Local Spotlight: James Pate

It is a Saturday afternoon during a long holiday weekend, and James Pate greets us at the entrance of his business wearing a shirt and tie.

Pate is the owner of Dennett, Craig and Pate Funeral Home in Saco. It’s not exactly a nine-to-five, Monday thru Friday job.

The yellow building with its long, green awning is a well-known landmark in the city, nestled between the First Parish Congregational Church and the Dyer Library on Main Street.

Pate, 60, took over the business from his father, Robert, several years ago. James Pate grew up in Saco, attending local schools and graduating from Thornton Academy in 1982. He graduated from Bentley College in Waltham, Mass., with degrees in finance and management. He also graduated with honors from the New England Institute of Applied Arts and Science.

He has been a licensed funeral director since 1987.He and his wife, Lisa, live in Saco where they raised their two children, Jonathan and Katherine.

This funeral home has a history that goes back to the 1880s, long before your family took it over.

“Yes, Walter Dennett started the business and had a storefront in Biddeford, providing caskets, floral arrangements and carriage services.In 1929, he bought this building as it became more practical for families to have a place for larger gatherings.”

When you went off to college did you plan on taking over the family business?

“I can’t say that it was something I planned, per se. I was thinking I would end up working for a financial firm in Boston, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that was really not what I wanted to do.

“The traffic, parking and all the rest of us pretty much soured the idea of living in the Boston area.”

It seems like there are fewer funeral homes in this area than there were 40 or 50 years ago.

“Yes, a lot has changed in this area. It used to be that a funeral home would serve a particular niche or neighborhood. For example, the Irish community or the Catholics, Protestants, what have you.

“The funeral homes were engrained and entrenched parts of the particular communities within the community, so to speak.”

How has the funeral business changed over the years?

“When I was growing up, we had two telephones at the dinner table. Back then you would call the Journal in the morning to get the notice in for the afternoon paper, then you would work on the obituary.

“Technology obviously evolved, but so did a lot of other things. Back then, you had pretty basic family names and their Christian name would be John, Peter, Mary or Michael and so on.

“Today, there is probably at least four different ways to spell the girl’s name of Riley or Kaylee or what have you. So, it’s much more complex. We went from faxing obituaries to the newspapers to e-mail, which made things a whole lot easier.

“With email, you can get the family a copy before sending it out and then they can make some changes if they want.”

Cremations are much more common today, especially since the Roman Catholic Church now allows cremation. Family dynamics have changed, too. When you and I were growing up, families were part of a particular church. Family dynamics have changed. Today, you have step parents and step children, and many families are not closely affiliated with a particular church.”

You’d be really surprised to know how many people are just living off the grid. When they die, it’s virtually impossible to find any information about them. They didn’t belong to any social clubs or a local church. They don’t have families in the area, I mean they are just off the grid, sort of living anonymously.”

Speaking of social clubs, have you ever met a volunteer opportunity you didn’t like?

(Laughs) “I keep pretty busy, but I find it rewarding. This is a great community, full of great people, and I like to be of service if I can.”

How many organizations do you belong to?

“Well, I’ve coached Little League and youth hockey, and I am on Dyer Library’s Board of Trustees and the Saco Historic Commission, Saco Bay Rotary Club, the Hollis Lion’s Club, the Buxton-Hollis Historical Society; and the Saco Masonic Lodge and the board of the Old Orchard Beach Salvation Army Corps.”

Your career involves helping families that are experiencing tremendous grief and loss. Does that ever affect your own emotional health?

“Not really. In fact, I find it very rewarding to be able to work with families and help them find information or make things easier for them.

Randy Seaver is a cranky, nearly insufferable malcontent living in Biddeford. He is a retired newspaper editor and the principal of a small strategic communications consulting firm. Randy Seaver can be contacted at randy@randyseaver.com.