About Us

THE HISTORY OF OUR FUNERAL HOME

The Futhers’ came to Wellesley in March of 1933.  Milton R. “Pat” Futher, came to work for Mr. John Ratz who operated the Undertaking, Furniture and saw mill.  In 1934, John Ratz passed away and Milton R. Futher purchased the business from the Ratz estate. The name of the business became the M.R. Futher Funeral Service and Furniture as of June 1935.

The present Funeral Home was built in 1897 by Mr. Edward Ratz who operated from 1897 till 1908.  Edward Ratz sold his business to his brother John.  Edward then opened a business in Kitchener (Berlin).  M.R. Futher and his wife Eileen Futher, operated the business with the help of his three sons; Ronald, Jerome and William, until the death of M.R. Futher on December 12, 1962.  His sons continued to operate the Funeral Home and in June of 1963, the Funeral Home name was changed to Futher Bros. Ltd. Funeral Service and Furniture.  In recent years, brother Jerome passed away and the furniture operations were closed.

In the fall of 2007, Christopher W. Franklin purchased the Futher Bros. Ltd. Funeral Home after the decision by Ronald and William Futher to start their long-deserved retirement. Sadly, Ronald C. Futher passed away on February 23, 2016, at the age of 81 years.  He will be greatly missed in the funeral home and around the Wellesley community.

Christopher was born and raised in Brantford, Ontario. He started his chosen career at the age of sixteen at the Beckett-Glaves Funeral Home in Brantford. Chris received his Funeral Directors Licence issued by the Ontario Board of Funeral Services in 1988.  He has a wealth of experience.  Fulfilling his apprenticeship requirements at the Coutts & Sons and T. Little & Sons Funeral Home in Cambridge, he moved to the Dundas, Ontario area and worked in Guelph, Hamilton and in Dundas for over seventeen years.

In 2019, Christopher proceeded with an extensive renovation of the facilities and remodeling including a state-of-the-art video and sound system, new lounges, offices and parking lot. 

Christopher is married to Diane and they have 5 children; Laura-Lily, who is now a funeral director in Cambridge, Christopher, Justine, Spencer and Natalie.  Our family is honoured to now serve your family with the same Compassion, Dignity and Respect that you have come to expect from the Futher Family. 

“A Continuing Tradition Of Care & Respect”