On Saturday, July 8, Swan Funeral Home will host a celebration in honor of its 100th anniversary. The free event will feature various activities such as a BBQ, live music, face painting, and a raffle of an iPad and runs from noon to 4 p.m. Proceeds from the event will be donated to local veteran’s charities.

At first blush, it may seem odd to observers that a funeral home is hosting a celebration, but Steedle says Swan has worked to fight that perception.

“We do events like this all the time,” said Sahara Steedle, a funeral director at Swan Funeral Home. “We have a whole lot planned.”

Steedle says the business works with grief groups and veteran’s organizations to support the community. “We participate in the Chamber of Commerce, we’re pretty active,” Steedle said.

While associating funeral homes with sad times in life is understandable, Steedle thinks due to Swan’s activity in the local community most shoreline residents won’t find the idea of a funeral home hosting a celebration too strange.

“We’re more about a life well lived,” said Steedle.

In addition to the outdoor events, Swan will host a question-and-answer session with the funeral director, and also give a tour of the building that includes a replica of President Abraham Lincoln’s casket.

The idea for the celebration was conceived when Steedle realized that 2017 was Swan’s 100th anniversary.

“I started doing research for a personal project,” Steedle said.

Steedle’s research showed that the home first opened as C. Carl Swan Funeral Home in Guilford in 1917 (the home later moved to Madison).

According to Swan Funeral Home’s page at www.dignitymemorial.com, C. Carl Swan’s three sons Richard, Stillman Jr., and Carl opened Swan Funeral Home of Old Saybrook in May 1963 and Swan Funeral Home of Clinton in 1974.

Steedle says that Clinton was chosen as the site of the celebration due to its central location between the Old Saybrook and Madison locations. Swan Funeral Home is located at 80 East Main Street in Clinton.