Growing up with a rural route address in Elgin County, you couldn’t help but get to know your neighbours. Everyone attended the same church suppers, fall fairs, and community functions – not to mention those hour-long bus rides to school, which quickly defined your friends and childhood rivals.
My mom and dad still live in Dutton-Dunwich, and on each occasion I visit, my car wants to veer down the rural concession where I grew up. As the tires rumble against the tar and chip road, I’m always glancing off into far reaching farmland where a farm house used to be. 100 acre parcels where a home, family, and stories have given way to more tilled and tiled fields. Farming has transformed, oddly enough, in much the same way as the Funeral Profession.
Every little hamlet and town had a Funeral Home of their own at one time. A mom and pop business with an apartment perched on top. The local undertaker may well have sold caskets and furniture, operated the Sears catalogue outlet or manned the community ambulance base. Many of these businesses, like small scale family farms, have faded into the realm of history.
I feel fortunate to be a Funeral Director, and part of a team with the privilege of serving people in seven small communities that cross county lines and, over 100 kilometres. Yet no matter the front door at which I find myself standing or the folks to whom I’m chatting, I’m thankful that Denning’s has sustained this fixture in town. It is a place to come and gather even today, when it could easily have disappeared in time.
As Funeral Directors we are committed to telling stories and sharing the memories of that lady who always served dessert at the church supper, the man who sold midway tickets at the fall fair, and the classmate who hassled you at the bus stop. Thinking about our own end isn’t easy. Beginning a conversation with a Funeral Director you trust, who may well be your friend or neighbour, ensures nothing is lost in translation or time, and that your story is told your way.
The Denning’s family is here…..to help your family.
Sincerely,
Jacob Rowe
Managing Funeral Director
519-352-2390
