About Us

O'Donnell Cremations - Funerals - Celebrations, owned and operated by the O'Donnell family since 1929, provides funeral and cremation services to families on the North Shore out of its two locations in Salem, Massachusetts and Danvers, Massachusetts. Our staff consists of award winning, certified, professional funeral directors, Life Celebrants and other death care personnel who handle the entire process with care and dignity, using their experience and skills to ease the burden on families affected by a meaningful loss. Respectfully paying a loved one a final farewell is a difficult but meaningful process, and the O'Donnell Funeral Service Family will make all efforts to accommodate the religious or ethnic customs of the deceased's family. Meeting the needs of those left behind and assuaging the pain of a tremendous loss is the primary function of our team.

The services offered by O'Donnell Cremations - Funerals - Celebrations include full coordination of the funeral, memorial or celebration service, burial services, cremation services, death benefits coordination, merchandise procurement, embalming, advance planning, grief services and after care. 

As a family-owned business for close to 100 years, the O'Donnell Funeral Service Family is a team you can trust to go the extra mile to make this trying process a dignified, meaningful, helpful and personalized one.

What separates O'Donnell's:

EXPERIENCE:

We are skilled Funeral Directors accustomed to a broad range of circumstances, beliefs and cultures that accompany a passing and the closure of life. A fourth generation family owned funeral home, you get our best each and every time you need it. 

KNOWLEDGE:

More than 9 decades of experience and training in funeral service means we have the ability to deal with every and all aspects of funeral service. As Certified Funeral Celebrants, Certified Funeral Service Professionals, Certified Pre-Planning Consultants, Certified Cremations Service Providers and Certified Home Funeral Specialists - Our Funeral Directors have been recognized with the highest levels of certification and education our industry allows.

UNDERSTANDING:

As Funeral Professionals we recognize people are grieving and culturally respond to death in different manners. That is why we are open to assisting with all needs, wants and norms when planning a funeral, cremation or life celebration. We understand that we have one time to create the perfectly fitting tribute that will be bring healing and honor. 

AFFORDABILITY:

Our experience means we can create cost effective funeral options that empower families to invest into a funeral service that appropriately honors their loved one. 

INNOVATION: 

We are not your typical funeral directors. Our staff consists of young, experience funeral professionals from different backgrounds who think out side of the box to create a personalized celebration. We design and lead beautifully creative funerals, that are unique and one of kind and truly celebrate the life. 

WE CARE:

Helping others is our life's work. We put others before ourselves and serve with kindness, compassion and understanding; that this is a unique experience for each and every family we serve. 

Allow us to assist you and you will feel our love. 

We serve families from Danvers, MA, Salem, MA, Topsfield, MA, Middleton, MA, Boxford, MA, Beverly, MA, Peabody, MA, Rowley, MA, Wenham, MA, Hamilton, MA, Georgetown, MA, North Andover, MA, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA, Lynnfield, MA, Lynn, MA, North Reading, MA, Byfield, MA, Swampscott, MA, Essex, MA, Reading, MA, Marblehead, MA, Nahant, MA, Gloucester, MA, Rockport, MA, Beverly Farms, MA, Newbury, MA, Wakefield, MA, Ipswich, MA, Reading, MA, Melrose, MA and all communities with kindness, compassion and caring.

The Henry J. O'Donnell and Sons Inc. Funeral Home was founded in 1929 by Henry J. O'Donnell Sr. in a store front on Mill Hill in the City of Salem's downtown section. The funeral home also served as a livery business, offering rental automobiles to families for weddings and special trips to Boston.

After World War II, the funeral business moved from a storefront operation into a funeral home, a first for the city of Salem, when Henry J. O'Donnell Sr. was joined by his sons, Henry Jr. and William O'Donnell. They purchased a home on the Historic Salem Common, at 46 Washington Square in 1934. Henry Sr. passed away in 1960 and in 1968, Henry Jr. was joined in business by his son, Thomas A. O'Donnell. When Henry Jr. passed away in 1970, Thomas became the owner of the Salem funeral home and refurbished the facility in 1972. Tom and his mother, Dorothy (Dunn) O'Donnell, assumed the responsibility of caring for families. They continued the traditions of other firms to entrust them to continue their heritage, such as the former MacDonald Funeral Home and The Dubiel Funeral Home both of Salem. 

In 2014, The David Gonet Funeral Home business of Salem, MA, merged with The O'Donnell Funeral Home and manager Diane Gallagher joined the O'Donnell team. Diane specializes in helping the Polish community of Salem, which has a proud and rich history. Continuing the great heritages set forth by both the former Pocharski Funeral Home and the former John Greene Funeral Homes  both of Salem. 

In 2019, the O'Donnell family purchased the former Full-Spychalski Funeral Home and began a year long renovation of their new state of the art funeral home, located at 84 Washington Square, Salem, just across the common from their former home. The new home boasts all of the technological advances today's families need, such as webcasting, digital videos and over 100 parking spaces. It is fully handicap accessible, tastefully decorated, has the largest capacity of any North Shore funeral home and is the finest funeral home in the state of Massachusetts. 

The Peterson Funeral Home was established in 1957 by Robert A. and Trudy Peterson. Mr. Peterson had served his country during World War II and upon his return, began his profession in the funeral business at the former J.S. Waterman Funeral Home of Boston. Robert matriculated to the Town of Danvers having been the manager and lead funeral director at the former Crosby Funeral Home in Danvers. In 1957, Mr. Peterson bought one of the oldest buildings in Danvers, the former family home of the Creese family of Creese and Cook Leather Company and transformed their family home into his family funeral home. Along with his beloved wife Trudy (Fiske) Peterson, the funeral home flourished and became the most prominent place in to have a funeral service.

In 1987, Mr. Peterson choose the O'Donnell Family and specifically Thomas O'Donnell to pass on the legacy of his funeral home. Tom had worked closely with Mr. Peterson over the years and it became a very good partnership. At this time the name of the funeral home became the Peterson-O'Donnell Funeral Home. 

Thomas' son, Anthony O'Donnell joined his father in the business in the year 2000, becoming the fourth generation to enter into the family funeral business. 

Under Anthony's direction, in 2013 the Danvers facility underwent a year long renovation and now is known as the finest funeral home on the North Shore. Professionally decorated and appointed, it has all of the comforts and amenities available.

In 2020, the firms were re-branded to O'Donnell - Cremations - Funerals - Celebrations, to cater to the selections and choices of today's families. Our fleet of new Cadillac hearse and limousines provide an element of class and prominence to the services we are entrusted to. 

Anthony is a fourth generation funeral director on his father's side and a third generation funeral director on his mothers side. His maternal side owned and operated the Cuffe-McGinn Funeral Home of Lynn for many years. With great heritage on both sides of his family and a willingness to help in his foundation, Anthony O'Donnell is the next great generation of the O'Donnell and Cuffe families to help those in need. 

With the funeral homes serving the communities of Salem, Danvers, Beverly, Peabody, Marblehead, Hamilton, Wenham, Topsfield, Boxford, Middleton, Ipswich, Manchester-by-the-Sea, North Reading, North Andover, Lynnfield, Rowley, Byfield and Georgetown the family business has gained a reputation of providing compassionate and caring service.

Both locations represent the best of architecture and décor, aligning its physical beauty with the service provided by the caring staff of the O'Donnell Cremations - Funerals - Celebrations Family.