Our Staff

Most people know him as Bob. He is an Aquidneck Island native and has lived in almost every town in the county. He joined the family business in September of 1968 and graduated from the New England Institute in 1970 acquiring both Massachusetts and Rhode Island Funeral Director/Embalmers licenses. Bob was known for his compassionate approach with families. He loved to hear stories families would share with him and shared a few of his own.

Now mostly retired, Bob now lives in Portsmouth with his wife Corinne, and their golden retriever, Revere. He has two sons, Robert Jr. and Christopher, and thirteen grandchildren with another on the way. Bob was a past President and life member of the Newport Rotary Club. He is also an active member and past Commanding Officer of the Artillery Company of Newport which participates in Revolutionary War re-enactments and maintains a museum in Newport. Bob also enjoys skiing, boating, hunting, and motorcycle riding. 

He is a 1964 graduate of Fairfield University with a BA in Sociology. He proudly served in the US Navy as a Lieutenant on the Destroyer, USS Forrest Royal from 1966-1968, and in the Naval Reserves from 1969-1974, serving on the USS Purdy and the USS Dash.  

Kurt grew up in Middletown schools and has been working around the funeral home since he was a teenager. He demonstrates his dedication by the way he cares for families day in and day out as well as the support he provides to many of the organizations in and around Newport. With the help of his staff and the people of Aquidneck Island, he helped bring The Moving Wall Vietnam Veterans Memorial to Newport in September 2019 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. He previously served on the Board of Directors for the Robert Potter League for Animals and the Newport County YMCA. Kurt enjoys outdoor adventures with his wife Meaghan O’Neill Edenbach and their two children, Nick and Oona. 

Kurt is a member of the RI Funeral Directors Association and an active member of Selected Independent Funeral Homes.  He is a graduate of Portsmouth Abbey School and Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. He completed his professional training at Gupton Jones College in Atlanta. Kurt then joined his father and uncle at the funeral home as a licensed funeral director in the spring of 1997.  Over the last 20 years, he has taken on many of the day-to-day responsibilities of the funeral home and holds a state Insurance License to assist with providing preplanning options for the community. 

Courtney is a native Newporter, she brings her kind-hearted nature and attention to detail to every family she serves. You may recognize her from around town as she has been a friendly face and manager at the Newport Blues Café since the early 2000s, as well as helping at The Hungry Monkey. Courtney has a background in hospitality and event planning and comes from a family of police and medical professionals. After giving nursing school a thought, she decided a career in funeral service would be the most rewarding. She enjoys helping and guiding the families in our community, in hopes they experience a sense of relief.  

Courtney is a proud mother of two boys, Jamison and Jack, as well as her rescue pups, Charlie and Max, and Harper, her ex-racehorse rescue. Outside of work, family, and fur babies, her interests include wellness and fitness, traveling, and horseback riding. Courtney enjoys the volunteer work she does for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and Save One Soul Animal Rescue League.  

Courtney started her work in the funeral service as an embalming apprentice in March of 2016. She graduated Cum Laude from FINE Mortuary College in August of 2018 with an Associate’s in Funeral Science. She joined the team at Memorial Funeral Homes as a licensed Funeral Director in March of 2019. 

Lisa Marie Alves (no relation to the Presleys) is a lifelong Aquidneck Islander and she is the heart and soul of our Funeral Home. At the age of fifteen, she began working as a telephone operator for the company’s answering service. Three generations of women from her family have run the answering service for the firm, her mother, her sister Lisa, and now her daughter. Lisa went to cosmetology school and took a part-time job working for her stepfather, Bob at the funeral home. Post graduation she worked part-time as a hairdresser and at the answering service. After working part-time in the office for the funeral home she was hooked. At the beginning of 1989, to date, she is both the first and only Office Manager the company has ever known. Lisa has honored the funeral home with more than 3 decades of service. Her favorite part of the job is the feedback received from the families we serve.

Outside the funeral home, Lisa is happily married to her high school sweetheart, Mike. They have two children Victoria and Michael, as well as their four dogs Easton, Stanley Cup, Mason, and Axel. Lisa is a Boston Bruins fan!  

Leo hails from Swansea, Massachusetts. Leo attended Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River and began his career working in funeral service there in 1984. He is happily married to his high school sweetheart and they have two adult children. In his spare–time he enjoys playing golf and traveling the world. Leo is a huge Jazz music fan and loves playing his tenor saxophone.  

Leo is a licensed funeral director and is our preplanning specialist. He has over thirty years of experience in the field. Focusing on advance planning has given him a keen understanding of the needs a family has in this difficult time. If you would like to learn about what options you have, Leo can help you find the peace of mind of knowing your wishes have been accurately documented. 

Sean is a homegrown Newporter which gives him a deep understanding of the people on the island. Sean served our U.S. military in the Air Force.  

In his time away from the funeral home Sean loves to golf, play poker, and walk on the beach. Sean lives in Middletown with his wife, Leisha, their daughter Kaitlin, and their cat, Beni. Sean has two grandchildren who he adores! He hopes to join the ranks of the devoted dog lovers on our staff in the not-too-distant future. 

Sean has come to funeral service as a second career and found that he loves serving families during their time of need. Sean’s down-to-earth manner makes him very approachable. Sean graduated from FINE Mortuary College in July 2008 with an associate degree in Mortuary Science and received his funeral director’s license in January of 2009. 

Kate Quinn is one of the friendly voices who often answers our phones. She was born and raised in Newport. Kate worked alongside many family members in the restaurant and hospitality industry for 35 years. She and her husband own The Hungry Monkey on Broadway in Newport. She is a woman of many talents as she also worked as a phlebotomist for 10 years at both Rhode Island Blood Center and East Side Clinical Laboratory. Kate has two grown daughters and three grandsons who she loves to spend time with when they are available. Kate has a beautiful 130lb black lab named Percy. Kate loves to travel and recently returned from a three-week trip to Greece. Kate is a gifted photographer in her spare time. She enjoys assisting the families and supporting the funeral directors behind the scenes.

John is a native of West Hartford, CT and grew up in East Greenwich, RI.  He currently resides in Newport where he has lived since 2004.  He is a graduate of Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, RI and Babson College in Wellesley,  MA.   Prior to working at Memorial Funeral Home, John was an operations manager in banking and hospitality where he gained extensive operations management experience.  John is a lover of dogs and the proud dog dad of Morty and Bella.  A pair of bonded rescue Chihuahuas. 

Norma Figueroa is one of the newest members of our Memorial team and we are excited to have her here. She is a funeral apprentice with over 17 years of experience in the nursing field. She brings a strong foundation of compassion, care, and professionalism to the families she serves, especially during times when support matters most. As a bilingual speaker (English and Spanish), she strives to connect with families in meaningful ways and help them feel understood and comforted.

Norma’s 17 years of experience includes certified nursing assistant, central supply director, scheduler, receptionist, and lead CNA trainer. She is also trained/certified in thanatology, gerontology, and funeral service preparation through her studies in Fall River, MA. In addition, she has volunteered to provide companionship and assistance to a local elderly woman by taking care of grocery shopping, light cleaning, and support with daily tasks.

Norma was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Outside of work, she is a proud mom of two college kids who enjoys traveling, spending time outdoors with her kids and the family cat, Midnight, going to concerts, and exploring new foods as a true foodie. Family time is everything to her, and she brings that same heart and dedication into the care she provides every day.

Emily has always had a heart for those suffering from the loss of a loved one.  From a very early age, she found herself alongside her Mom who sang at the funerals in her childhood home in the Midwest.  She has lost many friends and family members over the course of her life. Everything came to a head after the death of a close friend in 2022.  Emily channeled her energy into learning about the inner workings of grief and graduated with a Master of Science in Mental Health and Wellness (grief/bereavement) in 2024.  She is honored to join the team at Memorial as an Assistant Arranger and looks forward to serving families during their time.

She has lived in Rhode Island for about 12 years and is still enamored with all the beauty it has to offer.  In her free time, she can be found with her husband, Brady, and two kiddos, Raymie and Rowdy.  The family loves camping, hiking, watching movies, baking cookies, playing board games, and cheering one another on from the soccer sidelines or the theater audience.  Her family adores their black lab, Dakota, and include him on any adventures.   Emily sings on the Worship Team at OceanPointe Christian Church and frequents Custom House Coffee, as well. 

John is a retired Middletown Firefighter. John is an amazing cook and talented handyman. He enjoys going on vacations with his wife Sharon plans for them. He is also a member of the Freemasons. 

Over the last 6 years, he has taken the responsibility of overseeing the Newport Monument Company and all granite, bronze, and engraving work. John has vast knowledge of all of the local cemeteries and is a great resource for permanent memorialization. 

Kim has experienced bereavement firsthand after her husband of 19 years died suddenly of leukemia at the age of 48. Kim has been a stay-at-home mother for seventeen years and home-schooled her only son for most of that time. She has a B.A. in theater/dance and an M.F.A. in performance arts.

Kim has done coursework in individual and group crisis intervention with first responders, clinicians, and clergy affected by Hurricane Sandy and 9/11. She has done bookkeeping for local contractors, taught ESL for a literacy program, run her own gardening business, and taught speech communications and acting. She also helped manage and promote a twenty-million-dollar housing project in Massachusetts. She has been heavily involved for ten years at Channing Church where she researched, wrote, and offered many services as well as helped with marketing and community outreach.

Since her husband’s death she has been reading and studying up on the funeral industry and grief support. She has always loved writing and is thrilled with the opportunity to share her stories to help others feel understood and less alone in this crazy club, no one ever wants to join.