The son of Polish factory worker from New Britain and the daughter of an immigrant diary farmer from Portland wanted to own their business and achieve the American dream of financial independence. And so it was that Ed and Helen Stempien came to Meriden in 1937 and started the Stempien Funeral Home with the support of their parents and with their sweat equity so typical of that era. A year went by before they conducted their first funeral and the early years were ones filled with much struggle and determination. Ed improved much of the old Alexander Homestead on 450 Broad Street which became the site of their funeral home. He also worked for area funeral homes to supplement his income. Helen was busy raising five children. Their first telephone number was "2882".

Their first major setback came in the spring of 1956. A fire on Good Friday morning gutted the interior of the Stempien funeral Home. Thankfully no one was injured. Our gracious neighbors at the First Baptist Church permitted the funeral home to continue operation at their annex adjacent to the damaged site. After a long year and under the supervision of architect William McKay, a new contemporary funeral home was rebuilt on the 450 Broad Street site and re-opened in 1957.

     Ronald Stempien, their middle son, joined the firm in 1964 after attending the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. Licensed since 1966 he has been active in the operation of the Stempien Funeral Home while going on to have a career with the Aetna Insurance Company of Hartford, CT, earning an MBA from UCONN and a Juris Doctoris from the Quinnipiac Law School. Although he practices law full time, Attorney Stempien is still a licensed funeral practitioner and participates in the daily operations of the funeral business.

Ed Stempien died in 1980; Helen in 1993. Besides developing an ongoing business with over 65 years of community services, they raised four sons including: Ed, Jr., a retired manufacturing consultant; Vin, a retired banker; Ron; Joe, a mechanical engineer a daughter Elaine, a special education teacher. Ron and Pat are life-long residents of Meriden. Both are active in their parish.

Ron besides his professional affiliations with the American Bar Association, Connecticut Bar Association, the National Funeral Directors Association and the Connecticut funeral Directors Association is on the Board of Directors of the Curtis Home and the Meriden Historical Society. Pat is a Eucharistic Minister and an active volunteer at the MidState Medical Center.