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Demaine Funeral Home

GPS Coordinates: 38.7995182, -77.0478586
Closest Address: 520 South Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314

Demaine Funeral Home

Here follows an excerpt from the ABC Channel 7 News website back in 2017:

One of Virginia’s oldest funeral homes gets new look, opens to public

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (ABC7) — One of Virginia’s oldest funeral homes has undergone its largest renovation since relocating 65 years ago to its three-and-a-half story building in Old Town Alexandria, and they're opening their doors to the public on Thursday.

The Demaine Funeral Home has occupied the corner of Gibbon and South Washington streets since 1952, but its story goes back even further.

According to history documented by the funeral home, in 1789 while in his mid-teens William Demaine found employment as a cabinetmaker back in a time when they also made caskets.

"He sort of felt like in his spare time rather than have people come in and have to wait for a casket, he started to build caskets and put them in the back room of a little cabinet making shop called Ingle & McMunn in Alexandria,” said Windsor Demaine II, former owner and great-grandson of the founder.

William Demaine was working for the early Alexandria business when on the night of December 14, 1799, a messenger from the Mt. Vernon Estate arrived to announce that George Washington had died and they needed the business to build a lead-lined mahogany casket that would fit the more than six-foot tall president. Although it remains undocumented as to who exactly worked on the casket, staff at the funeral home speculate the young Demaine assisted with the work.

“However, when Washington died he was six-foot-two and so Doctor Craik and Doctor Dick came to my great-grandfather, William Demaine. And of course, there wasn’t a casket there that would be big enough for Washington and also they wanted something red-lined because they hadn’t really determined what he had died from," Windsor Demaine II said.

William Demaine went on to become a partner of the cabinetmaking business after it was bought out by another firm and in 1841 he bought out their mortuary service and established one of the first funeral homes at the corner of Fairfax and Prince streets in Old Town.

Eventually the business was moved to 817 King Street and from there they relocated to its current location -- and now the building has a brand new look.

New features from the renovations include a reception room, multi-purpose rooms to meet the needs of different group sizes, upgraded sound system and speakers that allow for new technology such as ipods and live-streamingservices like Pandora, all new furniture, and colonial artwork.

Some of the building’s original features included a smoking lounge and a garden – both aspects that no other funeral home in the area had, making them ahead of the curve for their time, current Funeral Home Director Branham Mann explained. Although the smoking lounge remains an unrenovated part of the building and the garden no longer exists, Branham says they continue to stay ahead with a new kind of funeral called “Life Well Celebrated" that allow families to personalize their funerals with mementos.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Demaine Funeral Home website:

Since the early 1840s, the Demaine family has been synonymous with the highest standard of funeral care in the Alexandria community. Likewise, four generations of the Everly family have served Virginia families after the loss of loved ones. In 2016, Joe Everly and his daughter, Danielle, joined Windsor Demaine at Demaine Funeral Home, and Everly Funeral Home in Fairfax was renamed Demaine Funeral Home. Together, these pioneering leaders provide funeral and cremation services with a focus on personal touch.

Demaine Funeral Home dates back to 1789, when families turned to their local cabinetmaker for caskets. Early one morning, this custom brought an exhausted and cold messenger to the shop’s front door with the news that General George Washington had died at the age of 67. The messenger rode 14 miles with General Washington's measurements so the cabinetmaker could make a lead-lined mahogany casket to fit.

From cabinetmaker to funeral innovator:
In 1841, Demaine Funeral Home opened at the corner of Fairfax and Prince streets in the bustling Scottish seaport town of Alexandria. The business is one of the oldest in Virginia. Early ledgers include services for prominent statesmen and well-to-do Virginia families.

In 1929, Windsor Demaine Jr. took over the family funeral business after both his father and grandfather died within a two-month period. He became the fourth generation of his family to operate the business.

Windsor Jr. moved the business from its storefront location to a four-story, white-column location on South Washington Street, a significant step in Demaine Funeral Home history. It had on-site parking, a flower shop, a large chapel and several parlors. In 1963, Windsor III joined his father in the business. Windsor III was instrumental in the expansion of Demaine Funeral Home to the community of Springfield in 1968.

Three locations, two families upholding a legacy:
Demaine Funeral Home joined the Dignity Memorial family in 1992. Windsor III remained at the helm, guiding families with care.

Two members from another family with deep roots in funeral service, Joe Everly and his daughter, Danielle, joined Demaine Funeral Home in 2016 to help continue a tradition of excellence. Everly Funeral Home in Fairfax was renamed Demaine Funeral Home.

In 2017 and 2019, the Alexandria and Springfield locations were remodeled to better serve today's families with more casual gatherings and catered events.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Annandale Chamber of Commerce website:

The Death of George Washington
A Glimpse into the Past of Demaine Funeral Home

The Demaine Funeral Home finds its origin dating back to 1789 when families would turn to their local cabinetmaker to build a casket.
Ingle & McMunn, was such a business in early Alexandria, who had in their employ a young and promising cabinetmaker, William Demaine. It was Demaine, only in his mid-teens, who thought it foolish that families should have to wait for a coffin to be made, and used his free time to build an assortment in advance. However, when an exhausted and cold messenger banged on the shop’s door, early on Sunday morning in December with the news that Gen. George Washington, at the age of 67, had died at 10:20 pm the night before, it was truly a morning never to be forgotten.

It was December 14th, 1799, when Washington’s personal secretary, Tobias Lear sent this messenger to embark on the 14 mile ride from the Mt. Vernon estate with the General’s measurements to have a casket made.

Gen. Washington, at six feet-three and a half inches tall, was a giant of a man for his time, which eliminated considering any casket in stock. Besides, this was no ordinary citizen, and called for something befitting the Father of Our Country. A mahogany casket, lined in lead, was decided upon.

While no account of exactly who did what was ever recorded, it follows that the proprietors, Joseph and Henry Ingle would have lent their wood-working talents to such an important task, as well as call upon the experience of William Demaine who was largely responsible for coffin construction at the Ingle & McMunn firm. Washington’s request was to be buried no sooner than three days after his passing in order to allow time to notify friends and family. Both of Washington’s attending physicians, Dr. Dick, and Dr. Craig, not certain as to the cause of Washington’s death were concerned that it could be communicable, and insisted that the funeral not be delayed, due to weather or otherwise, past the fourth day. All other work in the shop was put aside, in order to tackle the demanding deadline and unprecedented request.

Washington’s body was not embalmed, but pleased in a room just off the rear porch at Mt. Vernon with the windows open, allowing the December chill to preserve his body until burial. Time was needed for Gen. Washington’s brother, Beauregard Washington, among others, to be informed and to ride from Philadelphia for the service. The Rev. Thomas David, rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Alexandria, where Washington attended, was asked to perform the religious portion of the funeral. Historical information provided by the Demaine Funeral Home, compiled by Diane Downey.

Undertaker Services

“Today we rely on the services of a funeral home director, or undertaker, for much of the burial preparation for decease loved ones. In the eighteenth century, an undertaker was in fact a contractor -- one who undertakes to provide a service. Any service. Since embalming was not yet a standard practice, nor were corpses laid out in funeral homes, an undertaker as we know him/her today did not exist at the time of Washington’s death.” (1)

According to the THE BURIAL OF GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON, The Lesser Known Participants by Richard Klingenmaier: “In the eighteenth century all supporting services for a funeral were provided by various individuals hired for their specific skills. In England, where most early American burial practices originated, the burial process in the 18th century was much more clearly defined and better organized as a service industry. The participants were Undertakers, Coffin Makers, and Funeral Furnishers. They were often competitors, but also provided material support to each other. All three were distinct branches of the English funeral trade. The Undertaker, who might be his own coffin maker, generally provided funerals to the lower end of the social scale, and therefore, they were less elaborate. Whereas, the Coffin Maker made his living by making his own coffins, selling them directly or indirectly to customers, and occasionally performed funerals.

The Funeral Furnisher, on the other hand, purchased his coffins from the coffin maker, or made his own, including dressing and upholstering them himself, and provided from his special warehouse supply of soft furnishings, all the other required accessories -- special coffin hardware, "grave clothing," black crepe, family hatchments, mourning hat and arm bands, gloves, shrouds, palls, cloaks, mourning clothing, and hearse, carriages and horses. It was the Funeral Furnisher who catered to the wealthy.

In late eighteenth century Alexandria the more organized and competitive funeral trade as practiced in England had not yet been established. In the case of George Washington's funeral arrangements, the Washington estate was served by individuals who provided distinct burial preparation services, as individual undertakers or contractors.

The cost of a late eighteenth century funeral would depend on the decease's place in society as well as how much the family could afford. The most expensive part of the burial process could be the burial casket. Probably less than 1% of burials, however, included caskets constructed of expensive mahogany; most people were buried in less expensive, plain wooden caskets made of pine, walnut, poplar, or cherry, or in the case of the very poor, simply wrapped in a burial shroud and placed in the grave. Clearly the wealthy and those considered the social and/or political elite -- including George Washington -- could and were expected to afford a more elaborate burial. Cost escalated if specialized labor was employed rather than services provided by family and employees. If you had to hire a grave digger, have someone wash, dress and coifed the deceased for burial.

The Ingles billed Washington's estate $99.25; $88.00 for the casket with engraved silver plates and furnished with black lace, handles and a covered case with lifters. An additional $11.25 was charged for hiring a coach, a bier, and a horse for delivery. A coppersmith and plumber located a block away on South Fairfax Street, was probably tasked by the Ingle brothers directly to provide the lead liner, for which he was paid 14 pounds 10 shillings (roughly $59.00 in 1799 currency).

George Washington's funeral costs (those actually billed to his estate) were about 260.00 dollars in U.S. currency of 1799. That figure equates to approximately 62 British pounds at that time. The value of those 62 pounds in modern-day dollars (2010) has been calculated to be $6,386.30 while interestingly, the average cost of a modern-day funeral is calculated to be about $7,000 according to the insurance industry.

Following instructions in his will, Washington's military funeral took place on December 18, 1799 at Mount Vernon restricted to family, friends, and associates, rather than a grandiose state funeral. The funeral started at 3:00 PM, when a schooner moored in the Potomac began firing its guns every minute. Inscriptions on the silver-plate of Washington's coffin included Surge Ad Judicium, meaning rise to judgement, and Gloria Deo meaning glory to God.

Military officers and fellow masons served as pallbearers while a musical band from Alexandria played a funeral dirge. A masonic apron and Washington's sword adorned his coffin. Washington's body was interred inside his communal family vault at his beloved home. Mount Vernon has since become a patriotic destination for the American public to pay tribute to George Washington and for his contributions as the first President under the Constitution, and for his leadership as Commanding General during the American Revolutionary War.”

TOOLS OF THE TRADE:

The very wood working tools, handed down from generation to generation in the Demaine family, and used by William Demaine in the shaping and molding of the first president’s casket, are displayed, from time to time, at the present Demaine Funeral home locations in Alexandria and Springfield.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Connection newspaper:

Demaine Completes Renovations in Alexandria
Alexandria funeral home has been serving community for 65 years.

By Vernon Miles
Friday, November 24, 2017

The building at 520 S. Washington St. is one of the oldest commercial properties in Old Town to stay in the same business — since 1952. The Demaine Funeral Home cares for the dead, but inside, the building has never been more alive.

After a series of complete interior renovations, the Demaine Funeral Home has been updated into the 21st century. Inside the walls are freshly painted and the bathrooms are ADA compliant, but beyond this the atmosphere is fresh. The building is divided into a series of rooms, each with displays that reflect the life and passions of the recently deceased.

“We’re not grim,” said Robert Damitz. “We have a sense of humor. We laugh and cry. We’ve all been through what these families are going through.”

Damitz has been a funeral home director for 33 years. His interest in the field was sparked as a young child growing up poor, where funeral homes were the nicest places in the neighborhood.

“It's the only thing I've ever done,” Damitz said. “It's not easy. You're always sweating or freezing. Sometimes you can really relate to what a family is going through, and we get teary eyed, but you have to hide it and act like it doesn't get to us.”

Funerals have changed over the years. Branham Mann, location manager at the Alexandria location for Demaine Funeral Homes, said over the last 10 years families have transitioned away from more traditional funerals. Cremations have increased, and services have shifted away from ceremonies like the dour, all-black wakes.

“There's less traditional services,” said Mann. “People want things more unique. Less like a funeral.”

Mann says funeral home staff now do research and get to learn a lot about the deceased. One of the memorials in the home is covered with maps and wine bottles. Mann says the deceased was a world traveler and a wine connoisseur.

One of Mann’s favorite services was one for a WWII veteran. Mann says those are generally his favorites. He studied history in college, and as a location manager for a funeral home he gets to hear first- or second-hand accounts of history from the people who lived it.

“A lot of people think it's all sad and dreary, but it's not,” said Mann. “You get to hear stories about what made people special. I sometimes bring those stories home and share them with my wife … it's just a chance to get to hear all these people’s stories.”

ABOUT ME

Award-winning local historian and tour guide in Franconia and the greater Alexandria area of Virginia.

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ADDRESS

Nathaniel Lee

c/o Franconia Museum

6121 Franconia Road

Alexandria, VA 22310

franconiahistory@gmail.com

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