Couple Carries On Funeral Home Legacy Albeit With New Name

Couple Carries On Funeral Home Legacy Albeit With New Name
Couple

SELBYVILLE – Those who do not see the sign might mistake it for a house.

The black shutters, brick pathway and large front door give the building a homey feel. But it is, and has always been, a funeral home.

The business started in 1896, when a man named Paynter Watson moved to town.

Fourteen years after his death, his wife created a partnership with her daughter and son-in-law to create Watson & Whaley in 1932.

The funeral home was built that same year, making it the first full-fledged funeral home south of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.

The next owner, Charles Hastings, bought the business from the family in 1980 and created Hastings Funeral Home in 1981.

After changing ownership again in 2014, Hastings Funeral Home became the Bishop-Hastings Funeral Home.

Now the owners, Bryan and Amy Bishop, are continuing the tradition of operating a family-owned business.

Located on South Main Street in Selbyville, Del., the funeral home caters to residents from both Delaware and Maryland, where they are licensed.

“We have so many people that come in and are concerned about cost. We can help them to different avenues that are affordable to them,” said Amy Bishop, who along with her husband Bryan own the Bishop-Hastings Funeral Home in Selbyville, Del.

“We have so many people that come in and are concerned about cost. We can help them to different avenues that are affordable to them,” said Amy Bishop, who along with her husband Bryan own the Bishop-Hastings Funeral Home in Selbyville, Del.

“We have a lot of people that say, ‘Oh, I didn’t use you because we aren’t from Delaware,’” Amy Bishop says. “We serve Ocean Pines. We serve Berlin. We serve Ocean City.”

Bishop-Hastings offers traditional services, cremations and memorials with various payment plans, along with pet cremations and services.

“We have so many people that come in and are concerned about cost,” Amy Bishop says. “We can help them to different avenues that are affordable to them.”

Along with different payment plans, those that use Bishop-Hastings can pre-plan a funeral.

Since starting the business, Amy Bishop says she now sees the value in pre-planning.

“You plan a wedding and you plan all these other big events in your life, and unfortunately this is the end of your life, or a loved one’s,” she says.

These services, pre-planned or not, can be personalized to a person’s hobbies, career or interment location.

“We can have a service here or viewing here, and then we go back and do a burial in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area,” Bishop says.

Although these services change constantly to fit the needs of the individual, Bryan Bishop says the staff is always the same.

“When you come here, you are always going to see someone familiar,” Bryan Bishop said.

For more information, call 302-436-8421 or visit www.bishophastingsfh.com.

About The Author: Bethany Hooper

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Bethany Hooper has been with The Dispatch since 2016. She currently covers various general stories. Hooper graduated from Stephen Decatur High School in 2012 and the University of Maryland in 2016, where she completed double majors in journalism and economics.