Our History

The history of our funeral home dates back to 1857, when a young Scottish immigrant carpenter named James Muir arrived in Port Elgin, on the eastern shore of Lake Huron. As the local carpenter, he was often asked to construct a casket for townspeople who had died. Gradually, he was asked to accommodate more of the tasks associated with the deaths of his neighbours, and became the town's first "undertaker".

In the mid-twenties, Mr. Muir was succeeded by Jack Pattison who, like his predecessor, ran the local furniture store, as well as conducting funeral services, mainly from the residence of the deceased.

In 1945, Mr. Pattison was followed by W. Arthur Davey, who became very active in the community. For many years, Mr. Davey was a councillor and mayor of Port Elgin. He was instrumental in the development of the town, constructing a subdivision, as well as running the funeral home and a furniture retail store. In 1959, Davey constructed the first purpose-built funeral home, as by this time, most funerals were being held from such facilities.

In 1973, the funeral home was purchased by Toronto-native and long-time summer resident of Port Elgin, Kent Milroy, who became Port Elgin's first full-time funeral director. Since that time, this funeral home has continued to provide quality funeral care for the citizens of Port Elgin and District. In 1981, the James Hope Funeral Home in Paisley was added to the operation.