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 to As we waited for the appointment I took out my cars and began to put them in a line. The other mothers watching and one spoke up and said, young boy are you making a parade? I replied - "NO I'm making a FUNERAL"  -  Well you can only imagein the dismay that came across the face of this mother - My mother, said - we live next door to a funeral home. it's ok.... but that onyl tiold some of the story. We did live next door to a funeral home. The one my Father and Uncle 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 Salem Common, it is a community landmark. My dad's mentor, bob peterson and his family lived above their funeral home in Danvers and I spent countless hours visiting and playing at their beautiful home. People always ask how did you become a funeral director - Well its what I saw out my window - its what we talked about at holiday dinners - it's what 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 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