About Us
About Us
Floyd B. Bouton established this funeral home in 1889 on 31 West Church Street, in the Georgetown section of Wilton, Connecticut, and has been in continuous service to the surrounding community since that date. Like many early founders of funeral homes, Mr. Bouton initially had a livery and stable business, and from there he established a funeral home business. He was assisted by his wife, Sarah F. Bouton, who was the first woman licensed to practice embalming in the state of Connecticut.
In time, the business was turned over to his son, Floyd B. Bouton, Jr., better known in the community as Dick Bouton. Along with his sister, Elda Bouton, Dick continued in the business for many years. Miss Elda Bouton was a registered nurse but not a licensed embalmer, and so was considered the "Lady Assistant", which also appeared on the company letterhead. During the 1940s and 1950s, the funeral home performed a dual role where it was also in charge of the towns' ambulance services, responding to medical emergency calls in Wilton, Weston, Redding and a portion of Ridgefield.
Dick Bouton had a brother, Wilson Bouton, who was also a funeral director at that time. Wilson Bouton did not work at the Bouton Funeral Home in Georgetown but rather chose to establish his own funeral business in Stamford, CT. He, along with the late Truman Reynolds, formed the Bouton and Reynolds Funeral Home, which is still in business in Stamford today.
A nephew of Floyd B. Bouton, Jr., William Bouton, was associated with the business next. He had the shortest tenure with the funeral home, and soon, a great-nephew of Floyd B. Bouton, Jr., Floyd J. Bouton, assumed an active role in the daily operations of the business. He was assisted by his brother, the late Richard Bouton, who later decided to become a registered nurse and was no longer active with the funeral home. Floyd J. Bouton was the 4th generation of the Bouton Family to be associated with the business.
This string was broken in 1982, when Donald E. Wakeman assumed ownership of the business.
In August of 2017, with the semi-retirement of Donald, his longtime friend and associate, Robert A. Kelemen and his family assumed ownership and daily operations of the business.
Throughout its year of service to the community, the Bouton Funeral Home has handled arrangements for many notable persons residing in the area. Among these, in 1909, the daughter of Mark Twain, Jean Lampton-Clemens, was facilitated through this funeral home, and again in 1910, Mark Twain's funeral was arranged at the Bouton Funeral Home. Their home was in Redding, CT at the time of their passing. The service for Elmo Roper, also a Redding resident, was done here in 1971. Mr. Roper established what is known as the "Roper Polls". More recently, Mary Travers, a longtime resident of Redding and member of the well-known folk group "Peter, Paul and Mary," had her arrangements and service here.
