Our History

Sepia-toned historic house with front porch, gabled roofs, and stairway up a grassy hill

The funeral home in 1894.

The Curtis-Britch Funeral Home, Inc. at 37 Lake Road in Newport, Vermont, was founded on April 9, 1894, by Byron and Augusta Curtis. It was continued by their son and his wife, Justin and Frances (Gates) Curtis, and is now owned by Roland N. Britch, Jr. In 1986, Curtis-Britch opened a branch funeral home at 1199 Railroad Street in Island Pond, Vermont. On November 14, 2001, Roland purchased the former Converse-Rushford Funeral Homes located in Newport and Barton, Vermont, from Service Corporation International located in Lufkin, Texas. In 2012, he purchased the M.R. Davis Funeral Home in Craftsbury Common, Vermont, from his good friends Bob and Louise Davis. In 2018, Richard R. Bouffard became co-owner, and the names of the funeral homes are Curtis-Britch & Bouffard and Curtis-Britch-Davis & Bouffard.

The current funeral home located at 37 Lake Road in Newport.

Our Founders

Man seated at a desk in a studio portrait, with a book and papers beside him.
Byron S. Curtis
1870-1931
Licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer
Boston Massachusetts School of Anatomy and Embalming
Sepia portrait of a woman in a dark dress standing beside a small table with flowers
Augusta Cairns Curtis
1865-1920
Licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer
Massachusetts College of Embalming
Boston, MA
Studio portrait of a man in glasses wearing a suit and patterned tie
Justin A.C. Curtis
1899-1978
Licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer
Syracuse School of Embalming
Syracuse, NY
Black-and-white portrait of a woman in an off-the-shoulder dress and necklace, looking slightly to the side.
Frances Gates Curtis
1911-1987
Licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer
New England Institute of Anatomy, Sanitary Science, Embalming, and Funeral Directing
Boston, MA
Black vintage sedan parked on a stone-lined road in black and white.
Before modern day Emergency Medical Services, Curtis-Britch Funeral Homes used to provide emergency transports to the local hospital.
Horse-drawn buggy with driver on a street, pulled by a large ox or bear-like animal
The Curtis-Britch Horse Drawn Hearse