In an unusual move, a second funeral home has opened in Buxton, and has proven successful for a native son venturing out on his own.

In October, Chad Poitras, 35, opened his cremation and funeral services facility at 498 Long Plains Road (Route 22) after employment at another funeral service beginning in 2001.

“It’s a very rare thing,” Poitras said recently about opening a new funeral facility. “I decided this is what I wanted to do.”

Poitras worked 14 years in the funeral business with Dennett, Craig and Pate in Buxton. Jim Pate said recently it is a tough industry.

“It’s 24 hours a day,” Pate said. “It’s weekends and nights. It’s a lifestyle, you go home with it.”

But, undaunted by the time demands a funeral director faces, Poitras risked going into business for himself.

Poitras said business for startup funeral homes can be slow and it often would take years to build trust from a community. But Poitras, who was elected June 9 to Buxton’s Board of Selectmen, is well known through community and lodge work in Buxton and in neighboring towns.

“I’ve served 78 families this year,” Poitras said about his funeral service. Since opening, the number is more than 100.

“I’ve got a great following of families,” he said.

His open house was on Oct. 18 in a farmhouse he completely renovated. In the spring of 2014, Poitras bought the 1877 farmhouse previously owned by the well-known Buxton couple, the late Reggie and Barbara Peters.

The place was once an active farm, but a barn had been destroyed by fire.

Poitras had the house totally gutted, but original floors have been saved and refinished. The interior, he said, can accommodate “comfortably” 60-70 people for a service.

“It’s cozy and intimate,” Poitras said. “It’s what people want.”

The second floor includes a conference room and a room for children of families during visiting hours.

He is already mulling expansion plans in a couple of years.

The parking area is paved and the lawn manicured. Poitras enjoys driving his tractor as he continues clearing some trees from the wooded area behind the home.

The facility serves several communities, including Buxton, Gorham, Hollis, Saco, Standish and Waterboro. According to his website, MaineFuneral.com, Poitras has a support staff of six.

Poitras grew up in the Bar Mills section of Buxton and graduated from Bonny Eagle High School in 1998. He graduated from Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science and Point Park College in Pittsburgh and earned a bachelor’s degree.

In community and civic duties, Poitras has been involved with the Masonic order, Buxton-Hollis Historical Society, and the South Buxton Cemetery Association, where he’s a member of the board of directors. He said Gov. Paul LePage appointed him to the Maine Board of Funeral Service.

Poitras previously served on the Buxton Planning Board.

“Buxton has been a very special town for me,” he said.

He and his wife, Cheryl Poitras, are parents of two children, Mathieu, 6, and Sofia, 18 months. Poitras can be reached at 929-3723.

Chad Poitras stands outside the historic farmhouse he renovated in Buxton to serve his cremation and funeral service business he opened last fall. Staff photo by Robert Lowell