Our History
Evolving in the business community for almost eighty-three years, the Brome-Missisquoi Funeral Complex has a long history of family tradition. The president, Mathieu Baker, follows in the footsteps of his great-grandfather Joseph Dion, his grandfather Bernard Dion and his father Kenneth Baker, four licensed thanatologists.
The Beginnings
It is in 1927, that the business venture of brothers Ludger and Joseph E. Dion began in the town of Bedford. They purchased two businesses belonging to Mr. John William Cockerline, both located in the same commercial building at 54 Rivière in Bedford: One building, a furniture store which Joseph took charge of, and the other a funeral home which Ludger operated. Joseph Dion & Fils Ltée was born. With much perseverance, hard work and courage, the two Dion brothers learnt their new trades and did their best to satisfy the needs of the local population. The Dions also provided an ambulance service to the residents of Brome-Missisquoi. Following Ludger's death in 1937, Joseph was left alone at the head of the company. He enlisted help from his son, Bernard, who was called home from his studies to help his father. In 1946, Bernard Dion became president of the company known as Joseph Dion & Fils Ltée.
Expansion
Due to their growing size the decision was made in 1952 to separate the two businesses and to focus on the funeral home. The funeral home had been located at the back of the furniture store since its beginning. The space available allowed for only one visitation room.In 1964 Bernard Dion purchased «Guthrie & Miller», Mr. Lawrence Guthrie's old saw assembly factory situated at 215 Rivière street in Bedford. R. Robillard, a renowned architect (winner of an award in architecture at Expo 67), was hired to coordinate the conversion of the old factory into four modern lounges. After extensive renovations the building was transformed into a new funeral home. In 1980 Bernard Dion passed the torch on to Kenneth Baker. Mr. Baker, a professional engineer, worked in Jamaica and dated Mr. Dion's daughter, Monique, an accomplished pianist. His father-in-law's influence played a determining role in allowing the company to continue to forge ahead. Notably, he is the one who took care of the former Prime Minister Adélard Godbout's funeral in Frelighsburg. In 1993 Kenneth Baker closed the furniture store in order to devote all of his time to the funeral home. In 2004, after many years of work and study outside of the province, Mathieu Baker, Kenneth Baker and Monique Dion's son, settles in Bedford and decides to devote himself entirely to the family business.
An Important Step
In 2009 the Salon Funéraire Joseph Dion & Fils ltée moved on to the next level by going into partnership with the Funérarium Denis Meunier, a Cowansville establishment in operation for twelve years. The company also changed its corporate name and is now known as the Brome-Missisquoi Funeral Complex. Mathieu becomes the sole owner of the Brome-Missisquoi Funeral Complex and invest 1.8 million in the Cowansville funeral home. This investment will enable Mathieu to realize his vision of a funeral centre where families will be able to find all services under one roof, satisfying everyone’s unique needs. Mathieu and his team have always been known for their warmth and compassion as well as their ability to meet their clients’ needs.
This locally owned company is the oldest family business in the Bedford municipality. It is unquestionably a part of the history of the Brome-Missisquoi region, and we are proud to be among the pioneers in our field. Over the last eighty-three years the Brome-Missisquoi Funeral Complex's reputation was built on dignified, discrete and continued service of the highest quality.
A new complex : Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
Since September of 2017, our expertise has been applied in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu with the opening of a new complex. Mathieu wanted, for a long time, to reconnect with his roots by establishing a funeral home in the Haut-Richelieu region since he was born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. With his partner, Hugo St-Onge, they aim to serve the region with the same professionalism for which they are recognized.