When I was 5 years old my mother took me to the doctors office. And like many young boys, I had my bag of matchbox cars in tow, as we waited for the appointment, I took out my cars and began to put them in a line. The other mothers, sitting and watching. One spoke up and said: "Young boy are you making a parade?" I replied - "NO I'm making a FUNERAL"  -  Well you can only imagine the dismay that came across the face of this mother - My mother quickly piped up: "We live next door to a funeral home. it's ok...." but that only toold some of the story. We did live next door to a funeral home. The one my grandfather, Walter Cuffe Sr. and Uncle, Walter Cuffe Jr. ran - Cuffe-McGinn Funeral, home on Maple Street in Lynn. My grandmother, Dorothy Dunn O'Donnell lived above our funeral home in Salem. Located right on Washington Square at Salem Common, it is a community landmark. My dad's mentor, Bob Peterson, (a true gentleman) and his family lived above their funeral home, also on Maple Street in Danvers and I spent countless hours visiting and playing at their beautiful home. Since then i have been asked countless times, "How did you become a funeral director?" - Well it is what I saw out my window - it is what we talked about at holiday dinners - it has been woven into the fabric of my family - and below are the reasons why I choose to become a funeral director -

5 REASONS I BECAME A FUNERAL DIRECTOR:

1. To help people in their time of need.
2. To be a respected part of our North Shore community - Salem & Danvers
3. To provide first class service and care to those experiencing a loss - to put others before myself -
4. To live up to my families reputation - the O'Donnell Funeral Home & Cuffe-McGinn Funeral Home legacies fall on my shoulders - So i wanted to keep our history of assisting families dealing with the loss of a loved one.
5. To be like my grandfather, Dad and uncle.

And I do all of these things Because I Care - My forefathers laid the ground work of care - and I have done my best to build upon their foundation. To never forget all they gave to their communities, with their time, efforts and most importantly love. I can't tell you how many times we would have to put off family events, so my dad could go help another person in need. Service above self - its at the core of all good funeral directors and certainly at the core of the team at O'Donnell's and of that I am ultimately proud. So now, almost 45 years later, I am still lining up cars and it is a parade of sorts... a parade of mourners - there to honor the loss, show respect and most importantly, give their love to the grieving family. But now the cars are a little bit bigger.

Anthony Cuffe O'Donnell - 4th generation funeral director