History

Hill Funeral Home was established in East Greenwich in the 1800’s at its former location in the center of town on Main St. by the Hill family. The family tradition of funeral service continued when the Cranston family bought the funeral home and moved it to its current location at 822 Main St. After managing the funeral home for four years, Michael E. Caparco purchased it in 1976. He is the current owner with his two daughters: Deborah Caparco Runshe and Betsy Caparco Harris who have enlarged the facility and included a crematory.

Mr. Caparco, a father of two daughters and a veteran of WWII and Korea, was a 1957 graduate of the former Eckles College of Mortuary Science in Pennsylvania. After becoming a licensed embalmer/funeral director, he owned his first funeral home in Bordentown, NJ and held the elected position of coroner in Burlington County, NJ. He moved his family to Rhode Island where he owned the former Macari-Caparco Funeral Home in Johnston and the present Hill Funeral Home in East Greenwich. Mr. Caparco and his wife are residents of Rhode Island and Naples, Florida.

Deborah A. Runshe, a 1976 graduate of the former New England Institute of Mortuary Science in Boston, and mother of two, was the first woman appointed to the Board of Embalming Examiners in 1986 by the Governor and served two terms. She has been a licensed embalmer/funeral director and with the firm for 33 years. She resides with her husband and children in East Greenwich.

Betsy M. Harris, a 1980 graduate of Assumption College with a BA degree, a 1983 graduate of Rhode Island College with a Masters Degree and a 1984 graduate of the former New England Institute of Mortuary Science in Boston started her career as a teacher until joining the establishment 24 years ago, after becoming a licensed embalmer/funeral director. She resides with her husband in East Greenwich and Foxborough, MA.

David A. Ucci, Jr. has been a part of the funeral home family since the age of 13. He is a 1998 graduate of Rhode Island College, a 1995 graduate of Mt. Ida College in Newton, MA, and received his embalming/funeral directing license in 1998. He is a life long resident of East Greenwich where he resides with his wife and two young children.

The Caparco family along with their associate, David A. Ucci, Jr., is dedicated to their profession and committed to the families they serve.