Funeral Home of RI’s Elite Is Selling Its Location on Providence’s East Side to Developer
Thursday, May 06, 2021
Monahan Drabble Sherman Funeral Home which has handled the funeral arrangements of many of Rhode Island’s most wealthy and influential over the decades has sold its building to a developer.
The history of the funeral home goes back over 140 years. The business will be selling its location in the victorian home on the corner of Waterman Street and Wayland Avenue.
The business will be moving to East Providence and merging with J.H. Williams & Company Funeral Home located on Taunton Avenue.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTMark Russell, one of the owners of the home and the property, tells GoLocal that it was a heartbreaking decision to sell the building.
“We will continue to operate in East Providence, but we are over 70 years of age and we need to begin to plan,” said Mark Russell.
Developer Stephen Lewinstein, who owns many of the retail buildings in Wayland Square, is purchasing the building.
The future of the actual funeral home building is bleak. According to sources, Lewinstein is looking to demolish the funeral home and utilize the adjacent parking lot for a new development. The Wayland neighborhood has seen a number of tear-downs for new buildings.
Legacy of the Home — Politicians, Business Leaders, and Hall of Famers
In 2011, GoLocal wrote about the death of Hall of Fame Coach David Gavitt, the man credited with helping to create The Big East and transform college basketball into the mega-business the sport is today.
“Marvin Barnes, Ernie D, Kevin Stacom, Soup Campbell, Ray Flynn, Mark McAndrew – all former PC greats. Today, they gathered with hundreds of others at the Monahan Drabble Sherman Funeral Home on Providence’s East Side to celebrate the life of Dave Gavitt," GoLocal wrote.
In 2009, Martha Buonanno, the matriarch of the namesake family passed, and her funeral brought thousands to the East Side funeral home. Her father and brother were U.S. Senators in Connecticut and her college roommate was now-U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The line for the viewing traveled for blocks down Waterman Street.
Gavitt and Buonanno were just two of the thousands of wealthy and notable Rhode Islanders whose funerals were handled at the funeral home on the East Side.
Russell said the business has transformed. “It used to be 70% burials and now it is 80% cremations. It is a different business today,” said Russell.
McBride’s Irish Pub
Russell and his family transformed a portion of the property into McBride’s Irish Pub in 2010.
Russell said, “We are keeping the pub and will continue to operate it.”
McBride’s features casual fare and draws in everyone from locals on the East Side to sports teams celebrating -- or washing away the results on the last game.
