Our firm has been the focus of four generations of the McVeigh family. When William C. McVeigh passed his licensing exam in 1901, he came to work alongside then current owners of the John Harrigan General Furnishing Undertakers, Harvey, Daniel and Joseph Harrigan. It was a long-established firm that was in charge in August of 1885 when the body of America’s 18th President, Ulysses S. Grant was brought to the State Capital and streets of Albany for funeral services.

When the last of the Harrigan’s passed away in 1938, McVeigh changed the name of the establishment to reflect the new ownership, and moved the business to 208 North Allen Street, off Central Ave. He was not at the helm long, as he too passed away; in 1947, his son, William J. McVeigh succeeded to operate the family firm. This marked the second generation.

Some 11 years later, he was joined by a representative of the third generation, his son William E. McVeigh. They operated the business together, overseeing two major expansions of the facilities and growing their reputation of dedicated, sincere, and family’s- first service to the population of the Albany area.

The decade of the 1980’s brought more changes; both in the staff and facilities. William E. McVeigh was proud to bring his daughters, Kristin and Laurel into the firm as licensed funeral directors. These two new members represent the fourth generation of the McVeigh family to carry on the family tradition of providing funeral services to the good people of the Albany area. And later on, Kristin’s husband, David A. Parente joined the firm as a licensed funeral director. Under the watchful eye of the McVeigh family, the funeral home continues to steadfastly serve the community, drawing upon generations of funeral experience, and always guided by the steady hand of the funeral home’s rich and abiding history. .

“The hallmark of our firm has been growth; but in and of itself that is not remarkable. What is worthy of comment is that we have managed this tremendous growth over the span of 150 years without losing sight of our firm’s foundations of professionalism and personal service. We have remained independent, and completely committed to serving our community.” ~ William E. McVeigh Born in Albany, Bill has been a lifelong resident of the city. He is a graduate of Blessed Sacrament Church School, Christian Brothers Academy, Holy Cross College and Simmons School of Funeral Directing. He married the former Sheila Butler in 1956. He entered the Naval Reserve and was stationed in Norfolk, VA. He returned to Albany in 1958 and joined his father as the third generation of funeral directors at McVeigh Funeral Home. Bill and Sheila have four children; William E. McVeigh, Jr., a resident of Living Resources; Brian J. McVeigh PhD, a professor of Anthropology at Tucson AZ; and Kristin McVeigh Parente and Laurel McVeigh Gent. David has extensive experience as a funeral service professional, serving Albany area families for over 25 years. He has been with the McVeigh Funeral Home for the better part of those years. His curriculum vita includes Canisius College, Hudson Valley Community College, and the prestigious, internationally-renowned Fountain National Academy of Professional Embalming Skills. David is very active in related business associations, as well as within the wider community. He is a member and past president of Parish Council at Blessed Sacrament Church, Albany; board member of The Community Hospice; chairman of the board of Albany’s Central Ave Business Improvement District; and also serves on the board of directors for Directors Choice Credit Union, the Albany Local Development Corporation, and NYS Funeral Director Support Services. David grew up in Watervliet, NY where he learned to love playing sports, especially football. He went on to become an All-City running back. He has since become a member of the Capital District Football Officials Association, where he has succeeded in officiating five NYS Section II Superbowls, numerous NYSPHSAS Regional and Semi-Regional playoff games, while culminating in 2007 in the Carrier Dome at Syracuse University officiating a New York State Public High School Athletic Association Championship game. “I’m pleased to be a lifelong resident of the Capital District, and I can’t think of a better place to raise my wonderful children, Anthony, Kyla, and Eva. Throughout my life I’ve enjoyed my community through coaching, community board work, as a public speaker, school volunteer, referee, and church member. And I’ve tried to live my life through the words of Emerson when he said:” “Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Shortly after graduating from Siena College in 1982, Kristin informed her father she was interested in returning to school to earn her license in funeral directing. She would be the fourth generation of McVeigh’s to enter the family business. Prior to graduating from Siena in 1982, Kristin attended St. Teresa of Avila School in Albany and went on to graduate from Academy of the Holy Names in 1979. She married David Parente in 1993 and he too joined the firm. They have three treasured children; Anthony, Kyla and Eva. Kristin was an adjunct faculty member at Hudson Valley Community College’s mortuary science department. She is a past president of the Albany Lions Club and a former board member of Camary Statewide Services. She currently serves on the board of Living Resources and is former president of the Capital District Funeral Directors Association. The daughter of owner William E. McVeigh, Laurel entered the family business in 1989. She was a graduate of St Teresa of Avila School, the former Mercy High School (class of 1983), Siena College (class of 1987) and received her degree from Hudson Valley Community College in 1989 in mortuary science. Laurel married Dean Gent in 2000 and have two lovely children, Alexander and Shannon. Brian is originally from Schuylerville, NY where he graduated from high school in 1996. He received his degree in Mortuary Science in 1999 from State University of New York at Canton. While in college, he worked in funeral service to match his classroom theory with real life application. He came to the McVeigh Funeral Home in October of 1999 to serve his residency, and continues presently as a licensed funeral director. In 2008, Brian completed training in the prestigious Fountain National Academy of Professional Embalming Skills. The McVeigh family is proud to call Brian a member of their staff. He currently resides in Albany with his wife Lindsey, granddaughter of Lou Dreis, founder of the Dreis Funeral Home.