-on-Hudson and has been for over 22 years. He loves the camaraderie that is shared with fellow volunteers. He is grateful that his family monument business has been able to contribute to various firehouse projects in the tri-state area. A proud native of the village of Hastings on Hudson, he feels it is a way for him to give back to the community.
“In the family monument business, we work hard — and that can be difficult at times; But I enjoy that everyone I work with is in it together. I feel like you can’t go wrong if you treat every project you’re on as if it were for your own family. And that is exactly what I do. I’ll sometimes sit back and look at what we’re making and ask myself, ‘Is that how I think is the best way to do this?’ And I love that I can always pull my father or my brother in, and we can talk about what we would do differently, and while we don’t always agree, I have to say the customer always benefits! I like that we all put our heart first. It keeps us aligned in our goals.”
Before Susan began working as a Memorial Consultant at Rovelli Monuments, she operated in the realty industry. For 40 years, Susan worked as a realtor with the Cornerstone Group at William Raveis Real Estate in Danbury, CT, selling real estate and marketing in Upper Fairfield County, CT, and Southern Litchfield County. She also worked as a legal secretary for a real estate law firm.
However, when real estate took a massive downturn over 12 years ago, Susan began looking for a position where she could utilize her superior people skills. She found that position when she was hired at Putnam County Monuments. She excelled there very quickly, and subsequently was asked to begin managing Rovelli Monuments. Susan has found so much joy in this position. To her, cemeteries are like history books, telling the stories of loved ones that have passed and honoring their legacies.
Susan’s typical day is very busy. She utilizes her years of customer service experience and her outstanding people skills to compassionately and meticulously help customers honor their loved one’s memory. Susan genuinely enjoys meeting new people and helping them through these difficult periods in their lives. Her favorite part of this work is hearing the customer’s stories about their lost loved ones, and using that knowledge to help them. This allows Susan to guide families toward creating a unique monument that honors the legacy and unique individuality of their loved ones.
When she isn’t helping families navigate life-changing events, Susan focuses on her other passion, sailing. She mostly sails along Long Island Sound and occasionally participates in racing events! You can also find her boating on Candlewood Lake, where she is Vice President of her Candlewood Lake Private Community. She also loves helping out wherever she can, whether at the office or in the community, and she is a four-gallon blood donor with the American Red Cross.
Maureen Gioio is a Memorial Consultant at Spring Valley Monuments. She works with individuals and families to create and design memorials that are truly unique and personalized. Maureen genuinely values creating a special connection with every family she meets. Building these relationships with trust, respect, comfort, care, and empathy means so much to her and to the many families she has worked with over the years.
Maureen comes from a large family and is the eldest of 12 siblings. She is also a mother to a beautiful daughter and has a wonderful son-in-law and 3 amazing grandchildren. She grew up with very strong family values and work ethic with family traditions that she holds dear to her heart and is a perfect complement to our family-owned business.
Maureen saw coming to work with us as an opportunity to fulfill her love for connecting with and helping others. She is a lifelong learner and has always chosen to work in industries that allow her to connect with others and grow, learn, and thrive as an individual. She worked in the Early Childhood Educational field as a director for over 30 years and has experience working in the retail and health club fields.
Maureen is passionate, determined, and dedicated, with a strong drive to succeed. She loves working with families and helping them see their designs come to life. Maureen truly puts her heart and soul into all her interactions, and we are so blessed to have her as a part of our family.
When Maureen is not working, she loves spending time with her family and friends, traveling, watching a good movie, baking, gardening, horseback riding, spending time outdoors, relaxing by the pool, and shopping. She also donates several times a year to one of her two favorite organizations, Green Drop and Support Connection.
Joe Imbrogno worked alongside our President and Master Stonemason Charles Minozzi for over a decade, gleaning the old world “tried and true” techniques and trade secrets carried on for generations. Quickly, Joe found his own way here, and was asked by Charles Sr. to be our Project Foreman. Joe oversees all Projects, Installations and Restorations. He is a master fabricator, welder and can create just about anything with his hands with an unusual level of detail and quality. If it’s not perfect, Joe can’t sleep!
Joe was a union electrician for many years and has been in various aspects of construction for most of his life. He loves learning how things work and ways in which to build and improve on what has already been done. The construction industry also taught him how to critically think on his feet in difficult and challenging situations.
Joe is an integral part of our team, and his flawless attention to detail is trusted in every project he takes part in, from standard installations to even the most complicated. He could be installing a plaque on a church wall one day and building a custom mausoleum the next. Over the years, he has worked alongside his father-in-law, Charles Minozzi Sr., to learn this celebrated trade. He has taught him everything from restoring fine marble statuary and the oldest memorial headstones in the area, to simple routine installations and old school techniques. Joe is trusted for custom fabrication and rigging, welding, and other custom construction techniques that make our process smooth and efficient. Every day, Joe uses his construction background and talented hands to elevate the high standards that Travis Monument Group is known for.
Joe really enjoys being able to make a difference in his role at Travis Monument Group and carry on the 8th generation monument maker legacy of his wife’s family. He appreciates that the talents he’s learned and acquired over the years are going to a great use and fulfilling a great need for the families we serve. Joe understands the deep impact and importance in making sure that every memorial is perfect, and he goes above and beyond to fulfill his commitment to the families we serve. He’s been known to go back to a project on his own time just to make certain everything is just as it should be.
When Joe is not working, he is spending time with his beautiful family, including his wife, his two autistic boys, and his daughter. He also loves custom motocross modifications and custom car restorations. He enjoys helping others whenever he can and has a special place in his heart for families with children with special needs.
Jayne works with clients through the monument process from start to finish, guiding them through this difficult time with compassion and understanding while ensuring their loved one(s) will have a beautiful resting place or memorial.
She was looking for something with steady daytime hours to achieve a better work/life balance when she chose to enter the industry. Having recently suffered a major loss of her own, she knows how precious family time is and being part of a team that understands that is an incredible feeling. Additionally, she really wanted to do something meaningful that she can be proud of at the end of the day.
Jayne went to art school and has an extensive background in customer service and management. She is a people person with a desire to create and connect.
When asked about her typical day, Jayne said, “I am still the “newbie” and am adjusting to the position. So far, I have been spending my days settling in at my location, building relationships with the local cemeteries and funeral homes, meeting with our active and new clients and getting to know all the amazing members of the team. Everyone has been incredibly helpful and welcoming, and each day has been more comfortable than the last.”
Jayne is a people person. She enjoys getting to know people and building strong connections. She is very organized and creative which helps her immensely in this position.
When asked what she enjoys most about her job, Jayne said, “While I haven’t had much experience yet, I can already see from my short time here that the clients really rely on the staff to help them through the process. Getting to be a part of such an important part of a person’s life is so special and something I am greatly looking forward to. I am most satisfied when I can say I really made a positive impact on someone’s day.”
When Jayne is not working, she is happiest spending time with her family. Jayne and her husband welcomed a beautiful baby girl in December of 2021 who occupies most of their free time and they wouldn’t have it any other way. They have a ton of family nearby that they are blessed to see often and share this experience with.
Outside of work, art is Jayne’s passion. Being a new mom, wife and homeowner doesn’t leave her much time for her creative side at the moment, but she looks forward to any small amount of time she can carve out for creative expression. She is truly looking forward to sharing that with her daughter as she grows.
Floriana is a cherished and vital part of the Travis Monument Group team. As Central Office Manager, Floriana keeps our central location in Nyack going, doing everything and anything she can to help operations run smoothly. Our central location serves as “command center” for our various sister locations and Floriana is right there at the helm, day after day, ensuring seamless integration. Whether she’s orchestrating the timing of highly detailed facets of the monument making process or consulting with families, she immerses herself and gives her all in a way we always say ‘you can feel’.
Floriana first found herself working in this industry following the passing of her father in 2011, during which she designed his monument herself. She found that designing her father’s monument came naturally to her and that the process was easy. So when the opportunity to work for Travis Monument Group arose, she was more than ready to jump at the opportunity. While Floriana is still early into her career, she has already learned an incredible amount, applying that knowledge and those skills to help families throughout the most difficult time in their lives.
Floriana comes from a big Italian family, where she grew up to read, write, and speak fluent Italian, so family is important to her. Following her upbringing, she earned an Associate’s degree in Applied Science and Visual Communication. When she isn’t helping out at Travis Monument Group, she spends time with her husband and their cat, Gino. She also loves being with family and friends, sharing stories over a nice dinner, and she enjoys a relaxing day at home, watching TV with an iced coffee in hand.
Floriana always comes to work with a positive attitude and a team player mentality. She understands that things can get hectic and busy quickly, but she believes that with a positive attitude, everything will work itself out in the end. Floriana looks forward to continuing to grow in her role at Travis Monument Group, learning more about the craft and helping countless families in the process.
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