About Us

Henry A. Weir was a man who took a great deal of pride in his work. When his father, a colonel in the Union Army, was killed in a Civil War, Henry was apprenticed to a carpenter and cabinetmaker in his hometown of Woburn, MA. As the industrial revolution drew more people into factory work, Henry resisted this trend and turned his craft in to a career. At the age of 36, he moved to Malden with a kit of cabinet making tools and a dream. He opened a small store on Irving Street, then known as "Undertaker's Lane", near the end of the 19th century. His business grew and in 1925 he moved to 533 Main Street.

 At about this time he was joined by his son-in-law, Colin H. Dennis, and they worked side by side until Henry's death in 1935. Colin then purchased Dr. H. A. Downs residence at 144 Salem Street, with a new concept in Mind.-To provide a funeral home with rooms for the public to come and pay their respects. The Salem Street funeral home grew to become the area's largest.

Colin and his wife Dorothy were active in the community as well as in their business. Following Colin's death in 1967, Dorothy operated Weir Funeral Home until February, 1968, when Donald E. MacCuish formed a corporation and purchased the funeral home.

Tragedy struck on May 19, 1975, when a fire started in the building. The first alarm sounded at 5:21AM, but fireman could do little more than contain the blaze. Donald took what could have been the end, and turned it into a new beginning. The building was razed in October, and construction began immediately on the new building, the fourth building in our firm's history. This building is the first of its kind in the area, a modern, spacious, efficient Funeral Home, with a large parking area surrounding the building. In an area where most funeral homes are still old homes converted for business use, our funeral home is an example of the Weir Funeral Home setting the example for other funeral homes to follow. Whether it's Colin Dennis's concept of wakes and services being held at the funeral home instead of a persons residence, to establishing the first internet presence in the area and publishing obituaries on line, we at the Weir Funeral Home will always be there to serve the basic need of helping families during one of their most difficult times.

Throughout the years, Weir Funeral Home has changed its locations and buildings and has adopted new ways of serving. But the founding ideal of Henry Weir remains the same: to help families with the sincerity, sympathy, and understanding of friends.