By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
Certified Funeral Service Practitioner Doug Hunter recently purchased Duncan Graves Funeral Homes, which includes the Duncan Graves Funeral Home in Presque Isle and the Duncan Funeral Home in Mars Hill.
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Contributed photo by Liz Andretta Certified Funeral Service Practitioner Doug Hunter recently purchased the Duncan Graves Funeral Home and its locations in Presque Isle and Mars Hill; Hunter has owned the Lancaster Morgan Funeral Home in Caribou since 2007. Comprising the family-owned business include, front row, center, CFSP Doug Hunter, his wife, Dr. Josette Hunter, their sons, David and Caleb Hunter, and the family dog Odo. Back row, from left, Cecil Walton, funeral attendant; Jeremy Corey, apprentice; Steve Clockedile, funeral attendant; John Weeks, funeral attendant, and Funeral Directors John Johnston and Stephen Lunn. |
Hunter, who’s owned the Lancaster Morgan Funeral Home in Caribou since 2007, plans to keep Duncan Graves Funeral Homes and Lancaster Morgan Home as separate companies, but he will essentially oversee them as one business — making them the largest funeral service provider north of Bangor.
Though ownership has changed for the Presque Isle and Mars Hill funeral homes, communities can still expect the same high quality services they’ve come to expect.
Back in 2006, Hunter began his funeral service career at Duncan Graves before purchasing the Lancaster Morgan Funeral home in 2007, where he learned the importance of providing communities with a high caliber of care.
Applying that lesson liberally with Lancaster Morgan has earned Hunter awards and accolades, including being named among the 147 funeral directors out of 10,000 who were honored by the National Funeral Directors Association with the 2011 Pursuit of Excellence Award.
Holding monthly grief seminars and monthly clergy seminars — it’s dedication to the communities they serve which motivates the funeral service staff to continuously strive for excellence.
“We see ourselves as a permanent resource to our community as it relates to grief and counseling, both for families going through a loss, and to the clergy that walk alongside them as well,” Hunter explained. “I just feel it’s the right thing to do, given our profession.”
Now owner of Duncan Graves Funeral Homes, Hunter will continue upholding those high standards for the central Aroostook communities.
“Services have changed only in that now we have more locations and there are more opportunities for families we serve,” Hunter said. “For example, we recently served a family who had prearrangements in Presque Isle, but decided to have their services at our Caribou location because it was more convenient for their family.”
He also added that the larger staff associated with having three funeral homes means more talented employees available to help with funerals throughout the area.
Services are highly personalized to meet the needs of each client featuring a large portrait of the loved one, slide shows displaying treasured moments — the service can even be videoed, if requested.
The transition of ownership began in June of this year, and all staff has stayed with the companies through the process.
“The response has been very positive — as all of our employees have stayed at the funeral homes and as I had previously worked at Duncan Graves, the transition process has been minimal,” Hunter explained.
Though the ownership transition began in June, Hunter and former owner of Duncan Graves Funeral Home, Rick Duncan, first signed a purchase and sales agreement in 2007 at the same time Hunter purchased the Lancaster Morgan Funeral Home.
With a smooth transition of ownership at Duncan Graves, Hunter has enjoyed the experience.
“Duncan Graves Funeral Home has always had a wonderful reputation in our communities, and I appreciated the opportunity to be able to work where I first began my funeral service career,” he said.
A funeral director resides at each funeral home — Hunter and his family at the Caribou funeral home, Steve Lunn and his family at the Presque Isle location and Jeremy Corey, who will soon become a licensed funeral director within the next few months, lives at the Mars Hill funeral home.
The businesses will continue to sponsor monthly clergy seminars, which will now be located at the Transformations Ministries Offices in the back parking lot next to Amato’s and the Salvation Army in Presque Isle. Beginning in September, they will also begin offering grief seminars twice a month at the same location.
Additional information regarding the Lancaster Morgan Funeral Home and the Duncan Graves Funeral Homes can be obtained by visiting www.lancastermorgan.com or www.duncan-graves.com.