On December 1, 1949, James Wilton “Dick” Dixon and his wife, Edna, moved from Bowmanville to Markham after having purchased the Reuben Clendening Funeral Home. For a number of years prior to this, Mr. Dixon had been working as a licensed Funeral Director in Bowmanville. At the time of the purchase, the business was located at 81 Main Street North.
After becoming the funeral home’s new owners, Dick and Edna changed the name of the business to Dixon Funeral Home. The funeral home operated on the main floor of the building, while the upper level provided living space for Dick, Edna, and their daughter, Donna.
The Dixons continued to operate their business at this location until 1957, when the stately residence and property at 166 Main Street North became available and was purchased by Mr. Dixon from Ethel Cruickshank. Originally built around 1873 by Senator David Reesor, this beautiful, historic home was about to enter a new stage of its life. After purchasing this grand home and grounds, Mr. Dixon undertook some minor renovations and redecoration. When those were completed, he relocated his business and family to this new address.
In September of 1964, Donald Garland, who was then employed by the Bank of Nova Scotia, was transferred from the Kemptville branch to the Markham branch. Although he was working as an accountant for the bank, since the death of his father in 1959, Don had been developing a growing interest in becoming a funeral director. The superb manner in which Don and his family had been treated by the funeral directors working with them so impressed him that an idea was seeded. Don instinctively sensed that he would like to help other families in the same manner as his own family had been helped at the time of his father’s death and funeral.
Shortly after becoming a new resident of the Markham community, Don got to know Mr. Dixon.
As a result of this meeting, Don approached the experienced funeral director and funeral home owner, asking Mr. Dixon for his counsel on the best way to make this career change. The Dixons, who wholeheartedly supported Don’s ambitions, hired him in 1965.
To receive the academic training he needed, Don enrolled in the only school for this profession which existed in Ontario at that time, the Banting Institute at the University of Toronto. Since the course of study was an internship requiring both part-time work and part-time schooling, Don’s new job was a perfect fit. Don graduated in 1967 with his degrees as a Licensed Embalmer and a Licensed Funeral Director.
For the Dixons, life was changing. In 1973, after having operated the funeral home for 24 years, Dick and Edna retired to Port Perry, Ontario. Don and his wife, Janis, purchased the business from them and then added their name to this community landmark. The renamed business thus became Dixon-Garland Funeral Home.
Don and Janis operated the business as the Dixons had, using the upstairs floor as their residence and the ground floor facilities as the funeral home. This served them well for five years until their growing family, now consisting of a set of twins and a new baby, had outgrown the residential space. Shortly after their third child was born, Don and Janis moved their young family to a new house in the area.
As the villages of Markham and Unionville grew, along with the surrounding area, Don and Janis recognized the need to expand their facility. In 1976, the first addition consisting of new offices, a selection room, a 132-seat chapel, a second driveway, and additional parking was undertaken and completed. The second expansion took place in 1993, when a generous 8,000 square feet were added. This provided new and larger visitation rooms, additional arrangement offices, garages and, again, more parking.
Over the years, as the business continued to grow and the facilities expanded, there was need for additional staff. Today, families are served by eight licensed funeral directors, who share a combined total of 177 years of experience. The Managing Director is Neil, Don and the late Janis’ son.
Today, after more than 70 years of serving the community, Dixon-Garland Funeral Home is proud to continue the tradition of being an independent, family-owned business.
They can be reached at 905-294-2030.
