Obituaries

Winifred Anklesaria
B: 1937-03-03
D: 2023-02-24
View Details
Anklesaria, Winifred
Eleanor Paterson
B: 1932-07-26
D: 2023-02-20
View Details
Paterson, Eleanor
Patricia McLaughlin
B: 1945-06-14
D: 2023-02-19
View Details
McLaughlin, Patricia
Margaret Dedman
B: 1937-05-14
D: 2023-02-17
View Details
Dedman, Margaret
Janet Marshall
B: 1933-10-17
D: 2023-02-10
View Details
Marshall, Janet
Robert (Bob) Dennis
B: 1937-01-14
D: 2023-02-05
View Details
Dennis, Robert (Bob)
Sylvia Hord
B: 1942-12-18
D: 2023-02-03
View Details
Hord, Sylvia
Eric Ketchin
B: 1944-07-04
D: 2023-02-01
View Details
Ketchin, Eric
Eunice Gibson
B: 1926-07-05
D: 2023-01-24
View Details
Gibson, Eunice
Terrence "Uncle Terry" Soutiere
B: 1944-04-11
D: 2023-01-21
View Details
Soutiere, Terrence "Uncle Terry"
Beverly Boisvenue
B: 1969-03-03
D: 2023-01-14
View Details
Boisvenue, Beverly
Rick (Martin) Timmerman
B: 1935-02-26
D: 2023-01-12
View Details
Timmerman, Rick (Martin)
Dennis Dyche
B: 1966-09-15
D: 2023-01-10
View Details
Dyche, Dennis
Lenore Huarte
B: 1938-07-11
D: 2023-01-09
View Details
Huarte, Lenore
Betty Dunn
B: 1932-12-25
D: 2023-01-08
View Details
Dunn, Betty
Alicia Orti
B: 1954-07-10
D: 2023-01-05
View Details
Orti, Alicia
Jack Carpenter
B: 1926-02-06
D: 2023-01-05
View Details
Carpenter, Jack
Christine Campbell
B: 1951-02-03
D: 2022-12-30
View Details
Campbell, Christine
Doris Toebes
B: 1953-05-20
D: 2022-12-28
View Details
Toebes, Doris
Joyce Sprowl
B: 1928-11-27
D: 2022-12-21
View Details
Sprowl, Joyce
Peter Schreiber
B: 1933-06-15
D: 2022-11-29
View Details
Schreiber, Peter

Search

Use the form above to find your loved one. You can search using the name of your loved one, or any family name for current or past services entrusted to our firm.

Click here to view all obituaries
Search Obituaries
55 Mill Street East
Acton, ON L7J 1H4
Phone: 519-853-0350 / 1-877-421-9860
Fax: 519-853-1656

Our Heritage

Our Heritage and the History of the 

MacKinnon Family Funeral Home Ltd

In approximately 1860, Mr. John Speight opened the first undertaking business in Acton, J.A. Speight & Company, on Willow Street (in the store which later became Hotchen’s Bakery and is currently an empty lot).  He ran a furniture store and undertaking business from this location.  At this time visitation and funerals were usually conducted from the home of the deceased.  In January of 1881, John Speight’s eldest son, Joseph became a partner in the firm and then when John died July 7, 1881, he became the owner.

from January 11, 1900 issue of The Acton Independent & Free Press 

from January 29, 1903 issue of the Acton Independent and Free Press

 

 

Our funeral home was founded in 1885 by Mr. William Johnstone and his wife, Mabel as Johnstone & Company.  In 1903 Joseph Speight sold his business to Mr. William Johnstone and his wife Mabel .  At that time the business operated from the building on the corner of Mill and John Street (where the youth centre currently operates) as both a furniture store and an undertaking business

 (Photo on the right - William B. Johnstone - 1862 - 1930).

        William B. Johnstone - 1862 - 1930

    Victor B. Rumley - 1901- 1963

The Johnstone’s daughter, May, married Victor Rumley and in 1923 Vic became a partner in the business and the name of the company was changed to “Johnstone & Rumley Funeral Home”.  Mr. Johnstone died in 1930 and in 1937 Vic bought the Storey House (the present location) which was just across the street at 55 Mill Street and moved the undertaking business to its present location.  The name of the company was changed to “Rumley Funeral Home”.  

Mr. Rumley sold the furniture store in 1948 to Elma Braida and Ray West.   It was not until the early 1940’s that people started having visitation and funerals from the funeral parlor.  In the late 1930’s and early 1940’s the Rumley’s lived in half of the first floor of the funeral home and operated the business out of the room which is now called “Shoemaker Chapel”.  As more people came to the parlors to hold a visitation and to bury their family members, the Rumley family moved their residence to the second and third floors of the funeral home.   

  55 Mill Street East as it was when Mr. Rumley turned it into a funeral home

In October of 1954 Bruce Shoemaker and his father Amos Shoemaker purchased the funeral home from Vic Rumley.   Bruce and Rhoda Shoemaker were newlyweds at the time. The name of the funeral home was changed to Rumley-Shoemaker Funeral Home and in 1976 they changed the name of the funeral home to “Shoemaker Funeral Home”.  They also put an addition on the house which included the room which is now used as a coffee lounge and the basement where the selection room is located.  In 1994, the Shoemakers sold the firm to the Arbor Corporation. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Bruce A Shoemaker

Robert E. MacKinnon

The business was operated by Arbor for five years and in October 1999 Bob MacKinnon and his wife Margaret purchased the business and changed the name once again to “MacKinnon Family Funeral Home --Shoemaker Chapel”.  Margaret and Bob moved to Acton from Toronto and very quickly became part of the community.  They are very proud of the heritage of this business, the beautiful facility in which they live and operate the funeral home, and appreciate immensely the manner in which they have been accepted and befriended by the families of Acton. In January 2015, Mr. MacKinnon retired, and the MacIntyre family from Guelph purchased the funeral home and will continue the tradition. 

The building that the MacKinnon Family Funeral Home operates from has a history all of its own.  It was built in 1879 by William H. Storey. 

William H. Storey came to Canada as a child in 1845 and came to Acton in 1856 as a saddle apprentice.  He branched out on his own and eventually owned the Storey Glove Factory which was located on Bower Avenue (where the Post Office is currently).  He built this beautiful Victorian Home at 55 Mill Street East for his family.  It was called The Sunderland Villa".  His carriage house was located at 7 John Street and he heated the carriage house and his home via underground steam pipes from the factory.

W.H. Storey Glove Manufacturer on The Bower, Acton

Mr. Storey died in 1898.  After the first world war the building was used to house soldiers and then sat derelict for a number of years until Vic Rumley purchased it in 1937 and moved the funeral home to this location.  It is a beautiful building both inside and out.  Margaret and Bob love the grand old house and whenever they do any renovations or decorating they try to adhere to the style of the Victorian period when it was built.  In 1954 the business at the Glove Factory was dissolved and the building was demolished.

55 Mill Street East as it was in the 1800's