Our firm has been the focus of four generations of the McVeigh family. When William C. McVeigh passed his licensing exam in 1901, he came to work alongside then current owners of the John Harrigan General Furnishing Undertakers, Harvey, Daniel and Joseph Harrigan. It was a long-established firm that was in charge in August of 1885 when the body of America’s 18th President, Ulysses S. Grant was brought to the State Capital and streets of Albany for funeral services.
When the last of the Harrigan’s passed away in 1938, McVeigh changed the name of the establishment to reflect the new ownership, and moved the business to 208 North Allen Street, off Central Ave. He was not at the helm long, as he too passed away; in 1947, his son, William J. McVeigh succeeded to operate the family firm. This marked the second generation.
Some 11 years later, he was joined by a representative of the third generation, his son William E. McVeigh. They operated the business together, overseeing two major expansions of the facilities and growing their reputation of dedicated, sincere, and family’s- first service to the population of the Albany area.
The decade of the 1980’s brought more changes; both in the staff and facilities. William E. McVeigh was proud to bring his daughters, Kristin and Laurel into the firm as licensed funeral directors. These two new members represent the fourth generation of the McVeigh family to carry on the family tradition of providing funeral services to the good people of the Albany area. And later on, Kristin’s husband, David A. Parente joined the firm as a licensed funeral director. Under the watchful eye of the McVeigh family, the funeral home continues to steadfastly serve the community, drawing upon generations of funeral experience, and always guided by the steady hand of the funeral home’s rich and abiding history. .
“The hallmark of our firm has been growth; but in and of itself that is not remarkable. What is worthy of comment is that we have managed this tremendous growth over the span of 150 years without losing sight of our firm’s foundations of professionalism and personal service. We have remained independent, and completely committed to serving our community.” ~ William E. McVeigh