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Former bank drive-thru transforms into funeral drive-thru in Wilmington
FOX 29's Chris O'Connell reports.
WILMINGTON, Del. - A Wilmington funeral home is now doing drive-thru services. The building used to be a bank, so they just converted the drive-thru window to now accommodate services to offer families a way to mourn “together” while social distancing.
“This was a PNC bank building when we purchased the bank there was a teller line right here,” said Evan Smith of Evan W. Smith Funeral Services.
The former bank drive-thru has now become a funeral drive- hru in Wilmington.
“With COVID and the restrictions, we wanted to be able to offer families a public gathering- to have more than 10 people but do it in a safe way,” said Smith.
Evan Smith recently redesigned his family owned funeral home, and families can now pay their respects through a window from a safe distance.
“It’s been harder. Families are accustomed to large family gatherings. So having to pick and choose and who can participate and who can help them through the grieving process has been difficult,” Smith said.
As funeral services become less personal these days this may be no surprise, unfortunately, in a worldwide pandemic where the business of death is booming.
“I never thought 15 years ago we’d have a drive thru. I never thought we’d be webcasting services, that we’d have virtual selection for merchandise. A lot has changed,” said Smith.
Drive thru wakes can be done privately or stay open to anyone who would like to pay their respects. Even with the versatility, Smith has mixed feelings about the changes.
“I think everyone understands the need for it,” he said. “With the pandemic, I think options on how they can have viewings for family and friends [is necessary].”
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