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Old Bridge & Waitt Funeral Homes History

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.

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.”

Bedle Funeral Home History

William Bedle, eldest son of the late Thomas and Elizabeth (Aumack) Bedle, was born February 17, 1808. Mr. William Bedle married Miss Jane Morrell, the youngest daughter of the late Jacobus and Mary (Brown) Morrell in 1831. In 1838, when Albert, their eldest son, was three years of age, Mr. Bedle and family moved from their old homestead to Keypot and took up residence in a house he had previously erected on the corner of Main and Stout Streets which has since been moved to Kearney Street. Mr. Bedle established a sash and blind business in a large frame building on the south-east corner (opposite the Brown block), of Main and Front Streets.

Mr. Bedle did a large sash and blind business. He supplied a great deal for an uncle of Mr. Rufus Ogden, a builder in New York City. He took a large contract for the Bilsey house and a very large hotel at Fort Hamilton. The Keyport steamboat stopped there night and morning on its passage to and from New York.

Mr. Bedle continued the sand and blind industry, with the assistance of his eldest son, Albert Bedle for a number of years and then sold the business to him, and the factory was removed to a building in Atlantic Street, opened my Mr. Albert Bedle.

As the need for coffins grew in the little hamlet and the nearby community, the undertaking business was developed and Mr. Bedle opened and conducted a furniture and undertaking business in the same building where he had operated his sash and blind factory.

In Keyport's first newspaper, "The New Jersey Standard," March 28, 1855, we find the following advertisement:

Undertaking at Key Port

The subscriber desires to inform the public of Keyport and vicinity, the he still continues the Undertaking Business, at the shop, on the corner of Main and Front Sts., Keyport.

He is prepared at all times to furnish every article necessary for Burials in all styles at short notice and at moderate prices. He has always at command and excellent Hearse with good horses.

He is prepared, in addition to the various styles of Rosewood, Mahogany, Walnut and other coffins and furnish "Huyler & Putnam's" metallic Burial cases the most complete article ever invented.

A continuance of his former patronage is respectfully solicited.

Keyport, August 16, 1854.

William Bedle

A number of years after Mr. Bedle took into partnership his youngest son, Asbury F. Bedle, but Mr. William Bedle remained at the head of the firm of William Bedle and Son up to the time of his death. (Died December 6, 1896.)

Asbury F. Bedle was associated with his father (William Bedle) in the business from his boyhood, and after the death of his father in 1896, continued the business until his death in 1905.

During the late years of Mr. Asbury F. Bedle's life, his son, Harvey S. Bedle, Sr., assisted him, and upon the death of Asbury F. Bedle, his son, Harvey, conducted the business. Following, the business passed to Harvey S. Jr. and thus the undertaking business has remained in the Bedle family passing from father to son for over 4 generations. Nearly all of the people of Keyport who have died have been laid to rest by the "Bedle" family.

In 1934, Harvey S. Bedle purchased property from Floyd T. Taylor and expanded his business to two locations.

A Note from David and Michael...

We realize that you have a wide selection of funeral homes in this area to choose from, all offering caring compassionate services. At Waitt & Old Bridge Funeral Homes we do more and have been doing it for almost 50 years. Everyone is special, and every funeral is special. We make it personal. Most funeral homes in our area are family owned, but, do you meet with the directors who live, work and worship in your hometown? We take great pride in our social responsibility and volunteer in numerous organizations in town. Our locations are new, accommodating, convenient, our prices are fair, and we are 100 % honest, We are professional, we do not cut corners, our motto is “to treat all families as we would our own.” For the thousands of families who have put their trust in us, we thank you, and for families looking for professional, honest and caring services, we strive to earn your trust.

Respectfully,

David Lee Hernandez, Jr. & Michael V. Grandi

David Lee Hernandez Jr Founder, Principal

David Lee Hernandez, Jr, a native of Northeast Philadelphia, after graduating high school from Calvary Christian Academy in Philadelphia, he relocated to Morganville, where he began his career as a mortuary science apprentice. David continued his studies where he earned a Science Degree and a Certificate of Proficiency in Funeral Services. He became a licensed funeral director in May of 2004, and later continued his education in Legal Studies at St. John’s University, New York.He acquired his first funeral home in 2009 and has grown to operate Jersey’s largest family owned funeral home company, known as “Jersey Memorial Group”. His holdings include funeral homes and cemeteries in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. David is active in each community the funeral homes serve; past President and member of various local Kiwanis Clubs, currently serving as President of the Old Bridge, Sayreville, South Amboy Chamber of Commerce, as well as Board Member of Calvary Chapel Old Bridge, Raritan Bay Medical Center, and Pennsauken-Merchantville Area Chamber. He has served as an officer in Middlesex Somerset Funeral Directors Association and is also a member of NJ State Funeral Directors Association, and National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), and a speaking on a number of topics and trends at Death Care meetings. His firms have been inducted into the Hall of Excellence with NFDA Pursuit of Excellence Winners and was awarded the Best of the Best Award from NFDA as the top funeral home operator in the Country. He has been named Business Leader of the Year in 2016 by Kiwanis Club of Old Bridge as well as in 2017 by the Chamber of Commerce. Most recently he was recognized in 2018 with NJ Biz 40 under 40 as a young leader in business, and in 2019 by the Greater Monmouth YMCA as their Citizen of the Year. He has also been a guest speaker at NYU Schack School of Real Estate and Alan Creedy's Blue Ocean Tours. David, his family and team have been featured in Funeral Business Advisor and American Funeral Director Magazines.He and his family attend Calvary Chapel Old Bridge and they volunteer in various ministry opportunities. A licensed funeral Director in New Jersey, he also holds funeral director and embalmers licenses in Pennsylvania and West Virginia as well as a Life Insurance Producers License. David enjoys spending time with his wife, Stacey and their three children, Sophia, David Lee III, and Abigail. He also enjoys competitive fitness, OCR, snowboarding, and golf.
Stacey Hernandez Special Events Coordinator

Stacey Hernandez, joins our team as our special events coordinator. She is responsible for the many community events that are held within each of our home's local areas. She works diligently to create and implement programs that are dedicated to the memory of loved ones and for the families they leave behind. She was instrumental in creating one of our most cherished events, the Holiday Ornament Program, which is held every year.Stacey also works as a licensed Radiologic Technologist in the Meridian Health System. A graduate of Marlboro High School in 2000, she later received her degree with honors in Health Sciences.Stacey attends Calvary Chapel Old Bridge and is active a number of various ministry outreaches.She enjoys cooking, traveling and spending time with her family and children Sophia Gabrielle, David Lee III and Abigail. Stacey enjoys searching for sea glass on the beach and on Amazon.Stacey is not licensed or able to make arrangements, embalm or direct funerals.
Michael Vito Grandi CFSP Vice President of Operations

Michael V. Grandi began his career in funeral service in 1998. He is a 2000 graduate of the Funeral Service program at Mercer County Community College and became a Licensed Funeral Director in November of 2000. His skills in embalming as well as his care and compassion for people elevated him to a Management position with Waitt Funeral Home in August of 2001. Michael also holds a New Jersey Life Insurance License, giving his firm the opportunity to offer alternative funding options to consumers who wish to prepay for their funerals. Michael is a 13-time recipient of the Pursuit of Excellence award, Best of the Best recipient and Hall of Excellence Inductee, the highest honor received in the industry for excellence in funeral service putting his firm in the top 2 percent of funeral homes nationwide. Michael Earned his CFSP (Certified Funeral Service Practitioner) Designation in October of 2019He is a member of the National Funeral Directors Association, the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association which he previously served as a Trustee, and the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice. His community involvement is widespread, and is a charter member and has served 3 years as the President of the Kiwanis Club of Marlboro, 2 years as its Secretary and now is the current Treasurer. Michael has remained a member of the Matawan Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce since 2001 and is currently a member of the Board. He is a member of the Matawan Italian American Association and supports its charitable endeavors. He is the Chair of the Supervisory Committee for Entertainment Industries Federal Credit Union. In 2013 he became a proud member of the Knights of Columbus Bishop John C. Reiss Council #15964 and earned his 4th Degree November 2, 2014. Michael is a communicant of St. Clement Church in Matawan and is part of the Lector Group. Michael serves on the exam committee for the International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards. In his spare time, he enjoys wine making and playing golf.Michael continues to share his experience, knowledge and insight in funeral service with the staff and families he serves."The pride comes from helping each family generate their own creative ideas which leads to the meaningful funeral that represents the life well lived, for those they loved."-Michael V. Grandi
Susan Gordon Controller
Antonio AliBocas Facilities Manager / Integration Officer
Noreen Hay Executive Assistant
Daniel J Korba Licensed Funeral Director

Daniel J. Korba was raised in Old Bridge and East Brunswick Township, NJ. Upon graduating college, Dan studied for 3 more years in Catholic Seminary discerning his calling to the priesthood. After deciding to change his course of service, Dan attended the Mortuary Science Program at Mercer County Community College. He was licensed in 1992. Since then, Dan has developed superior technical skills, which combined with his zeal and compassion, is determined to lighten the burden of every family he encounters.Dan and his wife Marilyn, and their daughter Rachel, moved to Freehold Township in 1999. Dan has served his community not only as a funeral director, but also as a volunteer firefighter for many years and is an ordained Sub-Deacon in his parish of St. Paul The Apostle Church.Dan will hit the refresh button by his passion for landscaping, and maintaining the grounds around his Church, teeing up a golf ball, or hoping on his motorcycle and taking a long ride in the country.
Morgan Liscio Funeral Director

Morgan, a resident of Sayreville joined our team in April of 2018. She is a registered apprentice that has a gift for assisting families in their time of need. Many families have dealt with Morgan during visitation, memorial and funeral services.An Amateur geologist, in her spare time she studies and prospects the local area looking for valuable minerals and gemstones. One of her prized findings is a moon rock located in Cheesequake State Park in Old Bridge. The only known moon rock to be found in Old Bridge Township.
Nicole Raff-Turcotte Funeral Director

Nicole Raff-Turcotte joined Jersey Memorial Group in 2023 as a Funeral Director. She began her careerin Early Childhood Education, but in 2018 took a position as an administrative assistant at a local funeralhome and quickly realized that funeral service was her calling.She attended Mercer County Community College's mortuary science program and gained her NewJersey Mortuary Practitioner License after completing all required courses and tests. Nicole alsorecently earned her Certified Pre-planning Consultant certification and is continuing to learn, growand hone her craft to better serve families.Nicole's unique ability to lighten the mood and comfort at the same time allows her to work with eachfamily to help truly honor their loved one and showcase what makes them unique.Nicole dedicates her time off to the joys of family, literature, and snapping small plastic bricks together.Her idea of a perfect afternoon is getting lost in the pages of a book, surrounded by her family, with aLego masterpiece taking shape under her skilled hands.Her husband, Frank, is her partner in crime. Together, they embark on countless adventures, most ofwhich involve wrangling with their three spirited daughters and two dogs.
Jeff Lovas Funeral Director
Peter Jastrzembski Funeral Director
Jayme Fuscaldo Funeral Apprentice
Adrienne Watson-Francais Funeral Apprentice
Amanda Richardson Administrator Old Bridge
Sharron Crimmins Administrator Waitt/Bedle/Beth Shalom
Zandra Bohlinger Senior Account Manager

Zandra Bohlinger has worked in accounting for many years. She earned her B.A. degree in psychology from St. John's University and her Masters in Accounting from Long Island University. She enjoys working with numbers and considers it her "happy world".Zandra, her husband, Paul and their two children, Becky and Sammy have lived in NJ for 25 years.She loves spending time with her family and friends, eating Colombian food, reading, cooking and going to the moviesZandra and her family attend Colts Neck Community Church.
Kathleen Lombardo Accounts Payable Assistant

Kathleen Ann Lombardo, for over 15 years, was a dance educator with the nationally recognized company, American Repertory Ballet and Princeton Ballet School (ARB & PBS).In addition to teaching for the school, she also taught for ARB’s DANCE POWER, a dance educational residency. A program partnership between New Brunswick Public Schools & Piscataway Township Schools with ARB.In 2010 she became ARB’s DANCE POWER Coordinator and duties included supervising teachers, creating schedules and overlooking the program in it’s entirety.Currently, she is an elective teacher for Calvary Christian High School. She teaches Strength and Training and Dance/Movement classes for the 9th-12th grades and is also a substitute teacher for CCS.Kathleen attends Calvary Chapel of Old Bridge with her loving husband Michael and their two children, Caleb Louis and Abigail Grace. Her and her husband have served in CCOB’s Children’s Ministry as well as other ministries of CCOB.She loves spending time with her family and her church family.She has taken a turn in her career and has entered into the accounting world with Jersey Memorial Group and couldn’t be happier to be a part of this extraordinary team.