Our Staff

Lauren is a lifelong resident of Somerville and Branchburg, graduating from Somerville High School in 2004. She went on to graduate from the Funeral Service Program at Mercer County Community College and was licensed by the New Jersey State Board of Mortuary Science in 2009. Lauren wanted to dedicate herself locally and was fortunate enough to serve her apprenticeship at Branchburg Funeral Home. After her licensure, she began her career with O’Brien Funeral Home, spending five years' operating the Brick location. In this time she was able to experience firsthand the daily operations of a funeral home and serve a diverse clientele. Lauren was recruited in 2015 by the McCriskin-Gustafson Home for Funerals after the acquisition of Piscataway, Middlesex, & South Plainfield Funeral Homes. This gave her the experience to refine her skillset as a director and learn the value of team leadership. Lauren has always had a passion for embalming throughout her career. Her time at McCriskin gave her the exposure to refine her skillset and develop proprietary techniques. In her time with O’Brien and McCriskin, both firms were awarded with the Pursuit of Excellence Award a limited prestigious recognition given by the National Funeral Directors Association.

In 2018 Lauren took her passion and skillset to operate a mortuary trade service company, State Mortuary Service, and has the honor of doing decedent preparation for several prestigious firms in New Jersey. Her commitment to natural form has led to the development of educational seminars and her use of chemistry has reduced risk exposure for embalmers nationally. Lauren takes as much reverence in decedent preparation as she does to the families she serves. Her commitment to providing individualized care comes from a natural desire to serve her community. She believes in being a community-oriented death care professional, providing public education good at any firm nationally. Lauren is a member of the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association and currently an Executive Director of the Somerset & Middlesex County Funeral Directors Association. She is also a member of the National Funeral Directors Association, where she recently went to Washington D.C. to represent New Jersey during their Advocacy Summit. Lauren has attended continuing education seminars nationally for over a decade including leadership conferences, women’s conferences, trade shows, and technical training.

 Lauren enjoys time spent with her family and friends, most of all being an aunt to Corinne, Claire, and Colin. She enjoys history, photography, hiking with Hercules, and all things outdoors. She is proud of her mortuary science history collections, with some pieces proudly displayed in her office. Lauren is a parishoner of The Church of The Immaculate Conception in Somerville and is proud to continue to serve her community.

Helen Delpopolo was raised in Westfield by Joyce and Dominick Delpopolo. Her mother was a high school teacher in Cranford and college professor for 45 years. Her father and best friend Dominick, who is now 86 years old, dedicated himself to raising her and her brother Nicholas and together as a family traveled for sporting events. Nicholas who is a two-time Olympian in the sport of Judo plays an active role in her life to this day. Helen herself is a world-renowned athlete. Her accomplishments include being the youngest athlete in the ‘08 Olympic trials for Judo, winning a national title/achieving All-American status in Wrestling, and placing 5th at the 2015 World Championships in Osaka, Japan. Helen is the most decorated female sumo wrestler in U.S history. Her discipline, determination, and respect acquired on the mat follows into her everyday life and business.

Helen met Lauren and saw the valuable role funeral service played in helping people through the worst time in life. She immediately felt the calling to be a civil servant after witnessing the critical role funeral service has in our world. Helen has worked in many funeral homes throughout New Jersey, eventually joining State Mortuary Service, Inc. to help operate the company through an unprecedented time in our field. The pandemic was a challenging time for our industry and Helen was able to bare through and help hundreds of families. This commitment to providing dignified care allows Helen to operate Cusick Funeral Home as company president. She is the driving point behind the modernization of the building. Her vision included keeping the charm of this historic building, while creating a comforting environment that is conducive to receiving the public. Helen’s philanthropic endeavors brings joy to her life and wants to use her time to better our community. She is currently the head wrestling coach for the Cranford P.A.L Wrestling Team, a trustee on the United States Sumo Federation and an Athlete Ambassador for Billie Jean King’s prestigious Women’s Sports Foundation, as well as a member of the Elks. In Helen’s free time she enjoys taking Hercules on runs, playing a round of golf, and spending time with her best guy, her dad.

Joe is a lifelong resident of Somerset County and an outstanding member of his community. Joe and his wife Nancy have resided in Somerville since 1972. They are blessed to have three wonderful grown children and their spouses along with six amazing grandchildren, who all live in the area.

Joe and Nancy are devout parishioners of The Church of The Immaculate Conception in Somerville where Joe serves as an Eucharistic Minister.

Joe has worked with the Cusick family for the past twenty-four years. He has dedicated this time to caring for his community. After spending time with Joe, no one is a stranger, and he is always there to offer a helping hand. Joe decided to stay on and assist in this transition of trust knowing his community family is in good hands.

In conclusion; faith, family, and community service have always been an integral part of Joe’s life and we are truly blessed to have him as a part of our Cusick Family.

Ashley was raised in East Hanover, New Jersey, graduating from Purnell School in 2009.

She went on to receive her New Jersey Board of Cosmetology license in 2014. Ashley Spent 8 years working in salons honing her skills, the last 4 of those years in Somerville. Ashley branched out into funeral service in 2022, joining the Cusick Funeral Home family.

Ashley has dedicated her time at Cusick to assisting families through service planning and post-service care. Ashley is our dedicated lady attendant and puts much thought and care into making sure that your loved ones are sent to their final resting places resembling how they did in life. Ashley takes time with every family to assure they are seen and served in their grief. Her thoughtfulness is felt instantly, whether it on the phone or in person, you know you are in good hands. 

In her free time, Ashley enjoys spending time in nature, hiking many trails, and spending time with friends and family, especially her nephew Dylan. 

Hercules is a 5-year-old rescue, that strives to show compassion and love when it is needed most. Hercules is a very laid-back, quiet employee, who senses who needs his love the most. He enjoys sitting next to them to let them know “it’s ok I’m here for you”.

On his downtime, he enjoys hiking, human snacks, a lot of naps and going to New Cemetery with his dad to walk and help clean up the grounds, while making sure to visit all the dearly departed.

Most people might not expect to see a dog in a funeral home, but there really couldn’t be a better environment for man’s best friend. Humans have gained comfort and peace from canines for thousands of years. The healing power of therapy dogs has been widely documented. A study conducted by the University of Missouri-Columbia found that a few minutes of petting a dog can result in an increase in “feel good” hormones such as serotonin, prolactin and oxytocin. This proves that therapy dogs can offer both emotional and physical comfort to those suffering a loss.

Have a fear or allergy of dogs? Don’t Worry!

Hercules is available by appointment only, he’s a very busy boy with the title, Chief of Puppy Affairs.