The LaVigne family opened the doors of the funeral home over 130 years ago.
It was founded in the Winooski Block by AB LaVigne. After it grew it moved across the road to a building that has since been removed to allow for the roundabout. During this time it also was the local Ambulance Service and help save many lives.
His son Eli took over for a few years before tragically passing away at a young age of a heart attack.
Robert "Bob" LaVigne became owner. Bob moved the funeral home to its current location at 123 Main St. in 1964. Over time he purchased the properties behind the funeral home to allow for large parking lots.
When Bob's son Thomas "Tom" LaVigne joined his dad they expanded the funeral home to have a large chapel so family and friends could all be together.
Tom owned the funeral home until 2013 when he sold it to James P. "Jim" Kennedy and his wife Thanh-Thuy Doan. Since taking over they have updated the building to include a coffee room and renovated chapel.
Founded in 1907 by Vernon L. Perkins of Warren, V.L. Perkins Company Home Furnishers and Funeral Service operated as a furniture and dry goods store on the main floor of 46 South Main Street in Waterbury with the funeral home on the second floor. Following the marriage of Charles Parker to Norma Perkins, Vernon’s daughter, Charles became a licensed mortician and succeeded Vernon following his passing. In the mid 1940’s, Charles purchased the property next door which functioned for many decades as the Town’s community hall. Originally the Village fire house, the building later became the Town Hall hosting everything from high school basketball games, boxing matches, Town Meeting and plays on the second floor, locker rooms on the first floor with two jail cells in the rear of the building. The building went dormant following the construction of a new gymnasium at the then high school on Stowe Street and was renovated to become the funeral home in 1957.
Charles passed away in 1969 and his children, Craig “Rusty” Parker and Priscilla (Parker) Palermo inherited the furniture store and funeral home. In 1979, great-grandson Chris Palermo was approached about becoming the next generation to work in the family business. A recent graduate of UVM, he agreed to come and work for a year to see if it was the right fit. On June 10, 1983 Chris purchased the furniture store and funeral home and in 1991, closed the furniture store to focus solely on funeral service and developing the newly acquired monument business. Perkins-Parker Funeral Home and Cremation Service continued to grow, providing service to an expanding number of families in the central Vermont area.
Life and business changed dramatically on the evening of August 28, 2011. Vermont, particularly along the spine of the Green Mountains, felt the torrential force of Tropical Storm Irene. Devastating flood waters engulfed communities along the Mad and Winooski Rivers which included Waterbury Village. The funeral home, in a little over an hour, received 3 feet of water on the main floor and 7 feet in the garages. Everything was lost; $100,000 worth of vehicles, and everything inside the building. The saving grace was no one was in the care of the funeral home during the flood. Rebuilding everything from the basement to the ceiling of the first floor took 4 months of working every day. Throughout the reconstruction the funeral home never missed a beat, continuing to provide services; working cooperatively with other funeral homes to do preparation, utilizing churches, parish halls and the American Legion to hold services. It was remarkable how the community came together with the help of volunteers from surrounding towns.
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