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 It
was back before the time of the automobile when Pinette Funeral
Home came into existence in 1912. The founder, Mr. Napoleon
Pinette was brought up as woodsman and became associated with
F.X. Marcotte Furniture and Undertaking working as a furniture
mover and livery worker that gradually became a full time undertaker
purchasing the Undertaking business charter from FX Marcotte
in 1912.
In 1925, Mr. Pinette went into a new phase of undertaking called
the funeral home. Before wakes had been in the individual homes
of families and with the development of the apartment and tenement
housing it became impractical. So the first Pinette Funeral
Home was located on 413 Lisbon St. which was located on the
Main Trolley Line that traveled all corners of the twin cities.
This location proved successful at the time because new families
from Canada could find the funeral home because trolleys had
to pass there on their way to the car barn.
As the city expanded the 413 Lisbon Street location was sold
and in 1940 Napoleon Pinette purchased 87 Bartlett Street which
continues to serve as the main office of the firm.
In 1964, the Pinette Funeral Chapel was built to accommodate
those families that had moved from the inner city to the suburbs
of Lewiston and Auburn. It has also been a more practical location
for those families that had relatives from out of town to be
conveniently located to the Turnpike exit as well as local hotels
close to the turnpike for out of town families to stay during
the funerals.
In 1986, Raoul Pinette, a former past president of the National
Funeral Directors Association sold his funeral business to James
and Kevin Lynch on June 2, 1986. It was Kevin who began in 1979
with Mr. Pinette as an apprentice and it was James who followed
Kevin on a part time basis until the two brothers attended the
Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science graduating in 1982. During
those years under the Lynch Brothers ownership they developed
a close relationship with the Dillingham and Son Memorial Chapel
which had been founded by a civil war veteran Charles Dillingham
in 1871.
From 1871 to 1996 the Dillingham and Son Memorial Chapel was
owned 125 years by the same family until Kevin and James bought
from Charles’s great great grandson, John Dillingham on
June 19, 1996. Today at Dillingham & Son you will find a
beautifully decorated funeral chapel with visitation rooms that
were recently renovated to accommodate both funeral and memorial
service ceremonies. Today John’s son, Jack is still employed
at the firm as a staff member continuing in the Dillingham tradition.
Today, both funeral homes with long histories of individual
family service are still today owned and operated by brothers
that recognize the significance of personal service and the
responsibility of maintaining sensitive and caring staff with
excellent facilities for the betterment of our communities.
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