The History

Select™ Community Funeral Homes Inc. was founded in 1996 by Stephen and Bill MacMackin in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Second generation funeral home owners, the MacMackin brothers had owned and operated The Brenan Group Ltd., one of Atlantic Canada’s largest privately-held funeral service firms for a decade before taking the decision to offer the tools they had developed in growing their own family firm, to other funeral directors, through Select. 

Building a team with sales, marketing and financial management expertise to complement their operations and acquisition experience, they established Select and set out to offer a package of support services to independent funeral homes. 

Recognizing a need for ownership transition assistance in the profession, in 2004 Select expanded their services, creating and launching, the Management Partnership program that has become the company's primary focus today.

As of September 2024, Select's founders completed implementation of their own five-year succession plan ushering in a new generation of family ownership and management. 

While remaining partners and key advisors with the firm, Stephen and Bill MacMackin have stepped back from day-to-day operations and now share the role of Executive Chairman. William MacMackin has assumed the post of President of Select. Robyn MacMackin is Vice-President of the company.