In 1993, while still a student at Pottsville Area High School, Brian D. Leffler began working part-time at Schlitzer-Allen-Pugh Funeral Home, Pottsville, which is one of five funeral homes that he bought Aug. 16.
"I was pulling weeds, washing cars, cleaning up outside," Leffler, 38, said Monday.
The funeral home at Sixth and West Market streets was one of 12 funeral homes owned by Ernie and Laura Heffner, York, according to Leffler. On Aug. 16, Leffler bought five of them.
"I never had any family members in the business. But it's a business I'm very passionate about, serving families and providing excellent service and taking care of people in their time of need. It's a rewarding job in that sense," Leffler, who lives in the Wilkes-Barre area, said Monday.
He is a 1993 graduate of Pottsville Area High School and a 1996 graduate of the mortuary education program at Northampton Community College. He continued with Schlitzer-Allen-Pugh Funeral Home, completing his internship in 1997. In 1997, he became a licensed funeral director.
In 2002, Leffler became general manager of three funeral homes owned by the Heffner family: Schlitzer-Allen-Pugh Funeral Home, Pottsville; Kniffen O'Malley Funeral Home Inc., Wilkes-Barre; and Kniffen O'Malley Funeral Home Inc., Avoca.
In 2004, Leffler became general manager at nine of the Heffner family's funeral homes.
On Aug. 16, Leffler bought five of them: Schlitzer-Allen-Pugh Funeral Home; Kniffen O'Malley Funeral Home Inc., Wilkes-Barre; Kniffen O'Malley Funeral Home Inc., Avoca; Vickery Funeral Home, Troy, Bradford County; and Roberts Funeral Home, Wellsburg, New York.
"Brian truly understands and appreciates the importance of providing sensitive, compassionate end-of-life care," Ernie Heffner, president of Heffner Family Services, said in a press release Monday.
Leffler would not comment on how much he paid for the funeral homes.
Looking ahead, he said he'd like to eventually make improvements to Schlitzer-Allen-Pugh Funeral Home.
"We'd like to do some renovations to the building inside and out," Leffler said.
His mother, Agnes Leffler, and his brother, Edward, will continue to be part of the staff, so will Jack Hoffman, Charlie Wagner, Scott Krater and Chip Kulp. Ryan Barilla is one of the full-time funeral directors and Nicholas Wachter will continue to serve as a part-time funeral director, Leffler said.
Angela Mestishen-Regnier, a licensed funeral director, is a new full-time funeral director on staff.
"She started two weeks ago," Leffler said. She is a 1996 graduate of the mortuary education program at Northampton Community College, according to the press release. Like Leffler, she is also a 1993 graduate of Pottsville Area High School.
Leffler's family includes his wife, Victoria Pellish Leffler, who is also a Pottsville native. They have two children, a son, 7, and a daughter, 4.