Our Directors
Michael Reinfurt, President and Funeral Director Email: MReinfurt@aol.com Mike has been a resident of Watervliet for all of his life. He is married to the former Eileen Waugh of Albany. He is the proud father of two children; Claire, who attended Keene College in New Hampshire and who recently graduated from the Mortuary Science Program at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy; and Patrick, who attended Oneonta State College and Hudson Valley Community College where he received his Associates Degree as a Paramedic. Patrick joined the Troy Fire Department in 2016 where he is a firefighter/paramedic. Mike is a 1979 graduate of Watervliet High School and later attended Ithaca College where he studied Physical Therapy. He later changed his major to Mortuary Science and graduated from Hudson Valley Community College in 1982. Mike is active in the community and is the former president of the Watervliet High School Hall of Fame committee. He also served as the public address announcer for the Watervliet Cannoneers football team for many years. |
Vincent Fronczek, Vice President and Funeral Director Email: vincevliet@aol.com Vince was born in England and spent his formative years in Waterford where he attended St. Mary’s School. He was a 1978 graduate of Shenendehowa Senior High School in Clifton Park and received his Associates degree in Mortuary Science from Hudson Valley Community College in 1981. Vince was employed by the former Marshall W. Tebbutt’s Sons Funeral Home in Albany until 1986 when he joined our funeral home.Vince resides in the Town of Colonie and previously had been a resident of Watervliet since 1984. He is a communicant of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Watervliet. Vince has served on the Board of Directors of the Watervliet Public Library, as vice-chair of the Rensselaer County Friends of Hospice and as president of the Community Hospice Foundation. He enjoys membership in the Watervliet Lodge of Elks and the local, state and national funeral directors associations. Vince was married, for 19 years, to the former Kathryn M. Reinfurt before her passing on February 19, 2004. He is the proud father of Joseph E. Fronczek, a graduate of Watervliet High School and Ithaca College, who currently serves as a Lieutenant and Paramedic with the Watervliet City Fire Department. |
Michael Melvin, Funeral Director and Embalmer Email: michaelmelvin6@gmail.com Michael grew up in Mechanicville, NY and attended Mechanicville High School where he enjoyed playing football, basketball, and baseball. He graduated with honors in 2007 and went on to attend Albany College of Pharmacy. He then switched majors into Mortuary Science, and began working part-time at Parker Bros. while attending Hudson Valley Community College. He graduated with an Associate’s Degree in Mortuary Science, and began working full-time at Parker Bros. as a registered resident, and following his apprenticeship, as a licensed funeral director and embalmer. Michael resides in Latham and in his free time he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, playing basketball, golfing, snowboarding, playing guitar, and cheering on his favorite sports teams; the New York Football Giants, the New York Yankees, and the Los Angeles Clippers. |
The Reverend John F. Tallman, Funeral Director and Embalmer Father Tallman is a native of Watervliet and has shared a 30 year relationship with the Parker Brothers family. He joined the funeral home while still in high school at the age of sixteen. His duties at that time included standing the door during calling hours, driving on funerals, and keeping the cars clean and ready for funerals. After he was graduated from Catholic Central High School in Troy, he went on to Hudson Valley Community College in Troy where he earned an Associates Degree in Mortuary Science in 1978. He then joined the funeral home staff as a full time funeral director and embalmer. In the fall of 1981, after many years of soul searching, prayer, and the fine example of two wonderful funeral directors - Mr. Edward J. Reinfurt and Joseph J. Parker - he decided it was time that he would enter the seminary, a thought that had been on his mind since childhood, and become a priest. He entered Becket Hall, a college seminary program, associated with St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York. He was graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Philosophy. From there he went on to St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, Maryland where he earned a Bachelors Degree in Theology and a Masters Degree in Divinity in 1987. On August 6, 1988, he was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Albany. After his ordination, he was assigned to Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Latham where he served as Associate Pastor from 1988 until 1993. In 1993, he was appointed the Chaplain of St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany where he currently ministers to the sick and the dying. In October of 1999, Father Tallman was appointed the chaplain the Albany Fire Department and more recently has been appointed Chaplain of the Watervliet City Fire Department. |
|