Our Team
Our Team
Each of our staff members is committed to providing your family with the finest in personal care. It is comforting for area families to know that we are available to help at any time of the day or night.
John Cunningham
President & Managing Director
Email: John@CommunityAlternative.ca
John Cunningham has been an Ontario Funeral Director – Class 1 since 1985. He is the Owner and Managing Funeral Director of Community Alternative Funeral Home, and Ashburnham Funeral Home. He is also the founder and owner of Kawartha Aquamation, all located in Peterborough.
John’s father’s family settled in the Warsaw area in 1831 and his mother’s family has been providing funeral services to Ontarians for 5 generations. John earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Diploma with Honours in Funeral Service Education from Humber College. In April of 2014, John became one of a very few funeral directors in Canada to earn the designation of Certified Funeral Service Practitioner.
John currently serves as the President of the Ontario Funeral Service Association. He is the Chair of the Bereavement Authority of Ontario Aquamation sub-committee, and is a Charter member of 100 Men of Peterborough charity where he served on the Steering Committee for several years. He is a Past President of the Bay of Quinte Funeral Service Association, a Past Chair of Guaranteed Funeral Deposits of Canada, and has been a member of the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce since 2004. He is current Board member of Show Place Performance Centre in Peterborough, is a member of the Peterborough Estate Planning Council, the Bereavement Ontario Network, and serves on the Marketing Committee of Mapleridge Activity Centre.
Volunteer activities have included Rotary, Caring in Action, James Strath School Council, and Activity Haven. John speaks to many groups throughout the year about various topics relating to funeral service and Aquamation.
In October 2023, John was named the Peterborough + Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce Business Citizen of the Year. In 2024 he was inducted into the Junior Achievement Northern and Eastern Ontario Business Hall of Fame.
In his spare time, John plays tuba with the Peterborough Concert Band, and Vintage Brass Quintet.
Cindy Koshowski
General Manager, Funeral Pre Planner & Funeral Celebrant
A life-long resident of Peterborough, Cindy has provided business & personnel management support to businesses in our community for over 20 years. Cindy has a thirst for continued education and has recently added graduate of the Funeral Services Education, Funeral Pre Planner program from Humber College and Funeral Celebrant, by the Authority of Celebrating Life Ministries to her repertoire.
Outside of work, Cindy is a proud member of the Women’s Business Network Peterborough, 100 Women of Peterborough and has spent many years volunteering with local youth sports teams, cycling, gardening, cooking and spending time with her family.
Gary Stewart
Funeral Director - Emeritus
Gary earned his Funeral Director's License in 1960 and spent the early part of his career as a funeral director in the City of Peterborough. Gary went on to a very successful career in private business as the founder of Stewart Travel. He served as Peterborough County Warden for three terms, followed by two terms as MPP for Peterborough Riding and Cabinet Minister in the Ontario Government.
In addition to serving families in need at Ashburnham Funeral Home & Reception Centre, Gary is very active in our community.
Robin Foster
Funeral Director
Robin has a background in Industrial Microbiology and earned his Bachelor of Theology degree in Peterborough in 1991. He has 20 years' experience in pastoral ministry. Robin attended Humber College's Funeral Services Education program and earned his Class 1 license in 2014. He has experience in funeral home management, has assisted families with arrangements, and served as a celebrant. Robin brings compassion and professionalism to his role as funeral director and is proud to be part of the Ashburnham and Community Alternative Funeral Home team since June, 2022. Outside of work Robin has experience as an acoustic guitar teacher and is passionate about Celtic guitar, reading, and anything science related. He also loves spending time with his 6 grandchildren and his Mailtipoo, Max.
Stuart Ridley
Funeral Director - Class 1
Stuart has been an Ontario licensed funeral director since 1994. He has served Ontario families for over 25 years with professionalism, integrity and respect. Stuart is honoured to serve the local Peterborough community. Having always worked with family owned firms, he is excited to work with his new family at Ashburnham and Community Alternative Funeral Homes.
Stuart is an avid hockey fan, having played, coached minor hockey for many years he is still playing now as an Oldtimer. He loves to explore the outdoors and can be found riding his motorcycle on off days now in the Kawartha region. Travel and scuba diving are also high on his activity list.
Victoria McAuley
Funeral Director - Class 1
Email: victoria@communityalternative.ca
Victoria graduated with honours from the Funeral Service Education: Funeral Director Class 1 program at Humber College. Raised in Palmerston and Waterloo, Ontario, she moved to Peterborough with her partner, Scott and dog, Groot in 2019. Before becoming a funeral director, Victoria completed a degree at Wilfrid Laurier University, where she was also the captain of their Varsity Swim Team. She then went on to complete a Social Service Worker diploma at Conestoga College. Victoria believes she has finally found the career for her – serving her community with compassion, professionalism, and integrity as a funeral director with Community Alternative and Ashburnham Funeral Homes. In her spare time, she enjoys doing crosswords, writing short stories, making various crafts, and DIY projects. In 2017, Scott and Victoria built their own cedar strip canoe, which they use when they go interior camping in Algonquin Park.
Sarah McLaughlin
Funeral Director
Sarah is an Honours Graduate of the Funeral Service Education Funeral Director Class 1 program at Humber College. She moved to the Peterborough area in 2008 from Cobourg and is an alumni member of the La Jeunesse Girls Choir. She received a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in English Literature from Trent University in 2011, and is working towards her Masters Degree in Cultural Theory. Her parents instilled in her the importance and value of fellowship and being of service to others which is what she brings to her profession every day. When not working Sarah enjoys spending as much time as she can with her family, friends, and her cat Eggar. She enjoys volunteering with community events at the Library quite frequently, occasionally contributes to a podcast that analyzes film and television shows, and she is always in the middle of writing a book.
John Taylor
Funeral Director Assistant
Born and raised in Peterborough John, retired from the Financial Services Industry after 45 years. John enjoys semi-retirement providing indoor and outdoor maintenance and assisting Funeral Directors at Ashburnham and Community Alternative Funeral Homes. He enjoys spending time with his wife, 5 children, their spouses and 7 grand children.
Barry Johnson
Funeral Director Assistant
Born in Windsor, Ontario, Barry moved with his family to Peterborough. He met his wife-to-be, Cathy, at Adam Scott Vocational Institute. They have been happily married 40 years, and have three daughters, two son-in-laws and two grandchildren. After 39 years at Quaker Oats, Barry has enjoyed semi-retirement providing maintenance services and assisting the Funeral Directors at Ashburnham and Community Alternative Funeral Homes. Besides enjoying time with his family and dogs, he manages to squeeze in time for golf, fishing, baseball, water colour painting, drawing and playing the bass.
Tracey Ormond
Chef & Owner of That's A Wrap Catering
Receptions are becoming an increasingly important part of funerals and memorials. They are a time of fellowship and food shared amongst family and friends. Community Alternative Funeral & Cremation Services can provide reception services to accommodate any taste and budget. From the most simple of “tea and coffee” receptions to elegant full course meals with a bar, our staff will work to make this special event just right. Our large, modern kitchen can service full receptions for up to 200 people. The food for our delicious menu is created onsite to ensure the highest level of quality and freshness. Tracey Ormond is our in-house Chef and is the owner and operator of That's A Wrap Catering Company. She was born and raised in Peterborough, Ontario where she attended SSFC and Trent University. Tracey has over 20 years’ experience in the food and customer service industry. Her passion is taking care of people, and when she is not creating a beautiful display of food, you will find her preparing her specialty wraps for delivery all over Peterborough and surrounding area. Tracey is especially pleased to provide custom food orders for families at Community Alternative. Special requests for unique foods during a reception or full meals between visitations are accommodated with pleasure. Would you like to offer wine & beer to your guests? Not a problem for our reception staff. We will ensure that bar stocked with your choice of wine & beer, along with a Smart Serve certified bartender will enhance your reception. Our kitchen is also available for community programs. Currently Tracey is offering community cooking socials for people of all needs and skill levels. If you love to cook, need help in the kitchen, or just want to try something new, call Tracey to find out about the delicious, affordable, and fun meal programs. Do you like to prepare your own meals but need a bit of help with variety or planning? Check out one of the great meal programs such as the freezer or weekender program. Ask how you can use the freezer program as a fundraiser. It's a great way to raise money and have fun while doing it. Tracey founded That’s A Wrap Catering on the principals of service excellence. The menu is simple and designed for people on the go, while, the meal programs are designed to save you time and money.
Ashburnham Funeral Home & Reception Centre, Community Alternative and Kawartha Aquamation are proud to serve Peterborough, ON and the following (but not limited too) communities of: Lakefield, Selwyn, Millbrook, Bridgenorth, Ennismore, Cavan, Apsley, Buckhorn, Curve Lake, Hall Glen, Hastings, Havelock, Norwood, Campbellford, Stirling, Marmora, Keene, Assumption, Westwood, Cobourg, Port Hope, Bailieboro, Fraserville, Springville, Bethany, Omemee, Roseneath, Hiawatha, Pontypool, Youngs Point, and Lindsay ON.
