Defunct Funeral Parlors of Luzerne County

Former Grabowski Funeral Home in Nanticoke

 

Prior to the 20th century, the embalming of corpses was minimally regulated. As a result, many "self-taught" undertakers and fly-by-night funeral directors set up shop throughout Luzerne County, where the dangerous working conditions inside the mines and factories provided no shortage of customers and generated great animosity between these maverick morticians and their formally-trained counterparts. Many of these turn-of-the-century undertakers, like Edward P. Phillips of Wilkes-Barre, were furniture salesmen who "upholstered" bodies to supplement their income. Some undertakers of this period even sold pianos and phonographs in their showrooms.

This unfriendly rivalry spurred Hazleton undertaker R.E. Drake to publish a scathing notice in the Sentinel, on July 26, 1886, stating: "I notice all in this section claiming to be undertakers, no matter how limited their stock of information may be." Drake goes on to savage one competitor in particular by writing: "I venture this man never saw half a dozen dead bodies in his lifetime," and declaring that "ten years ago, they (Drake's competitors) hardly knew what the word (embalming) meant." The reason why Drake so unabashedly trashed his rival? As it turned out, in May of the previous year, one of Drake's competitors spread a rumor that Drake (who was one of the city's first undertakers) had died.

 

This duplex, at 53 Hudson Rd, Plains, was used by Frank A. Kopicki as a funeral parlor in the 1920s. You can still see the letter "K" in the railing ironwork.

 

Yes, the funeral business really was that cut-throat back in the old days. In 1903, the Wilkes-Barre Sunday Leader reported on an incident involving two Pittston undertakers, one English-speaking and the other Lithuanian, who arrived at the death scene of two immigrants. The English-speaking undertaker, arriving first, learned that one dead man was insured and the other wasn't. Naturally, he left the corpse of the uninsured man to his rival, only to learn on his way back to the funeral parlor that he had placed the wrong body in his wagon by mistake. When the two wagons passed on the main street, the English-speaking undertaker convinced the other to make a switch. The story concluded: The English undertaker buried his corpse and then had himself appointed executor of the dead man's estate and collected a large sum for the funeral. The Lithuanian undertaker buried the penniless corpse, received a small order from the Poor Board and that was the end of the affair.

However, never was questionable ethics better illustrated than in March of 1915, when (according to the March 11 edition of the Mount Carmel Item) three undertakers got into a physical altercation in Shamokin, Northumberland County, over the remains of one Walter Gurseky, resulting in charges of assault and battery against one of the undertakers. Undertaking continued to suffer from an image problem until 1937, when Governor George Earle conducted a personal investigation into the unethical practices of the State Undertakers Examining Board, which resulted in eight members of the board being charged by Attorney General Margiotti with criminal extortion, with two arrests being made in Luzerne County. Since that time, undertaking has become a most dignified and noble profession.

 

Now a private residence, this home at 56 Gaylord Ave. in Plymouth was the William A. Reese Funeral Chapel until a few years ago.

 

This article will explore some of the early funeral homes and undertaking parlors of Luzerne County, all of which are now defunct, and also the pioneering men (and some women) who paved the way for modern funeral directors in Wilkes-Barre, Kingston, Pittston and surrounding areas. Of course, since many funeral homes are multi-generational businesses, it's likely that some second, third, and even fourth-generation funeral directors are going to read this, and since it's possible that I may have erred in some details, I encourage anyone who has corrections or revisions to contact me.

 

184 W. Church St.

  

Grabowski Undertaking Parlor, 184 West Church Street, Nanticoke

In November of 1926, Joseph L.  Grabowski opened an undertaking parlor at the above location after being employed for four years by undertaker A.V. Kozak. Like many Pennsylvania undertakers of the era, Grabowski was a graduate of Eckels School of Embalming in Philadelphia. His father, Frank, was the owner of a popular store which was located on the corner of West Church and Fairchild streets (first picture). As his business flourished, Grabowski eventually moved his establishment into his father's old store, which still bears the Grabowski name on the facade. This establishment continued to thrive into the 1960s. Today, his original funeral parlor at 184 West Church Street is a multi-unit apartment dwelling.

 

595 Carey Ave.

  

M.S. Frederick Undertaking Parlor, 595 Carey Avenue, Wilkes-Barre

Born in 1866 in the borough of Sugar Notch, Miller Stanley Frederick was a prominent local funeral director until his death in 1937. Frederick, who entered the profession in 1890, was initially based in Plymouth, and later expanded to Forty Fort and Wilkes-Barre. His funeral home at 595 Carey Avenue was established in either the late 1910s or early 1920s, and also served as his home until his death at the age of 71. This building, which appears to be a private residence today, sits next door to the Snowden Funeral Home and Daniel J. Hughes Funeral Home, a block which is coloquially known as "Undertaker's Row." (Actually it isn't, I just made that part up. But wouldn't it be cool if it was?)

 

7 North Main St.

 

John B. Graham, 7 North Main Street, Ashley

In 1875, John B. Graham entered the furniture and funeral business in the borough of Ashley, just five years after immigrating to the United States from Ireland. After his death in 1918, his son, Homer, carried on the family business, which was located on North Main Street. Today, the Graham undertaking parlor is home to a bar called the Pour House.

 

 
 

Charles A. Fitzpatrick, 98 Wood Street, Wilkes-Barre

Born in 1880, Fitzpatrick practiced his trade on both sides of the river, with an establishment in Plymouth at 140 East Main Street and a second location at 96-98 Wood Street in Wilkes-Barre (pictured above). Records suggest that this second location opened sometime around 1920. After Charles' death in 1949, business continued under the ownership of his wife, Louise Fisher Fitzpatrick. By this time the business had moved to 110 E. Main Street in Plymouth. Of these three locations, only the building on Wood Street still stands. The building is currently used as a doctor's office and apartments.

In addition to his 35-year career as a funeral director, Fitzpatrick was a deputy coroner for fifteen years. At the time of his death, he was also the chairman of the State Board of Undertakers. Just two years before his death, while serving as deputy coroner, Fitzpatrick was on duty the afternoon of the Nottingham mine explosion in Plymouth, which claimed fifteen lives. After working through the night at the colliery identifying the dead, he continued his tireless efforts at his funeral parlor, where all the victims were taken after the tragedy.

 

159 N. Main St.

 

Thomas F. Conlon, 159 North Main Street, Plains

For most of his lengthy career, which spanned nearly sixty years, Conlon operated a funeral parlor at his home address, 24 Maffet Street in Plains Township. A newspaper advertisement from the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader (May 14, 1921) places his establishment at 159 North Main Street. A native of Scranton, Conlon was a graduate of the Eckels College of Embalming and a member of the National Funeral Directors Association. He passed away in 1968 at the age of 82.

 

149 Machell Ave.

  

Disque Funeral Home, 149 Machell Avenue, Dallas

In 1940, 25-year-old Richard Henry Disque opened a funeral directing business from his parents' home at 149 Machell Avenue in Dallas (pictured above) after serving as an apprentice to undertaker D. Ward Evans and Joseph Graziano of Pittston. On a somewhat related note, my mother once gave me hell for keeping a dead pet hamster in the family freezer. I cannot help but wonder if I might have gone on to become a mortician if only my parents had been more supportive. 

A graduate of the Eckels College of Mortuary Science, Disque later relocated his establishment to 2940 Memorial Highway. A skilled carpenter and handyman, Disque began construction of the new funeral home in 1953 with his own hands; he even personally cleared the lot by chopping down trees during nights and weekends. Although Disque passed away in 1992, the Richard H. Disque Funeral Home on Memorial Highway is still in operation, under the ownership of Edward G. Horn, who purchased it from Richard's son in 2011. As for the Machell avenue property, it is now a private residence.

 

26 Ashley St.

 Mroziewski Funeral Parlor, 26 Ashley Street, Ashley

Between the 1920s and 1930s, Zigmund "Zig" Mroziewski operated a funeral parlor at 26 Ashley Street, in the borough of Ashley. He later went by the professional name of Zigmund Morris, perhaps owing to the difficulty of pronunciation. In 1939 he moved to Sugar Notch, and died from a stroke while standing on Main Street in Ashley talking to friends. Little else is known about his professional career, and the former funeral parlor is now a private residence.

 

388 W. Main St.

 

Maslowski Funeral Service, 388 West Main Street, Plymouth 

In 1931, longtime Plymouth undertaker Peter Maslowski passed away at his home at 388 West Main Street, which was the site of Maslowski Funeral Service from the early 1900s until 1952. In July of 1933, Peter's son, Clement V. Maslowski (Maslow), became a licensed funeral director and established himself at the same location. His younger brother, Leonard, also became a funeral director, and the brothers set up shop at 219 West Main Street in 1952. After Leonard passed away five years later from a heart attack at the age of 43, his wife Sophie assumed control of the business, which she ran, with help from Maslow, until her death in 1983. Clement passed away in 1998.

 

127 E. Carey St.

 

Shubert Funeral Parlor, 127 East Carey Street, Plains

Before becoming a funeral director, Hudson native Joseph J. Shubert was a star baseball player. After a tryout with Baltimore Orioles owner Jack Dunn, Shubert was offered a chance to be a major league catcher, but chose the funeral profession instead. As an amateur, he was teammates with Joe Cobb, another product of Hudson, who later appeared in one game as a catcher for the Detroit Tigers.
After graduating from the Eckel College of Embalming in 1921, Shubert became a prominent undertaker in Plains. The property pictured above, located at 127 East Carey Street, was used by Shubert as an undertaking parlor in the 1930s before his removal to Mill Street. Sadly, Shubert's life was cut short by heart disease; his body was discovered inside his parked car in 1953.

 

609 N. Main St.

Morris Funeral Home, 609 North Main Street, Wilkes-Barre

Born in Edwardsville, Joseph Morris served as an aviation instructor during WW1 and entered the funeral directing business in 1918 after graduating from Eckels College of Mortuary Science, setting up his first funeral parlor at 609 North Main Street in the Hilldale section of Wilkes-Barre. His wife, Mary, eventually joined him in business; advertisements from the early 1920s prominently describe her as a "Lady Embalmer". This proved to be a wise business move, as many of the older generation considered it improper for female corpses to be prepared by male hands. Within a few years many competitor's advertisements, following Morris' lead, began to mention that they had female assistants. As business flourished, the need for a larger property arose and Joseph and Mary Morris relocated to 625 North Main Street, which was eventually passed down to their son, John V. Morris. This funeral home is still in operation today. 

Joseph Morris also had a keen interest in politics. He was elected county treasurer in 1931 and later held a position in the Luzerne County prothonotary's office.  On June 30, 1950, Morris suffered a fatal heart attack while attending a Lions Club meeting at the Hotel Reddington. He was 56 at the time of his death. His wife, who got her start in the business working alongside her first husband, undertaker John Pakovski, became the first licensed female funeral director in Luzerne County after obtaining her license in 1918 and she continued the business for several decades after Joseph's passing. In 1992, she was honored by the Luzerne County Funeral Directors Association for her long and illustrious career in the profession and her service to the community. She passed away in 1980 at the age of 84.

 

295 Parrish St.

 

Durkin Funeral Home, 295 Parrish Street, Wilkes-Barre

A 1922 graduate of Eckels College of Mortuary Science, Gerald L. Durkin is best remembered as one of the founding partners of the Mamary-Durkin Funeral Home on Parrish Street in Wilkes-Barre. However, his earlier establishment, which was located a few blocks away at 295 Parrish Street, still stands and is currently a private residence. This location operated from 1936 to 1946, at which time he relocated to 19 Lee Park Avenue, which also stands today as a private residence. After the flood of 1972, in which his funeral home was terribly damaged, Durkin entered into a partnership with Andrew Mamary, who operated a South Main Street funeral home between 1952 and 1960. In 1960, Mamary relocated to 59 Parrish Street, the current address of the Mamary-Durkin Funeral Service Corp.
In 1976, Durkin celebrated his 50th year in the funeral industry. He retired from his position as an instructor of embalming and mortuary plastic surgery at the H.E. Dolan College of Embalming in 1928 and later served as the director of embalming for the Philadelphia County Morgue. He passed away in 1984.

293 S. River St.

 

Mikelski & Son Funeral Home, 293 South River Street, Plains

Michael J. Mikelski, a 1934 graduate of the American Embalming Academy in New York, operated the Mikelski & Son Funeral Home for forty years until his death in 1974. His son, Joseph, took over the business until his retirement in 2012. The property is now the home of a hair salon, Theory Salon and Wellness.

 

365 Bennett Street

 

Honeywell Funeral Parlor, 365 Bennett Street, Luzerne

Between 1926 and 1985, funeral director Russell C. Davis lived and worked out of this Bennett Street building in Luzerne, which he purchased from Clinton Honeywell. After Davis' death in 1985, the building was acquired by Russell's nephew, William A. Reese (also a funeral director), as a branch office.

Founded in 1881 by brothers Ira, Nelson and Clinton Honeywell, this undertaking parlor was one of the oldest in the borough of Luzerne. Ira, who was a salesman, died in 1915. Nelson, a funeral director, died in 1923. Clinton passed away in 1944. Today, the building they shared on Bennett Street lives on as an office for Accutone Hearing Services, a family-owned business with locations in Peckville and Old Forge.

Dispositions of other historic funeral homes and undertaking parlors of Luzerne County:

John J. Baloga. 594 North Main Street, Wilkes-Barre (1927-1966). Building torn down at unknown date, a modern house now sits on the site.

James J. Crossin. 346 Miller St., Luzerne (circa 1910). Building may or may not be same one used as funeral parlor.

Alexander Ferguson. 29 E. Main St., Plymouth (circa 1877-1893). Spot currently occupied by newer commercial building.

Alexander Ferguson. 135 W. Main St., Plymouth (circa 1893-1897). Spot currently occupied by Bayard Printing.

C.A. Ferguson. 35 Academy Street, Plymouth (circa 1911). Now site of industrial warehouse. 

M.S. Frederick & Sons. 49 Center Street, Forty Fort (circa 1931-1937). Now site of a playground and parking lot.

M.S. Frederick & Sons. 16 E. Main St., Plymouth (circa 1957). Building still stands, formerly site of Aumick's Audio Visual Sales.

M.S. Frederick & Sons. 1188 Wyoming Avenue, Forty Fort (circa 1942-1997). Built in 1879, this building still stands and is currently listed for sale. 

Drew Harter/Tubbs-Harter Funeral Home. 84 South Prospect Street, Nanticoke (circa 1950-1960). Torn down in 1980s. Current site of church parking lot.

Henney & Murray. 85 South Washington Street, Wilkes-Barre (1894-1895). Modern office/commercial space.

Earl W. Lohman. 84 South Prospect Street, Nanticoke (1961-1980). Currently church parking lot. Lohman was successor to Drew Harter.

John J. Maher. 330 N. Maple Avenue, Kingston (established in 1886). Current site of Maher-Collins Funeral Home.

Edgar Thomas Maury. 508 Second St., West Pittston (circa 1920s). Now the back yard of an adjoining home.

M.J. McLaughlin. 40 East Northampton St., Wilkes-Barre (circa 1899). Now the site of a PA Cyber school, in a modern building adjoining the RC Movie Theatre.

Harold F. Mooney & Co. 83 East Northampton Street, Wilkes-Barre (circa 1881-1930). Currently parking area for Holy Redeemer High School.

Mooney Funeral Service. 131 South Washington Street, Wilkes-Barre (circa 1933-1952). Currently a parking lot.

E.P. Phillips. 103-105 South Main St., (1880-1922). Parking for Bell Home Furnishings.

Arthur A. Sharpe. Was located at corner of Main & Manhattan streets in Ashley (1899 to ?). Property is currently George A. Strish funeral home.

F.E. Williams. 140 E. Main St., Nanticoke (circa 1903-1909). Currently a vacant lot.