San Diego Local profile – Jerry Balistrieri

It has been said, there is a light at the end of the tunnel; and apparently, when it is our time to die, there will be a distinct, bright, white light that will peacefully illuminate and guide us on.  How fitting then, for a funeral director to possess and emanate similar qualities.

 

It must be the Italian heritage, perhaps charisma, but definitely strong Italian family traditions that have been passed on from generation to generation in the Balistrieri family. 

 

As a second generation American, Jerry Balistrieri, founder and director of San Diego Funeral Service, was born and raised in Normal Heights as an only child to parents from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and grandparents originating from Aspra, Sicily. 

 

As a child, he shared time with grandparents and relatives living in Little Italy, Mission Hills and Kensington, attended church at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Little Italy and spoke fluent Italian before going to grammar school when it was decided it was English only and what was once known was then lost. 

 

While his immediate family was relatively small, the Balistrieri reach was large, as the family is well known and revered within the San Diego Italian American community.  Jerry’s grandmother started a variety of different Italian American clubs in San Diego, while his mother, another strong woman, was involved in Italian American civic organizations.  Jerry continues the tradition of being actively involved in the Italian American community having served as past president of Trinacria Sicilian Cultural Society and being a member of the Aspra Club both located locally in San Diego.

 

After being in another business that sold with not enough funds to retire on, Jerry implemented his family’s philosophy of, “if we do the work that no one wants to do, we’ll always have a job” and started work at Greenwood Memorial Park and Mortuary before quickly moving to Holy Cross Cemetery where he remained for sixteen years.  During this time, he represented all mortuaries in San Diego, and built strong connections with the Italian American community establishing a keen reputation for working with families. 

 

After the state passed laws regulating that a person can only represent one mortuary, he obtained his funeral director’s license and opened his own business in 2007. 

 

What was supposed to be an occasional job on the side, surprisingly developed into something more.  Starting out of his home, the business steadily grew as did word-of-mouth referrals. Six years later, Jerry has ten employees, performs more than two hundred services per year, and plans to expand from two existing locations by adding a third in the near future.  Not bad, considering had you asked Jerry thirty years ago if he would be in this business, he would say that you were nuts! 

 

San Diego Funeral Service prides itself with the personal service they provide to the families they serve, preplanning, and on having a good reputation.  They provide modern services that are upbeat, and a celebration of life. 

 

A family run business, his stepdaughter, Toni Valenzuela, who works alongside Jerry, will probably continue the business once Jerry determines it’s time to stop.  Someday, he will pass on his bright light of illumination and wisdom, while keeping with the Balistrieri family tradition; the continued passing of strong Italian American family values, culture, tradition and heritage to the next generation and long after that.