Our company was founded in 1913 by Melvin A. Cass. The latter had purchased the business and some of the equipment from Mr. Lucius Rand, owner of a funeral home in Fitch Bay. At that time, hearses consisted of two horse-drawn carriages. The first was black and beautifully decorated with large wheels, a roof and four glazed sides for the summer. The other was a much more sober kind of sleigh for the winter. Funeral homes, as we know them today, were almost non-existent. In the event of a death, the thanatologist would go to the site with all his equipment in order to carry out the embalming, dressing and other necessary preparations before the start of the visits. The body was then installed in the living room to receive visitors and a black funeral wreath was hung outside the front door, as a sign of mourning. The coffins were made locally, sometimes by the thanatologist himself, as was the case with Mr. Cass. His wife, Jessie, made the interior lining.
Melvin Cass and his wife, Jessie A. Whitney, had three children: Howard, Helen and Harold. Jessie died in 1917, twenty-one days after Harold was born. Three years later, it was Melvin’s turn, at the age of 45.
Howard, barely fifteen, was now in charge of his father’s business. Having no desire to pursue a career in this field, he transferred the business to his uncle, Lewis, in 1920. Later, Harold, Howard’s brother, showed an interest in the business and took over the business with l help from his uncle Lewis. From Fitch Bay to Beebe, then moved to Rock Island, the salon made its home in Stanstead in 1962 in the Stevens house. Major renovations were made in 1991 to make it a living room with modern features, while retaining the warm ambiance of yesteryear.
In 1965 a salon was opened at Ayer’s Cliff. The latter was completely renovated in 1995 to better meet the needs of families. The Lennoxville salon, where our head office is located, was completely renovated in 1986. In addition, the Cookshire salon also underwent renovations in 1993. In 1994, new construction replaced the old one. Smith salon in Sawyerville, now located on de la Station Street. Major renovations were also made to our salon in Bury in the spring of 1997. Finally, the salon in Richmond, which opened in 1987, was also given a facelift in 2000. In 1999, two new salons were opened. built, one in Windsor and the other in Rock Forest.
In 2015, R. Barry Evans and Jacques Laberge made the decision to sell their funeral business. This was bought by the Coopérative funéraire de l’Estrie, which is committed to maintaining the quality of funeral services for the English and French speaking community in the region. The story continues!
Staff are dedicated to providing families with high quality service with compassion, dignity and respect, regardless of language or religion.
