In 1922 Percival Xavier Dermody started his Funeral Director Apprenticeship with a local Hamilton undertaker named Bill Gormley. The next year he got his Funeral Directors license, and in the late 1920's Dermody became a partner with Gormley.In 1933 Percival became the owner of the funeral home and renamed it to P.X. Dermody Funeral Home. Percival's son Bill Dermody worked in the business all his life. In 1948, he got his Funeral Directors License and joined his sister Felicitas - one of the area's first women funeral directors - in their father's business. Serious health problems sidelined Bill in 1969, and the next year he leased the business (but not the name on the buildings) to Bill Markey, a friend and fellow funeral director.The Markey family ran the business as Dermody-Markey and later in the 1980's as Markey-Dermody. In the 1980's the Markey's had decided to focus their operations in the East end and closed the two original P.X. Dermody locations on King Street East and East Avenue South. When their twenty year lease expired on December 31 1989, the Dermody family took back the properties.In February of the next year Paul Dermody, his mother Mary and brother Bill re-opened P.X. Dermody Funeral Homes. The past thirty years have witnessed significant growth for their family owned and operated business with the re-establishment of the two original locations (including the renovation and re-opening of the funeral home at 1919 King Street East ) and the opening of a newly renovated location at 796 Upper Gage Ave.