Our Experienced Staff
Staff members of Mahar and Son Funeral Home are caring and experienced professionals who understand that each family is unique and has personal requests and traditions. These requests and traditions are of utmost importance to our staff of licensed funeral directors.
The staff of E. P. Mahar & Son , also consisting of funeral directors William Hurley and Lawrence Shutts, pride themselves on a long established tradition of providing options and guidance to their clients in a home like setting.
Alexander E. Mahar
President
A 1962 graduate of the New England Institute, Alex has served families as funeral director for 43 years. He attends Sacred Heart St. Francis de Sales Church, and he is active in the Elks Lodge and the Knights of Columbus. In his spare time, Alex enjoys playing golf.
Alex and his wife Marilyn live in Bennington. They have 5 children.
John Mahar
Manager
John is a 1985 graduate of Saint Michaels College with a B.S. in Business. He earned his Associates Degree in Mortuary Science from Hudson Valley Community College a year later. John is a member of Sacred Heart Saint Francis de Sales Church, and he is active in the Elks Club, the Moose Club, the Eagles, and the Knights of Columbus, where he is a 3rd Degree member. In his spare time, John enjoys playing golf and spending time with his family.
John is proud to be a third-generation funeral director and carry on the family tradition. John is a lifelong resident of Bennington; he and his wife Trisha have 3 children: A.J., Jhonny, and Grace.
Lawrence K. Shutts
Funeral Director/Embalming
Larry is a 1975 graduate of Hudson Valley Community College with an A. A. S. degree in Mortuary Science and a 1979 graduate of Siena College with a B. A. in Business. He has served as a funeral director for over 29 years, and is active in the Bennington Elks Lodge, the Bennington Lions Club, and the Community Soldiers Support Group. Larry is a communicant of Sacred Heart St. Francis de Sales Church, in Bennington. Larry is licensed in Vermont and New York States and is licensed for preneed insurance in Vermont.
In his spare time, Larry enjoys, woodworking, camping, listening to music and spending time with his family.
Larry and Marie reside in Bennington, and have three daughters: Patrice Pello, Kristen and Katie Lynn.
William Hurley
Funeral Director/Embalming
Bill joined the staff of the funeral home in 1965. He is a graduate of the former New England Institute in Boston, a past officer of the Vermont Funeral Directors Association and a past member and chairman of the Vermont Board of Funeral Service. A longtime member of the National Funeral Director's Association, Bill is also a Certified Preplanning Consultant with NFDA.
Named a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International, Bill has long been active in many community organizations. He served as a trustee and past board chair of Southwestern Vermont Health Care and is a former member and past board chair of the Mt. Anthony Union High School board of directors. He is a past president of the NorShaft Lions Club and also was a member of the board of directors of the Green Mountain Chapter, American Red Cross. Bill is a member of the Shaftsbury Board of Civil Authority and the Bennington Elks club.
Since 1992 he has served with the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) and was recently named to the DMORT Family Assistance Center Team. Over the years he has been deployed several times to various airplane accidents, hurricanes and spent several weeks in New York City following the World Trade Center tragedy.
In addition to his community service Bill enjoys time spent at the family camp with his wife Linda, their children and grandchildren.
