Our History
Born in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1904, Earl A. Towers grew up in the small Canadian town of St. Thomas where his father was a funeral director and owner of Towers Funeral Home. It was here young Earl Towers readily accepted his father's profession as his future life work. He left Canada in 1924 to study at mortuary schools in different parts of the United States graduating from [Gilda Gray] The Cincinnati School Of Embalming at the age of only 16. Earl Towers was the youngest licensed embalmer in North America!
In 1933 Earl Towers bought the white columned building, well known as a landmark at the intersection of Long Beach and Foxhurst Road, from Gilda Gray, the “Golden Girl” of Ziegfield Follies Fame. Gilda Gray was the famous “shimmy dancer” from the “Roaring Twenties.” After divorcing and losing her money in the stock market crash, she moved to California making several movies. She continued to visit her old home and new owners, the Towers family, each year for many years.
In 1941 Earl and his wife Florence became the parents of a baby boy, Robert Earl Towers.
A local resident since 1933, Earl Towers witnessed Oceanside grow from a small hamlet into a spread out community of more than 36,000 people. He recalled polo fields for horses, hunting grounds for ducks, a 10 acre zoological tract that housed Long Island's collection of wild animals, the old Roadside Rest where musicians would gather (for many years the site of Nathan's), and St. Anthony's famed underground shrine [Funeral Home] (destroyed by fire in the 1960's).
Citing the deed as proof of his claim, Earl was proud of the homes original structure (much of which is still intact today) dating back to 1776. A footnote to the building's history is the story that the first owner of the property came from England with the recipe for Worcestershire with him. In 1962 an addition was built and the two structures are now connected by a hall.
Earl Towers, Oceanside’s adopted son, was active professionally until his death in 1990, at the age of 86. He energetically perused all his interest in the community and it's organizations. He was a charter member of the Oceanside Kiwanis Club, involved in the Oceanside Board of Trade and at one time its president. For many years was a member of the Oceanside Fire Department, he was a Shriner and served on the board of councilmen of the Oceanside Lutheran Church. After 50 years of dedicated service and work of the appellation, Earl was honored over and over by his hometown as an Oceansider par excellence.
In 1990 “The Triangle” located at the fork of Long Beach Road and lower Lincoln Avenue in Oceanside, was dedicated, after his passing, to Earl Towers honoring him for decades of giving to the Oceanside community and it's people.
Oceanside has been home to Bob his entire life. He was born at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, attended Oceanside's public schools. Bob graduated Wagner College in Staten Island, with a degree in Business Administration. He later served in the Military which included a tour in Vietnam. Upon returning home from his military service, Bob attended and graduated from the American Academy McAllister Institute of Funeral Service, Inc. After receiving his Funeral Director's license, he worked side by side with his father, being the third-generation funeral director in his family and maintaining the high standard of excellence in funeral service and community involvement his father was noted for.
In 2009, Bob entered semi-retirement and began entrusting the day-to-day operation of Towers Funeral Home to his longtime devoted staff, consisting of William (Bill) Kallinikos and his daughter Krissie Kallinikos. Upon Bob’s full retirement, Bill and his family were honored and humbled to be the next family to carry on the Towers tradition. Towers Funeral Home, to this day, has proudly maintained the high standards set by the Towers family of compassionate and devoted care for families having the need of funeral services within the Oceanside and neighboring communities.
