Funeral Home: Only the Name is Changing

The sign outside Carll-Heald & Black will soon reflect a name change for the longtime funeral home.

Photo: Lee Burnett

By Lee Burnett

There’s a new name for Sanford-Springvale’s only funeral home, reflecting an ownership change that happened five years ago.

The change is not yet reflected in the sign in front of 580 Main St., although website visitors are rerouted to the Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Homes of Portland and South Portland. The new name of the business is Black-Heald Walker Funeral Home.

The name is the only change people will notice according to Adam Walker, who owns the business with his wife Caitlin.

“Nothing has changed, nor is it going to change,” said Walker. The four-person staff of Dan Guillemette, Candis Lawrence, Mike Levasseur, and David Kahl, who have more than 75 years of combined experience, remains in place, he said. Former owners Lori and John Black have been valuable mentors in the transition since acquisition in 2020, he said.

The impetus for the sale was the approaching retirement of the Blacks and the ongoing consolidation within the funeral home industry. Finances are being squeezed as more families are opting for cremation over full-service burials, explained Walker.

“There’s tons of consolidation going on, mostly with private equity and outside corporations,” Walker said. “Some local families are selling to out-of-state or private equity. John and Lori could have done that and sold for a higher amount, but they chose to sell to a Maine-based family business.

“For us, we love funeral service … we have a passion to help people honor their loved ones. We were looking for others who share the same values,” he said.

“Shared values” were the words that Lori Black used to describe their decision to sell to the Walkers.

“We were looking out for our families. We wanted to make sure they were going into good hands. We were talking to four suitors. They (Walkers) were the cream that rose to the top … Shared values, that was the most important thing to us. Keeping the same staff, the people that others have come to know and trust. That was very, very important to us,” she said. “They (Walkers) care, that’s huge.”

The acquisition enables the Walkers to achieve economies of scale by combining back-office operations and sharing two hearses among three businesses, Walker said. “Now that we’re a bigger operation, we can hire someone and free us up to focus on care to families.”

Walker said he welcomes the opportunity to address any concerns that people may have.

“I recognize any change is stressful,” he said. “If you have any questions, give us a call.”