Sawyerville funeral services not disappearing

In light of concerns the in the community that the funeral home in Sawyerville has been put up for sale, Francois Fouquet, the Director of the Coopérative funéraire de l'estrie, is reassuring the public that English funeral services in the town are not going anywhere.

“I understand very well that there is a concern about loss of services,” Fouquet said, explaining that the current home, which has been a part of the community since 1993, was put up for sale not because the co-op plans to leave Sawyerville, but because it wants to serve the community better.

“It is small building and, in fact, the problem is that it is too small,” the director said, explaining that although families in other parts of the townships tend to be on the smaller side, those in the Sawyerville area tend to need more room. “Eight out of ten families tell us we can’t go there; we have too many brothers and sisters.”

Given that reality, Fouquet said, the decision was made to sell the smaller building and make other arrangements with larger spaces in the community.

“What we have done is negotiate with two partners in Sawyerville to continue to offer funeral services,” he said, explaining that the home will now rent the old Catholic church hall or the old elementary school gymnasium as needed to conduct funerals and receptions.

“There are no cuts in English service,” Fouquet said, explaining that although there will be no permanent funeral home in the community, the same team of people will continue to serve the community in the same way it already was. “To organize a funeral people were either coming to Lennoxville or we went to their home, and that service is still available,” he added.