Entrepreneurs are always looking for a unique offering, which can sometimes be quite a challenge for funeral homes. But Smith-Kelleher Funeral Home’s Director Tim Kelleher found his in a 1962 Cadillac hearse.
The almost 60 years old Cadillac had been sitting in storage in Florida for a while before flying it to it´s new home in Greenfield Massachusetts. Even though the car only had 36,000 miles on it, the years had caught up with it and aging had affected its condition, so it underwent a nine month restoration.
The hearse is now as good as new and the funeral home uses it from spring to fall. At special request, it is also available for rent to other funeral homes.
Americans started to purchase hearses from Cadillac in the mid 20th century. The Classic Cadillac hearses in the sixties were commonly used as ambulances as well in small towns and rural areas. They had a longer and stronger version installed of the long-wheelbase Fleetwood limousine in order to support the extra weight of the cargo and bodywork. However, due to stricter rules and regulations these types of “combination vehicles” were discontinued after 1979
Tim is a third generation funeral director and is continuing to serve his community, but now with the addition of his own flair. It’s great to see that after a quest of over four years Tim found his gem and can now share something really unique with his community and help families with an extra special funeral service.