Kilmarnock Office: 01563 572565 Stewarton Office: 01560 485366 Galston Office: 01563 624025 Darvel Office: 01560 429239

History

The firm of Thomas McKellar and Sons was established in 1870 when the present owner’s great-grandfather migrated from Mull to the small Ayrshire village of Moscow. Duncan McKellar set up his carpentry and undertakers business there for a few years before moving to the historic covenanting village of Fenwick. He married a farmer’s daughter from Galston called Catherine Parker and one of their sons became a blacksmith in Kirkoswald. Another son, Thomas, joined his father in the business and married Annie Watt Cameron of Langside Farm, Fenwick. They had one daughter, Agnes, and three sons, Duncan, William and Thomas who expanded the trade of joiners, building contractors, motor body builders and funeral undertakers in the areas of Fenwick, Stewarton, Dunlop, Kilmaurs and Kilmarnock. In 1993 the company changed to Funeral Directors only and now has offices in Stewarton, Kilmarnock, Galston and Darvel.

The aim of this independent family funeral directors is to give people a service they require at a difficult and vulnerable time in their lives, offered with professionalism, compassion and dignity.

Duncan McKellar married Jean Craig Picken, from Dunlop, in 1951. The business is owned today by their son, Tom McKellar, the fourth generation of the family, who has two children, Louise and Cameron, and has been a Funeral Director for over 40 years.  Tom has been a member of Kilmarnock Rotary Club for many years and his main interest is music, formerly singing with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Chorus and organist & choirmaster at Holy Trinity Church, Kilmarnock.

Louise McKellar joined the company full time in 2012 after working for Citizens Advice and running an audio visual company. Louise is an experienced Funeral Director and holds the highest national qualification in Funeral Directing (Dip. FD) as well as a BA (Hons) in Psychology and Sociology.  Louise is a keen musician, singing and playing bass guitar for many years in Pulse wedding band and playing Eb bass with Newmilns & Galston Brass Band.

Cameron McKellar worked as a sound engineer for many years, most recently with Disney, and has a BA (Hons) in Creative Sound Production. He has worked in the family business part-time since he was sixteen and became a full-time member of staff in 2017.  Cameron is an experienced Funeral Director and also manages the day-to-day operations of the business.  Cameron enjoys sports including rugby and football and is a member of Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club.

Bobby Russell joined the company in 2007 after retiring from Royal Mail. As an experienced Funeral Operative, Bobby is a caring presence at every funeral, carrying out driving and bearing duties.  Bobby’s meticulous attention to detail ensures that our coffins are furnished to a very high standard and our funeral fleet are always immaculate.  Bobby’s main interest is football and he is well known in the local area for his dedicated service to Young Kilmarnock football team.

 

 

Susan Russell joined the company in 2019 as a Funeral Arranger/Administrator.  Susan is originally from Darvel and her local knowledge has been of great comfort to customers from the Valley.  Susan arranges and conducts funerals, as well as handling telephone enquiries and office duties in our branch offices.  Susan is a valued member of the team with a history of customer service in banking and retail and most recently as a branch manager with Ayrshire Cancer Support.

 

Michael Hainey has worked as a Funeral Operative for several years and joined the company full-time in 2021.  Michael carries out driving and bearing duties on all funerals and is responsible for vehicle maintenance and assisting with the care of the deceased.  In his spare time, Michael enjoys watching and playing football and spending time with his family.