Serving the Community Since 1890
A century and more ago, undertakers were drawn largely from the ranks of cabinet makers who specialized in custom-built coffins or from liverymen whose horses and carriages were available for hire for parties, weddings, and funerals. John J. Ferry was one of those liverymen. The large brick stable which he built in 1910 still adjoins the rear of today's modern funeral home.
As the business grew, John and his two sons, Thomas L. Ferry, Sr. and William A. Ferry formed the firm John J. Ferry & Sons. In 1913, Thomas L. Ferry, Sr. received his diploma from the Dodge Mortuary School in Boston and was licensed as an embalmer in Connecticut.
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John J. Ferry died in 1918, leaving his sons to carry on the business. After William died in 1945, Thomas Ferry, Sr. became head of the firm until his death in 1961.
In 1946, following their discharge from the U.S. Navy after World War II, Thomas L. Ferry, Jr., and his brother Vincent joined their father in the family business. Vincent left the business in 1954 for an investment career in New York City. In 1953 his brother, John J. Ferry, who had been a Navy bomber pilot in the war, also joined the company with which he remained associated until his death in 1973. Thomas L. Ferry, Jr. retired from the business in 1991 after over 40 years of serving the Meriden community. Thomas L. Ferry, III and William Ferry today continue the long tradition of running the family business.
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