Gallery
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ERNESTINE GUÉNETTE POIRIER
President from 1959 to 1967
Daughter of Udgérie Guénette and Victorine Dubé, Ernestine Guénette was born in Saint-Jérôme on July 2, 1894.
A member of the Society of the Ladies of St. Anne and the Daughters of Isabella, she had 10 children, five of whom worked for the Magnus Poirier company. She was a patient, meticulous and serious woman whose pastimes included needlepoint, copper enameling, and china painting. She valued respect and courtesy.
She served as president of Magnus Poirier from 1959 to 1967.
Source: Banque des archives nationales du Québec.
Source: Banque des archives nationales du Québec
Magnus Poirier, b. 1895
Funeral director
Funeral, directed by Magnus Poirier, arriving at Sainte-Madeleine d'Outremont church in the Outremont district of Montréal.
The first pallbearer on the right (the tallest man, with the moustache and the bowler hat) is Magnus’s father-in-law, Udgérie Guénette, and the third pallbearer on the left, third from the front (heavyset man) is Euclide Magnan, a friend of the Poirier family.
Date: Circa 1953 Location: 6603 St-Laurent Blvd.
This photo, circa 1953, was taken at the family home and head office of Magnus Poirier Inc., at 6603 St-Laurent Blvd.
From left to right: Jean Poirier; an unknown friend of Mireille Poirier; Mireille Poirier; André Poirier; Ernestine Guénette-Poirier; and Magnus Poirier.
The paneling is made of walnut, a very popular wood at the time.
Location: 6520 Saint-Denis St.
Photo taken in front of 6520 Saint-Denis St. before the renovations. The sign is visible on the top corner of the building.
The first coach and the hearse were 1938 Packards, owned by Magnus Poirier. The other vehicles were rented, possibly from Arthur Phaneuf, Mr. Brazeau, and Mr. Phoénix (owner of a taxi company at the time).
Date: 1934 Location: 6603 St-Laurent Blvd.
This photo is circa 1934.
It shows 1-year-old Gilles Poirier with his two sisters, Mireille and Lucie, in front of the family home and head office of the Magnus Poirier company at 6603 St-Laurent Blvd..
Also pictured are the Union Flag and the English description “UNDERTAKER” that was used at the time.
Date: 1938 Location: 6603 St-Laurent Blvd.
This photo is circa 1938.
Pictured are Udgérie Guénette (left) and Victorine Dubé (right), Ernestine Guénette Poirier’s parents, standing in front of the family home and head office of the Magnus Poirier company at 6603 St-Laurent Blvd.
Date: 1940s Location: Jean-Talon St., corner Henri-Julien
This photo shows a funeral procession in the 1940s led by Magnus Poirier (left) and co-director Mr. Potvin (right).
The cortege is pictured on Jean-Talon St. East, at the corner of Henri-Julien, heading toward Notre-Dame de la Défense church (Italian parish).
At the time, two directors were needed to preside over important funerals.
ADVERTISEMENT ON BLOTTING PAPER
Date: 1930
Before the invention of the ballpoint pen, blotting paper, used to absorb excess ink from fountain and dip pens, was a popular form of advertising.
Children and adults used it on a daily basis. The goal was to get as many as possible into circulation. The C3 in the upper right corner, which stands for “Third Degree Knights of Columbus,” was there to encourage fellow members of the Knights of Columbus to support one of their own.
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Date: Circa 1953 Location: 6603 St-Laurent Blvd.
Ernestine and Magnus Poirier
Family home and head office of Magnus Poirier Inc.
Date: circa 1947-1949 Location: Living room on the second floor at 6603 St-Laurent Blvd.
Poirier family photo with the 9 surviving children (Maurice had already died).
Back (left to right): Roger, André, Lucien, Guy and Raymond.
Sides: Jean (left) and Gilles (right).
Front: Lucie, Ernestine, Magnus and Mireille.
Family home and head office of Magnus Poirier Inc., 6603 St-Laurent Blvd.
Son of Maxime Poirier and Herminia Hurteau, Magnus Poirier completed his embalming course on June 9, 1921, at the Dominion College of Embalming.
He began his career as an embalmer for Maison J.S. Vallée in Montréal. Driven by ambition and an undeniable will to succeed, Magnus Poirier soon after obtained his funeral director’s licence. After founding his funeral business, he opened his first funeral complex on St-Dominique St., in Montréal, on March 15, 1923. He served as the company president until 1958. The following decades were marked by a series of acquisitions, innovations and modernizations that elevated the company and the funeral industry to the level we know today.
J.S. VALLÉE
Date: 1920 Location: Saint-Hubert St
agnus Poirier standing in the doorway on the east side of Saint-Hubert St., between Bélanger and St-Zotique.
This photo was taken in 1920 at his workplace, J.S. Vallée.
As a newlywed, he lived above the business, on the second floor.
Date: 1946
Funeral of Joseph-Antonio Guilbault, who founded his funeral home in 1927, and died in 1946. Magnus Poirier is pictured in the middle of the photo, in front of the hearse.
Date: 1946
Funeral of Joseph-Antonio Guilbault. At the family’s request, Magnus Poirier, a personal friend of the deceased, directed the funeral, held at St-Esprit church, on Masson St. in Montréal.
Magnus Poirier devoted his life to his business and to his 10 children with wife Ernestine Guénette.
As a member of the Knights of Columbus, a churchwarden, and a board member for several organizations, he was very active in his community.
Magnus Poirier was a 20th-century visionary, an innovative businessman and salesman dedicated to providing his customers with high-quality, personalized service.
Magnus Poirier often said:
"We shouldn’t grow to the point where we become unable to personally serve our customers."
Date: circa 1950 Location: Beaubien St., corner St-Denis
From left to right:
Roger Poirier, 28 / Magnus Poirier, 55 / Raymond Poirier, 25
Photo taken on Beaubien St., corner St-Denis, heading toward Drolet St. behind the funeral home to form the procession. At the time, people crossed the street diagonally from the funeral home to the church, against traffic.
Date: 1946
Funeral of Joseph-Antonio Guilbault.
Date: 1931
Parish of St-Eusèbe in 1931 with 3 directors Mr. Turgeon, Magnus Poirier and Udgérie Guénette, father-in-law of Magnus Poirier.
Date: 1934
Magnus Poirier and Mr. Potvin led the civic funeral in 1934 for either a policeman or a firefighter. Forming a procession on rue Jean-Talon towards rue Henri-Julien.
The procession on foot is called a RALLY and is done during important or civic funerals from a specific civic address and towards the church always before the service at the church.