 A
town's history is mirrored in its past, and nothing is more exacting in recording the past
than the record of it’s deaths. The long history of Dee Funeral Home & Cremation
Service has been indelibly entwined with our community’s history for over a century.
Located in the shadows of historic Sleepy Hollow
Cemetery and on the ground trod by the Minute
Men of 1775, the firm has been witness and partner
to the town’s history ever since I868.The
firm has been of service to the Emerson, Alcott,
Hawthorne and Thoreau families and many generations
of Concordians and residents of surrounding towns.
Many traditions have been implicit in the firms
operation since its founding, and each succeeding
generation of Dees has continued the practices
of the past while adapting to the needs of the
present, providing quality and caring services
for all families served.
WILLARD T. FARRAR 1828-1910
In April of 1867, Willard T. Farrar became the
town’s first burial agent establishing the
firm now known as Joseph Dee & Son Funeral
Home at the location on Bedford Street where it
still functions. He was a charter member of the
Massachusetts Funeral Directors Association and
was a longtime active member and Sexton of the
Trinitarian Congregational Church.
JOSEPH DEE JR. 1868-1946
Joseph Dee Jr. became associated with Farrar
in 1893. A native of Lincoln he came to Concord
at a young age. Mr. Dee operated the funeral home
as well as a flourishing farm, Peter’s Spring
Farm on Bedford Street, Concord. Joe was well
known and highly esteemed. He was an able and
energetic businessman, genial, generous and always
ready with a cheery and encouraging word or with
some quip or clever turn of speech. Joe was held
in high esteem by a large group of friends and
associates. He also served the town as Burial
Agent, Registrar of Veterans Graves and a member
of the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Commission. Following
the death of his beloved wife Elizabeth he raised
nine children, eight boys and one daughter. Three
of their sons were licensed funeral directors,
James, William and Francis.
 JAMES
H. DEE 1894-1967
James H. Dee joined his father, Joseph, in the
business in 1913 after graduating from the New
England Institute of Technology. A lifelong Concord
resident and a Funeral Director for fifty-seven
years, he served as town Burial Agent and Registrar
of Veterans graves. During World War I, he served
as a Sergeant in France with Concord’s famed
26th Yankee Division, Company I. Jim was an avid
railroad enthusiast and musician. He played the
piano and the clarinet with the Concord Legion
Band in addition to raising five children with
his wife Agnes.
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