Our Staff
List of Services
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Paul A. Hardy, Jr., Owner, Type 3 Funeral Director & EmbalmerList Item 1
Paul grew up in Lowell and is a 1993 graduate of Lowell Catholic High School. After marrying Jennifer Lebaropoulos in 2002, they settled in their first home in Dracut.
Paul joined the staff of Blake Funeral Home in 2004 and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Funeral Institute of the Northeast in 2007, receiving his Funeral Directors License that same year.
Paul purchased Blake Funeral Home from Richard P. Burkinshaw in 2010 which allowed Richard the opportunity to fulfill his dream of moving to Florida where he could spend his days on the golf course. In time, Paul designed and built a new, larger facility to accommodate the growing needs of the families in the area.
Paul was honored when in 2019 he was approached by the Gacek family to consider purchasing the Dracut Funeral Home and is very happy to once again be part of the Dracut community.
Paul is a Corporator for the Lowell Five Cents Savings Bank, a Corporator for Lowell General Hospital, a member of the Chelmsford Police Foundation, Inc., the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce, and the Chelmsford Parade Committee. Paul holds a position on the Board of Directors of the Chelmsford Business Association and the Massachusetts Funeral Directors Association. He is a member, and past Vice President, of AHEPA Hellas Chapter 102 of Lowell. In 2017, Paul was honored to be presented with the Lowell Catholic Alumni Achievement Award.
Paul currently lives in Chelmsford with his wife Jennifer (Lebaropoulos) Hardy and their two daughters, Briana and Katherine.
In his spare time, Paul enjoys golfing and traveling with his family.
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Jennifer (Lebaropoulos) Hardy, Owner, Dracut Location Manager, Type 3 Funeral Director & Embalmer
Jennifer grew up in the Pawtucketville section of Lowell. She attended Merrimack College and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2002 from the University of Massachusetts with a double major in Computer Information Systems and Management. She also received her certification as a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer from Boston University.
In 2018, after spending over 15 years working as an Information Technology Senior Manager at Putnam Investments, Jennifer joined the Blake Chelmsford Funeral Home staff working alongside her husband Paul. Jennifer, like Paul, was honored when in 2019 they were approached by the Gacek family to consider purchasing the Dracut Funeral Home. She is happy to be part of two such wonderful and supportive communities.
In July 2021, Jennifer completed her education as well as the National and State Board exams and was sworn in as a Licensed Funeral Director. Jennifer enjoys supporting our communities by serving on the Chelmsford Council on Aging, the Chelmsford Parade Committee, the Dracut Old Home Day Committee and the Dracut Rotary Club.
She is an active member and Sunday School teacher at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Lowell where she is also a member of the Ladies Philoptochos Society.
Jennifer currently resides in Chelmsford with her husband Paul Hardy and their two loving daughters, Briana and Katherine.
Jennifer enjoys spending her free time building memories with her family. She enjoys traveling, sunny days at the beach and spending quality time with loved ones.
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Elizabeth A. Amodeo, Type 6 Funeral Director, Embalmer & Chelmsford Location Manager
Elizabeth grew up in New Jersey and came to Boston to attend mortuary school, where she graduated with an Associates Degree in Mortuary Science from New England Institute at Mt. Ida College in 1990.
The following year she was sworn in as a licensed funeral director/embalmer and worked in the greater Boston area for several years.
Having stepped away from funeral service to raise her twin girls and a son, Elizabeth has returned by joining Blake Chelmsford Funeral Home in 2018. As her children head off to college, she is grateful to return to her profession.
Elizabeth quickly became a valued member of the Blake Chelmsford Funeral Home staff. In addition to her role as a Licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer, Elizabeth will now also serve as Location Manager for our Chelmsford office and assists whenever needed at reccently acquired Dracut Funeral Home.
Elizabeth resides in Georgetown with her husband and three children. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family and playing the piano.
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Kathleen Falco, Business Manager & Registered Funeral Home Assistant
Kathy grew up in Charlestown, MA and is a 1978 graduate of North Cambridge Catholic High School. She joined the Blake Chelmsford Funeral Home in 2009 after spending 17 years at home raising their sons, Jeff & Kevin. During that time she was an active volunteer in the local schools.
Kathy is a communicant of St. Mary Parish, where she taught in their Religious Education Program for 10 years and also served as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.
She lives in Chelmsford with her husband Dave and their Golden Retriever, Jackson, who enjoyed growing up in the funeral home, greeting families and napping in the office.
Kathy became a Registered Funeral Home Assistant in 2018. In 2020, she began to reduce her hours and is involved more behind the scenes now. She currently offers support in both the Chelmsford and Dracut locations.
She is also a Notary Public for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
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Walter "Ticky" Kulis, Funeral Attendant
Walter was born and raised in Lowell, having attended St. Stanislaus School and graduated from Lowell High School in 1977.
He joined the staff at Dracut Funeral Home in 2021 after retiring from a successful career of 41 years with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (DCR). Walter looks forward to providing compassion and support to families during what can be a difficult time for them.
For a number of years after high school, Walter was a youth hockey coach in Lowell. He was also an assistant hockey coach at both Lowell and Dracut High Schools.
Walter currently lives in Dracut with his wife Mary, their son Jeremy and their beloved dog, Bentley. In his spare time, he enjoys working in his yard, woodworking, traveling and spending time with family and friends.
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Arthur Dery, Registered Funeral Home Assistant
Arthur is a retired fire lieutenant/EMT, proudly serving the Town of Dracut of over 36 years.
Arthur and his wife Roberta have recently settled in Chelmsford, residing in Historic Chelmsford Center.
He has worked in the funeral service for over 30 years, recently becoming a Registered Funeral Home Assistant at Blake Chelmsford Funeral Home. He is personable, professional and has a great sense of humor to help lighten
everyone’s mood. In retirement, he gets great satisfaction knowing that he is able to still provide a level of service to people in their time of need, as he did as a firefighter.
Arthur enjoys his daily crossword puzzles, can answer almost any trivia question asked and can sometimes be found searching for that special piece of
Christmas memorabilia.
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Kenneth Corcoran, Funeral Attendant
After retiring from Raytheon Corporation, Ken joined the staff of Blake Chelmsford Funeral Home as a Funeral Attendant where he frequently assists with visitations and funerals.
Residents of town since 1974, Ken and his wife, Jeanne, are parishioners of St. Mary Parish.
Ken enjoys golfing and is a member of Mount Pleasant Golf Club in Lowell which makes him another valuable member of the foursome in several local golf tournaments Blake Chelmsford Funeral Home is proud to help sponsor.
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Mark P. Gacek, Licensed Funeral Director
1959 ~ 2020
Mark was born and raised in Lowell. Educated in Lowell’s school system, Mark attended St. Stanislaus School, Lowell High, and Lowell Vocational Regional Technical High School. From there, he continued his family’s legacy at the New England Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences where he graduated with his Funeral Director’s License.
At the age of 20, he was simultaneously attending school, working the third shift at Courier-Citizen, and working funerals for his father at Gacek Funeral Home on Bridge Street in Lowell. Then, in 1985, he opened the Dracut Funeral Home. Its’ state of the art facilities helped shape the funeral industry.
Throughout the years, Mark volunteered his time with the Dracut Scholarship Foundation, primarily working during their annual telethon. Additionally, he was a former Corporator for Washington Savings Bank and a previous member of the Dracut Rotary Club.
Mark was a kind and considerate man who strived to take care of every family during their most difficult time of need for over 35 years.
It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we share the news that Mark passed away on June 15th, 2020. He will always be part of Dracut Funeral Home’s legacy and is deeply missed.
