OVER 150 YEARS OF SERVICE!
Schneider Funeral Home has called Hatboro home since Groh Schneider Sr. broke ground at 431 N. York Road in June 1959. The Schneider family has been serving families for 5 generations and according to Henry Schneider’s great-great grandson Brandt, “One of our future goals is having a 6th generation to continue our service.”
The History behind Schneider Funeral Home
Brandt said the idea started with his great-great grandfather Henry, who is the first generation of five of them. He also said that undertakers were furniture makers and traditionally, undertaking would involve building everything from chairs to anything dealing with wood, including caskets.
March 22, 1870 was a red-letter day in the life of one Henry Schneider who made a simple entry in his Schneider Funeral Home ledger at 1739 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia. Little did he know that this same profession as a Funeral Director would be continued for four more generations of Schneider’s by his son Walter A.A., grandson A. Groh, great grandson A. Groh Jr., and great-great grandson, Brandt.
In the plans for the enlargement of their hat industry, John B. Stetson included 1739 Germantown Avenue, the original site of the Schneider Funeral Home. Since Stetson already had possession of properties on both sides, this forced move was to the advantage of Mrs. Henry Schneider, a widow at this time. Mrs. Schneider finally selected to settle at 619 W. Olney Avenue in 1922. After her death, her son, Walter A.A. continued serving the area in the Schneider tradition, until 1951 when he semi-retired and his son A. Groh Schneider Sr., followed in his footsteps.
People moving out of Philadelphia into the suburbs and the lack of available ground for suitable parking was the impetus for Groh to seek a suitable location and funeral home for his own design. 431 N. York Road in Hatboro then came into play. In June 1959 the ground was broken for the first building of its kind in Hatboro, a home built to serve as a Funeral Home.
A treasure of the Schneider Funeral home in addition to the original ledger, is a reproduction of the 19th Century funeral hearse. It was made by Peter Weimer in 1872 and charmed Henry Schneider so much that he acquired it in the same year together with an agreement that he would never make another one like it and has since become the symbol of the Schneider Funeral Home.
Continuing Tradition
On June 1, 1971, A. Groh Schneider Jr., took over ownership of the funeral home and in 2008 his son, Brant started his career serving the community a long side him. Schneider’s Funeral Home offers all types of traditional and cremation services as well as providing services for all faiths.
The Schneider family is are very proud of the fact that they just celebrated over 150 years of business with 5 generations of Schneider’s providing the service, and they consider themselves a true family business. Timothy Kida and Christopher Ross, both funeral directors at Schneider’s, can both admit that work atmosphere is just like that of working with your family which is tough at times but has its rewards.
The Schneider’s are well known in the community by representing the Hatboro Little League for over 28 years, Mr. Schneider being a member of the Hatboro Rotary for over 50 years, and both him and Brandt are part of the Masonic Lodge.
Brandt stated that his Grandfather Groh Sr. was a lawyer in Hatboro of Schneider, Nixon and John so they have very close ties with Hatboro.
Brandt stated that as far as future goals, 6th generation and keeping up with technology are both essential to the business. He added that technology is ever changing in the funeral business and they are fortunate enough to have Tim and Chris who are very tech savvy to help them move along and keep everything updated. This assures that Schneider Funeral home isn’t left behind amidst evolving technology.
Schneider Funeral Home is extremely proud to have been in business for 150 years. This major milestone is both exciting for the Schneider family as well as Hatboro. According to Groh Jr., a multi-generational funeral home is unique and the Schneider Family has created legacy from their work.