Staples Funeral Home has been serving Gardiner area families for years. We are honored to be a part of the rich history of this community and plan to be a part of it for many years to come.
H. F. Staples Established a Funeral Service Here in April, 1928 and Has Continuously Modernized Facilities, Maintaining the Dignity of an Exacting Profession" was the headline of the April 25, 1938 article in the Daily Kennebec Journal. It was the 10th year anniversary of the establishment of Staples Funeral Service in Gardiner, Maine, a decade of progress in the funeral profession for this community. "Dignity and thoughtfulness in a service that leaves nothing undone" was the principle enunciated by H.F."Jim" Staples and in the growth and expansion that he followed. His predecessors have never lost sight of that principle.
Staples Funeral Home was the first funeral home in Gardiner and one of the finest in the state.It marked the realization of Mr. Staples' ambition of providing a funeral home for this city. H.F. Staples was a graduate of the Maine Central Institute at Pittsfield and studied a pre-medical course at Bowdoin College before going on to also become a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Embalming. Along with establishing the Staples Funeral Home, he also introduced the first "invalid coach" (ambulance service) in Gardiner answering hundreds of calls a year. During this time in the history of the Staples Funeral Service this ambitious business took on another first, the contract for the U.S. Veterans Facility at Togus. The 1938 article went on to say "To qualify for this government work a firm must fulfill rigid requirements as to its place of business and its automotive equipment, and the quality of its workmanship. Respect and confidence in the personnel of a funeral service are called for by the intimate service that the funeral director performs, and Mr. Staples has constantly striven to maintain that ideal.
Staples Funeral Service is proud to maintain the level of expertise in this exacting profession and holds true to the principles that H.F. Staples instituted for so many years.
Since 1949 his son Thomas F. Staples worked side by side with his father until his death in 1965.
Victor P. Tessari worked as an associate since 1975 through 1990 when he became the then Owner/Operator.
Jeffrey A. Forsythe purchased Staples Funeral Home in July 2018.
About Funeral Home
The large private chapel with it's recessed pulpit is used for that purpose, and seats comfortably up to 60 persons. By opening a set of french doors into the reposing room the two rooms may be combined so that 150 people may comfortably attend the services.
Directly off the chapel is the family room where the relatives may sit in view of the pulpit, yet unobserved by the other persons in the chapel.
The Reposing Room is appointed with comfortable deep divans and chairs so arranged as to give every appearance of a well appointed private home. The same color scheme is maintained in the reposing room as in the reception room. Other rooms on the ground floor are the preparation room, a small organ room off the chapel, and the office. Upstairs there are a wide variety of caskets to choose from to fit any preference and budget.
Please feel free to take a tour of our facilities here at Staples Funeral Service. We are proud of the comfort we provide to our valued customers. Supporting bereaved families is our specialty and we take every step to ensure this is the case.
Arranged with the proper sense of softness and restfulness, the funeral home on Brunswick Avenue is laid out in the manner of a fine private home. It is in the Cape Cod Colonial style and inside the quiet, restful atmosphere is maintained by the use of subdued colors and indirect lighting.
