Ralph Schugar Chapel has played a vital role in serving the Pittsburgh Jewish community for five generations. Today, Schugar’s proudly stands in support of all families and the entire Jewish community as the only Jewish-owned and operated funeral home in Western Pennsylvania. From its inception, the organization has been marked by extraordinary compassion, comprehensive service, and a deep understanding of the spiritual and emotional needs of grieving families.
Schugar’s was created for, and has evolved alongside, the deep cultural roots of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community. In 1919, about 70 years after the emergence of Jewish congregational life in Pittsburgh, a young Army veteran of World War I, Ralph Schugar, opened his first funeral home in the Hill District, the heart of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community at the time.
It was here that he laid the foundation and set the standard for Jewish deathcare. Serving all members of the Jewish community—Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and all other unaffiliated and secular Jews—Schugar cemented our core belief to this day: that all Jews are deserving of a dignified and ethical Jewish burial.
Ralph Schugar Chapel is the funeral home the community turns to in times of tragedy—a duty and an honor that is not taken lightly. Ralph Schugar Chapel is the familiar face that brings those in deep grief a sense of comfort and care. Ralph Schugar Chapel is a lifeline to a multi-thousand-year tradition of Jewish deathcare. We will continue to serve you, the community, with the utmost compassion and dignity, in the footsteps of Ralph Schugar, Jacob Ryave, Arnold and Gail Ryave, and David Ryave.
Following the waves of Jewish emigration to Pittsburgh’s eastern neighborhoods, Ralph Schugar Chapel relocated from the Hill District to Shadyside in 1937, settling into a dignified Tudor-style building. It would be here that Ralph Schugar would meet another young Jewish funeral director, Arnold Ryave. Arnold, a decorated World War II fighter pilot awarded the Bronze Star as part of the legendary Flying Tigers squadron, also had a way with people. Ryave began his funeral directing career shortly after the end of WWII.
Arnold attended the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science, an academic institution that, to this day, educates and trains the best and brightest of new funeral service professionals. In 1949, Ryave was awarded his funeral director’s license, or “license to practice undertaking” as it was called at the time. From here, he found himself settled in as a funeral director at Blank Brother’s funeral home, working alongside his father, Jacob E. Ryave. Over the years, and as he gained experience in funeral directing, Arnold developed a close relationship with Ralph Schugar.
When Schugar passed away on June 11, 1973, his wife, Dorothy Hartwell Schugar, sold Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. to Arnold Ryave, the second of four generations of the Ryave family’s deathcare tradition. Arnold was not alone in this venture. His wife Gail, though not initially intending on joining the business, serendipitously became his most valuable liaison to the Jewish community. When Arnold passed in 1985, Gail, along with their two children, David and Sharon, became the new operators of Ralph Schugar Chapel, carrying the funeral home to heights it had never before reached and providing a quality of care that remains unmatched in the city of Pittsburgh.
Today, Ralph Schugar Chapel’s family tradition is carried on through the current owner and president, Sharon Ryave Brody. As the first Jewish woman funeral director in Western Pennsylvania, Sharon is a pioneer in her field; and as Schugar’s surpassed its first 100 years in operation, Sharon, along with her two sons and her driven, energetic, and highly skilled staff, has taken on the challenge of bringing the legacy of the funeral home into the future. From modernizing systems and processes to approaching Schugar’s role in the community from a contemporary perspective, Ralph Schugar Chapel is poised to continue to flourish and provide much-needed care to those in all of Pittsburgh’s communities for another 100 years.
When Schugar passed away on June 11, 1973, his wife, Dorothy Hartwell Schugar, sold Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. to Arnold Ryave, the second of four generations of the Ryave family’s deathcare tradition. Arnold was not alone in this venture. His wife Gail, though not initially intending on joining the business, serendipitously became his most valuable liaison to the Jewish community. When Arnold passed in 1985, Gail, along with their two children, David and Sharon, became the new operators of Ralph Schugar Chapel, carrying the funeral home to heights it had never before reached and providing a quality of care that remains unmatched in the city of Pittsburgh.
Today, Ralph Schugar Chapel’s family tradition is carried on through the current owner and president, Sharon Ryave Brody. As the first Jewish woman funeral director in Western Pennsylvania, Sharon is a pioneer in her field; and as Schugar’s surpassed its first 100 years in operation, Sharon, along with her two sons and her driven, energetic, and highly skilled staff, has taken on the challenge of bringing the legacy of the funeral home into the future. From modernizing systems and processes to approaching Schugar’s role in the community from a contemporary perspective, Ralph Schugar Chapel is poised to continue to flourish and provide much-needed care to those in all of Pittsburgh’s communities for another 100 years.
Pittsburgh’s Jewish population grew as did a flourishing network of Jewish organizations, clubs, more than 25 synagogues, and 80 known cemeteries, all serving the community’s expanding needs. One early organization was the Free Burial Society, established to ensure that everyone could be buried with dignity according to Jewish tradition. Today, its mission continues through the Jewish Cemetery and Burial Association (JCBA), formed in 1992 by merging the United Jewish Federation Cemetery Association and the Hebrew Burial Association of Pittsburgh (originally known as Chesed Shel Emeth of Pittsburgh, incorporated on June 4, 1910).
Ralph Schugar Chapel continues today insuring that everyone could be buried with dignity according to Jewish tradition. Sharon Brody proudly serves on the JCBA Board of Directors and continues her mother Gail Ryave’s tradition of heartfelt care for all in support of the Pittsburgh Jewish community.
Ralph Schugar Chapel has stood alongside the JCBA since its inception, supporting one another to fulfill both organizations’ missions of providing Jewish burials for those in need and caring for both active and inactive cemeteries throughout the region. Ralph Schugar Chapel is the only deathcare provider in Pittsburgh that provides free burials to those who qualify with the JCBA.
5509 Centre Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15232
