Published: September 04, 2008 10:15 am         

Restored hearse to be featured in parade

When Jon Waterman, owner of Waterman-Westbrook-Clouse Funeral Home, was shopping on the Internet for a newer hearse for his business, he stumbled across a listing and picture of a 1939 Packard limo hearse at Chicago.

“I thought ‘wouldn’t that be neat?’” to have the classic machine restored for use in the funeral business, he said this week.

And just over a year ago, Waterman bought the old Packard. He hired LeRoy’s Body Shop to restore the body and chassis and Dygert Trim and Glass took care of replacing the interior.

“It has the original engine and it ran, but not as well as we would like,” Waterman said.

So the massive straight eight-cylinder engine was rebuilt.

“It starts right off now,” he said. He pointed to the sweeping hood ornament, pointing out that it features a real glass panel — not a plastic insert.

This classic luxury car was built and put on the road when gasoline cost 10 cents a gallon and a house could be purchased for $700, he said.

“They did a good job. I can’t wait,” he said of showcasing the car in Saturday’s Elkhart sesquicentennial parade.

Waterman explained he plans to drive the car Saturday and take his grandfather, Jack Herrli, with him.

“My grandfather was in the centennial parade 50 years ago,” he said.

An Elkhart native, Waterman purchased the Westbrook-Clouse funeral home about three years ago. He said he plans to use the classic Packard in funerals in the future.

The funeral home is at 1129 S. Prairie St., just off South Main Street.