All families are welcome here

The North End is among Boston’s older neighborhoods, and it’s very diverse. J.S. Waterman-Langone Chapel is well-versed in a wide variety of funeral customs and traditions. We tailor our services to meet a range of needs, and we have team members who speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Spanish, Portuguese and Creole.

Personalized funeral services

Every person’s life has a story. Every story deserves to be told—and every life celebrated. When we speak to families, we ask, How do you want your loved one to be remembered? What would your loved one want his or her guests to take home to remember them by?

Perhaps she loved baking cookies and made her dough with a wooden spoon passed down for generations. To honor her memory, we can give each guest a wooden spoon with her name engraved on it. Maybe he was an angler with a collection of rods and reels. We could display his collection at the memorial and send guests home with his favorite lure.

It’s personalized touches like these that make a funeral or memorial service memorable and meaningful for family and friends.

At J.S. Waterman-Langone Chapel, we strive to create one-of-a-kind tributes that truly capture a loved one’s passions and personality. There are few limits to what we can do.

Chapels and catered events

The funeral home accommodates funeral and memorial services of all types and sizes. The larger of our 2 chapels seats 120. Our smaller chapel has room for 40 people and can serve as a reception room. We work with several 3rd-party caterers who will let you customize their menus. From a continental breakfast to a seafood buffet to a cupcake social, just let us know what you need.

Our promise to you

J.S. Waterman-Langone Chapel is a member of the Dignity Memorial^® network of funeral, cremation and cemetery service providers, providing compassionate care and personalized service you can trust. We aim to serve you and your family as if you are our own.

The funeral home is located at 580 Commercial St., near the North Station. You are welcome to stop by to meet us and tour of our spaces. Please give us a call.

History

In 2005, 2 prestigious Boston funeral firms, Joseph A. Langone Jr. Funeral Home and J.S. Waterman & Sons Waring Funeral Service, merged to form Boston Harborside Home of J.S. Waterman-Langone Chapel, now known as J.S. Waterman-Langone Chapel. These companies each have a fascinating history.

J.S. Waterman & Son Funeral Home

J.S. Waterman & Son funeral home was founded in 1832 by Joseph Samson Waterman and John Seaver, a cabinet maker. The firm was located in the Roxbury district of Boston and served many notable people.

As business grew, Joseph and John built a bigger building in Roxbury—the first building built exclusively for a funeral business in the United States. The firm also had a stable for horses and custom carriages and sleighs. Eventually, Joseph saw a need for additional locations and established funeral homes in Wellesley, Wayland and Cambridge.

The original J.S. Waterman & Son funeral home moved to Kenmore Square in 1921 and was managed by 4 generations of Watermans before Sumner James Waring bought it in 1990.

J.S. Waterman Langone Chapel Funeral Home

Joseph (Giuseppe) A. Langone Sr., an Italian immigrant from Marsico Nuovo, Potenza, founded Joseph A. Langone Funeral Home in the late 1800s. He began, as most funeral directors did at the time, as a stable owner and furniture builder.

The original storefront was on North Street in the North End of Boston. It was one of 8 funeral homes in the North End, and is now the only one left. Joseph’s son, Joseph A. Langone Jr., took over the business and renamed it Joseph A. Langone Jr. Funeral Home. His son, Joseph A. Langone III, took over after his father.

The funeral firms merge

In July 2005, J.S. Waterman & Son in Kenmore Square merged with Joseph A. Langone Jr. Funeral Home in the North End. This merger created the Boston Harborside Home of J.S. Waterman-Langone Chapel, now known as J.S. Waterman-Langone Chapel, which combines more than 250 years of excellence and service to the people of Boston.

As a member of the Dignity Memorial® network, the largest network of licensed funeral, cremation and cemetery service providers in North America, the company continues a legacy of compassionate care.

Specializing in Asian funeral rites

Although we serve all families, J.S. Waterman-Langone Chapel specializes in Asian funeral traditions. Our funeral home has a special ventilation system for incense and allows the burning of joss paper, food, paper representations of a loved one’s favorite things and other items. We also have team members who speak Cantonese, Mandarin and Vietnamese.

The funerals of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti

In 1927, Joseph A. Langone Jr. Funeral Home performed the funerals of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, 2 men found guilty of 1st-degree murder in 1920 after a paymaster and guard were killed during a robbery of a shoe factory in South Braintree, Massachusetts.

Nicola and Bartolomeo were sentenced to death by electric chair and made numerous appeals—all denied despite conflicting and unsubstantial evidence and a confession from another known criminal. The case drew the attention of the entire country—it was front page news at the time.

After Nicola and Bartolomeo were executed, thousands of mourners gathered in Boston's North End to attend their wakes and funerals.