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Passantino Bros. Funeral Home is an independent, family-owned funeral home in Kansas City’s Historic Northeast, founded in January 1930 by brothers Charles, George and Rosario Passantino and operating from the same 1880s mansion on Independence Avenue ever since. Three generations of the family have run it; Charlie Passantino, grandson-generation of the founders and a licensed funeral director since 1981, owns and operates it today. Built to serve the Northeast’s Italian community, the firm has adapted with the neighborhood, holding Buddhist services for Vietnamese refugees since the 1970s and serving Latino, Sudanese and other immigrant families as the district’s population changed.

Description

Passantino Bros. Funeral Home is a funeral home at 2117 Independence Avenue in the Historic Northeast district of Kansas City, Missouri. It is owned and operated by the Passantino family, which has run it continuously since 1930.12

The business occupies a mansion built in 1887–88 for the real-estate dealer William H. Craig and sold in 1895 to James Kellogg Burnham, co-founder and president of the Burnham, Hanna, Munger Dry Goods Co. The Passantino family bought the house in 1929 specifically to open a funeral home in it.1 When the brothers started, they moved into the building themselves; at one point fourteen family members lived there. The structure has been enlarged an estimated nine times since it was built, though it has not been expanded since the 1960s.2

The firm was established to serve the Northeast’s Italian population, and Italian families still make up the majority of those it serves. As the district became a settlement area for refugees and immigrants, Passantino Bros. broadened its practice — it has held Buddhist services for Vietnamese refugees since their arrival in the Northeast in the 1970s, and serves Latino, Sudanese and other communities now resident in the neighborhood.12

Staff have described the firm’s independence in operational terms rather than sentimental ones. Funeral director and embalmer Gary Bertoncin told the Northeast News in 2020 that the advantage of local ownership is that the owner has final say: “If a family has a special request, if they’ve got special needs that they need met, we don’t have to go up a corporate chain in order to get that approved.” He also attributed the firm’s ability to keep prices down to its independence.2

Goods and services

  • Traditional funeral services — visitation, chapel service, burial1
  • Cremation services — a growing share of the firm’s work relative to when it opened2
  • Pre-planning and pre-need arrangements1
  • Services across religious and ethnic traditions — Italian Catholic, Buddhist, and others as requested by families in the Northeast12
  • Personalization, including assembling music playlists for services2
  • 24-hour availability by telephone2

History

Charles Passantino’s interest in the trade began when he took a job as a chauffeur for funeral homes. He and his brothers George and Rosario bought the Independence Avenue mansion in 1929 and opened Passantino Bros. Funeral Home there in January 1930.12

The founding brothers passed the business to a second generation — Leonard C. “Bull” Passantino and his cousin Buddy Passantino. Leonard’s son Charlie Passantino was licensed as a funeral director in 1981 and leads the firm today, the third generation of the family in the business.12

The clientele has tracked the neighborhood. The Northeast was heavily Italian when the firm opened and remained its core constituency; from the 1970s, as Vietnamese refugees settled in the district, the firm began conducting Buddhist services, and it has since served Latino, Sudanese and other immigrant families.12 The Northeast News covered the firm at 80 years in business and again at 90, in August 2020.2 The firm’s own site described it as 96 years and three generations in business as of 2026.1

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Passantino Bros. Funeral Home — official site, history and locations pages and passantinobros.com — asserts: founding in January 1930 by brothers Charles, George and Rosario Passantino; second generation Leonard C. “Bull” Passantino and cousin Buddy Passantino; third generation Charlie Passantino as current owner; family ownership and operation; original focus on the Northeast’s Italian population and later expansion to Latino, Sudanese, Vietnamese and other communities; Buddhist services for Vietnamese refugees from the 1970s; address 2117 Independence Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64124; the building’s 1887–88 construction for William H. Craig, 1895 sale to James Kellogg Burnham, and 1929 acquisition by the Passantino family; “96 years and three generations” and burial and cremation services offered across the greater Kansas City metropolitan area. (Accessed via search 2026-08-14 — see method note on direct-fetch failure below.) ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  2. Northeast News — “Passantino Bros. Funeral Home continues serving Northeast families 90 years later,” by Abby Hoover, August 5, 2020 — asserts: establishment in January 1930 by Charles, George and Rosario Passantino; Charles’s start as a chauffeur for funeral homes; the brothers living in the house with up to fourteen family members; roughly nine expansions of the 1890-era house, none since the 1960s; second generation Leonard and Buddy Passantino; Charlie Passantino licensed as a funeral director in 1981 and continuing the business; rising share of cremation; majority-Italian clientele with Buddhist services for Vietnamese refugees since the 1970s; quotes from funeral director and embalmer Gary Bertoncin on independence, owner final say, and pricing; phone (816) 471-2844 staffed 24/7; email staff@passantinobros.com; address given as 2117 Independence Blvd. Northeast News is a non-profit news organization covering the Historic Northeast. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12

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On the record — ks.city/registry/passantino-bros-funeral-home · record updated 2026-08-14