The Cooperative Funeral Home of the District of Sudbury is the first Co-operative funeral home in Canada and probably the first in the world being founded in late 1951 and opened for business in 1952. Originally founded by members of the Caisse Populaire Ste Anne de Sudbury to serve the francophone and catholic population of the Sudbury district it has now expanded its mandate to serve all ethnicities and religions of the area. Being a co-operative-it belongs to its members; lifetime membership is $25.00 per adult. The Co-operative Funeral Home was incorporated October 17, 1951 when the Honorable George Arthur Welch, Secretary of the Province of Ontario signed the Letters Patent to form the company that was to bear the name Co-operative Funeral Home of the District of Sudbury. Originally located on the site of the J.B. Ducharme Funeral Home at 73 Beech St., Sudbury; in 1953, this location being too small, we purchased the home of Dr. L.J. Poirier which was replaced with a new modern building erected in 1963.