Mr. & Mrs. Waitt purchased an old estate home property and spent about a year converting the historic (over 100 year old) residence into a funeral home. "The homelike atmosphere was kept so our families would be comfortable." The grand opening was held in June of 1965.
When the funeral home opened, Marlboro Township had a population of about 4000 people. Over the years, the funeral home has grown to accommodate the ever growing population of Marlboro Township and the surrounding communities of Matawan, Aberdeen, Keyport, and Holmdel. In the 1980’s an addition was built on the building to enhance the chapel size and areas for families and their visitors. In 2000, future funeral director and owner, David Hernandez began working as an apprentice and in 2001 Michael V. Grandi started as a funeral director and quickly became the manager of Waitt Funeral Home. Again there was a need to enhance and renovate the building and throughout 2002 and 2003 an extensive restoration was completed. The renovation included repairs to the 100 year old building, new roofs, bathrooms, arrangement room, and lobbies much of how the building looks today.
As word of our service and beautiful facilities spread, families began to use our funeral home from neighboring towns. The need arose for a new location in the town of Old Bridge in Middlesex County. In May 2007 the doors of Old Bridge Funeral Home opened to the community. Old Bridge Funeral Home was built on the solid reputation of families first and has grown to become the premier funeral home for families in Old Bridge and surrounding areas such as East Brunswick, Spotswood, and South River.
In October of 2012, Grace Tabernacle was purchased by David Hernandez and his family to convert the church into a state of the art funeral home. Two weeks later Hurricane Sandy devastated the area with a direct hit on Lake Como and the towns along the Jersey Shore. It was after seeing the devastation to our town that a new purpose and design was applied to the construction of the funeral home. Changes were made to create an atmosphere that captures the beauty of the surrounding "shore" area and natural light with each sunrise over the ocean. Construction began once again on the Grace Tabernacle building, converting the building into the future Oceanside Memorial Home.
In October of 2013, construction completed and the doors opened to families in need. Oceanside Memorial Home opened to immediately begin receiving the trust of families in need. Oceanside Memorial boasts a 250 seated chapel, family centers, elevator, and is one of the most state of the art facilities in the area.
David Hernandez, his wife Stacey, and family are committed to provide dignified and meaningful services to honor the memory of loved ones.
“We treat each family as if they were our own, tailoring special services designed as unique as the life lived.”
