Our Heritage
Elliot H. DeVoe (1890-1968) of Allenwood, NJ, joined David B. Laubach's undertaker directorship in 1915. Married in 1914, he and his bride moved into the lower half of 148 West Washington, (across from North Wandling Avenue) while David B. Laubach lived in the other half (he moved from Riegelsville). Laubach's practice was well established by this time; there are extant records from 1897.
They worked together in the rear of the property, in a garage, which still stands. They built their own caskets, but bought and installed the linings. At that period, they also kept a stock of "funeral furnishings" to take to the home of the deceased and set up viewings. These furnishings included drapes, curtains, vases, kneelers and chairs. They hosted a large percent of the Methodist and Catholic populations.
In 1923 Elliot bought from Doc Smith the home at 136 West Washington Avenue (built in 1893) as his residence. However, he rented his parlor for viewing if the homes of the deceased were too small to accommodate the family gathering. This custom grew, becoming more common into the 1930's when both the coffin industry and funeral parlors began to emerge.
In 1925, Elliot bought Charles H. Ford's funeral business for $5,000, on condition that Ford not practice undertaking in Washington for five years, and DeVoe's was the only funeral business in town until Paul Ford reopened in 1938. Meanwhile, in 1926 Elliot bought the brick building which still serves as the funeral home at 142 West Washington Avenue from Margaret Wandling. This structure dates from about 1860. When purchased, the upper floor was divided into rental units. In 1928 it became Washington's first funeral home under the name DeVoe Funeral Service.
In 1946, Elliot's son E. Thomas DeVoe, having returned from service in World War II a hero (after serving as an aerial artillery spotter over Normandy during the invasion), then graduating from McCallister's School of Embalming in New York City, joined the family business. In 1953 they added a brick addition to the funeral home to seat 125 more people. 1953 was also the year of an automobile crash with the most fatalities and the largest funeral until an 11-fatality crash in West Virginia in the 1960's. The Matlock family, with 5 adults and 5 children in the same vehicle, was hit by a truck on Route 31. None of them survived, and their funeral at DeVoe's required a procession of seven hearses to the cemetary.
Elliot died in June of 1968. He was a compassionate man who quietly provided free funerals for those who could not afford them, particularly during the depression years.
Elliot was succeeded in the firm in 1968 by his son E. Thomas DeVoe, and in 1990, by grandson Mark on his graduation from Mercer County College in Trenton, NJ. Mark tells of a fire at 1:45am on November 20, 1974 that destroyed two garages and six vehicles (1 hearse, 1 Cadillac, and 4 station wagons for flowers, etc.), outdated funeral equipment, old records, and a dog in its kennel. A funeral was scheduled for the next morning, so they borrowed some vehicles from other companies and proceeded. For the next month they used a hunter green flower car, a bright gold hearse and a blue sedan, awaiting the insurance settlement.
In 1980, one of the largest funerals in state history was held for Phillip La Manaco of White Township. La Monaco was a member of the New Jersey State Patrol, from the Hope barracks. He was shot and killed during a traffic stop. His funeral drew officers from as far away as the Royal Canadian Moundies, Florida, and many points between. Governor Keane and Lieutenant Governor Byrne flew in by helicopter. There were so many in attendance that the viewing had to be moved to Washington's Assembly of God Church.
1990 saw the death of E. Thomas DeVoe, another upstanding and compassionate man. By 2003, DeVoes has handled more than 11,000 burials including those of the locally prominent - Sloans, Wright, Judge Bower, Vernon Oakes, Bry-Nildsen and Brian Heinrich - as well as charity funerals for the less fortunate
