FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — For nearly eight years, visitors to Williamson Memorial Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Franklin were greeted by an unlikely member of the team who helped ease their pain during some of life's most difficult moments.
Mac Williamson Stephens, a sheepadoodle who served as the funeral home's comfort dog, passed away last Friday after touching the lives of thousands of families throughout his lifetime.
"He has touched over 5,000 families in his lifetime," said Mandi Goodrich, Mac's owner and a funeral director and general manager for Williamson Memorial Funeral Home and Cremation Services.
From an early age, Mac had a natural ability to comfort people on their toughest days.
Goodrich described how the gentle dog would approach grieving visitors with an intuitive understanding of their needs.
"He would just come up to somebody sitting in a chair and just put his head like, right in their lap," Goodrich said.
Mac's compassionate nature didn't go unnoticed beyond Franklin.
After appearing on NewsChannel 5 in 2019, his story gained national attention.
"Next thing we know, I got a phone call and they're like, Mac’s on Sunday Mornings with Jane Pauley," Goodrich said.
Year after year, Mac continued helping people heal in his own special way during funeral services and visitations.
"We just kind of passed him around the pews to people during visitation, and everyone loved on him," Goodrich said.
The loss of Mac is hitting hard for Goodrich, other staff members, and community members who came by to sign a memory book for Mac.
"It's only been three days, and it's just not, it's just not the same," Goodrich said.
"Every morning, the three days a week that I work...I would cook three pieces of bacon and scramble two eggs just for my Mac," said Henrietta Whidby, secretary for Williamson Memorial Funeral Home and Cremation Services.
Now, Mac has his own memorial at Williamson Memorial, where friends and families he helped over the years can leave notes and memories.
"He's got a couple of pages here where his friends have came by and signed and left notes of how they loved his face," Goodrich said.
For Goodrich, Mac represented something truly special in the world of animal companionship.
"They talk about once-in-a-lifetime pets, and that's what he was - a once-in-a-lifetime dog,” Goodrich said.
If you’d like to see the memorial or share a memory of Mac, the funeral home invites you to stop by any time between now and February 24, 2026.
Williamson Memorial Funeral Home and Cremation Services is located at 3009 Columbia Ave. in Franklin.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at robb.coles@newschannel5.com.
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