"The One Car Funeral".....more to the story....

C

Cary Livingston

Southeastern Chapter President
I just received TPC 140 and read it quickly ( great job guys!)
After reading the article " The One Car Funeral" a few things didnt sound right. Digging into my own archives
and some quick research revealed some "discrepancies" with this story in one area. While Tom states on
Page 33 " Half a century later, early in 1980 a modern iteration of the Funeral Parlor Car was created when Terry Dieterle
a progressive and innovative Chicago area funeral director converted a GMC motorhome into an all inclusive funeral vehicle".
Mr Dieterle most likely copied 2 that had been previously been built for Taylor Funeral Home (also in the Chicago area) in 1974
and 1976 using the GMC "Transmode" which was basically an all purpose bare shell of the motor home marketed by GMC
Truck and Coach Division. If he ( Dieterle) in fact had "done his homework" on this "innovation" he would of discovered that GMC had discontinued
production of both the the Motorhome and Transmode in 1978. He also appeares to of copied a competitors "innovation".
In 2006 both the 74 and 76 appeared for sale on Ebay and sold very cheap. I toyed with actually buying one as these Transmodes and Motorhomes
have a faithful following. There are a few GMC "ambulances" still out there and H&E did at least one in 1976.



Here are pictures of the 74 and 76 from 2006, you can see minor differences in the two.

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I had the chance to see one of these in person, and sit in it. This was back in the mid 1980's when Johnson-Williams Funeral Car service in St. Paul Minnesota owned one. It was a strange feeling to be inside "Lets go camping and bury grandma on the way" :4_11_9:
 
I like the 50's and 60's camper conversions better myself !


I have seen Greyhound bus type ambulances and think in a highway accident scene would do quite well in getting a bunch of people to a hospital but don't really see the purpose of this as a hearse.


Darren
 
It sounds like a good idea,but it ends up looking like a motorhome.Maybe one of the attributes of a hearse is that it can't be mistaken for any other kind of vehicle and therefore makes an excellent visual cue that funeral business is going on nearby and to watch out for the procession (as well as for whom the bell tolls). I can't see a buslike vehicle giving that signal that clearly.:my2cents:
 
Darren Bedford said:
I don't really see the purpose of this as a hearse.


Darren
Click to expand...

Spoken like someone who doesn't live in a big city! Here in Chicago, people are so careless and not caring, that they'd rather run you off the road than spare a precious couple minutes, or even a couple seconds for that matter. There is absolutely no respect for funeral processions here, and local police have made it known that they have better things to do than provide security for processions. And unlike some other cities, I am not aware of there being any procession security companies here. I can not tell you how many times I have personally witnessed a procession in an intersection, and as soon as the cross traffic gets the green light, traffic just hits the gas and barges through. In recent years, there have been a number of high profile local news stories of serious collisions that have involved cars in a procession, including procession collisions that have resulted in deaths.

Hence the practical reason for a vehicle that could carry a whole funeral party in one vehicle, or at least as few vehicles as possible.

But regardless of its questionable taste as a diginified funeral vehicle, there is also a practical reason why they haven't caught on. Only the largest cemeteries with the most generous roadways could handle something the size of a bus. Many cemeteries feel very tight even just driving my hearse or limo through.

Many funeral homes here in the Chicago area, and I will even go so far as to say most, either no longer offer processions to the cemetery at all, or charge such a high fee for a procession as to make most people decide against it. While I personally bemoan the loss of something as traditional as the funeral procession, I do also have to realize that the reality of modern traffic here does make it a highly impractical, and even dangerous, thing to do.
 
Cary Livingston said:
...these Transmodes and Motorhomes have a faithful following. There are a few GMC "ambulances" still out there and H&E did at least one in 1976...
Click to expand...
Where? Where? Seriously, does anyone know of any surviving Transmode ambulances? (See the motorhome/MICU thread.)

I know that PCS member Dave Burkham has a Parsons GMC, which is still in service with his ambulance service. I know the GMC from Chester-Crozer Medical Center in Philadelphia comes up from time to time on e-bay, but the interior was gutted to make it a motorhome that was never completed.

Dave's is the only good one I know of. Are there others out there?

For that matter, are there any Transmode hearses that survived? They may be non-traditional and not that attractive, but they are interesting and historic.
 
Patrick J. Martin:
Spoken like someone who doesn't live in a big city!


Patrick

I live in Toronto ! ...and only 5 minutes south of the biggest and busiest intersection in North America.
Even the highways in California don't have as many cars traveling them as much as the 401 through Toronto daily.

I have passed through Chicago during rush hour many times and have to say, You are correct ! Those drivers are insane and have no care of life.
When I passed through driving my 62 back from Great Falls Montana late at night, it wasn't much better and I was afraid of someone hitting my car. I would be happy to never drive through there again but I'm sure I will many times.

As for respect regarding funerals processions, people should give the right away to them out of kindness. No one has an easy time when someone they love passes on. Helping in anyway, even just giving them a few minutes to get there loved ones to their final resting place should be done without question. Hopefully you will get the same respect when you are in the same situation.

In Toronto I see processions very often as I live within 10 minutes of about 7 funeral homes.

I get just as pissed when I see people cut into the procession as when idiots don't slow down and pull over for fire-police-ambulance rushing to those in need !!!


As for the motorhome hearse, I still don't see it being a neat or helpful idea, at least with that interior !
My opinion on that and your post hasn't changed it at all.


Here's where I see a similar thing being a FANTASTIC idea !!!
...and it would be a very inexpensive and likely a day to convert into a
"ONE FAMILY MOTORHEARSE" for cities with traffic issues like Chicago.


A Greyhound type bus WITH ALL THE SEATS left in place being able to seat 36-54 people very comfortably !
The only conversion about the highway coach would be to make the luggage compartment underneath the bus "CASKET FRIENDLY". Meaning, make it look "dignified" to honor the deceased being loaded in for their last ride.

The motorhome in those photos looked more like you were going camping with them before dropping them in the hole on the way home. Couldn't possibly hold everyone like a highway coach could or with the same comfort level.

The people going from Toronto to Casino Rama for a day of gambling would be riding in better style than those attending a funeral !



I don't work in the funeral industry, don't live in Chicago and have never seen one of those motorhomes in person.

I do own 5 hearses and have been a member of the PCS for 18 years.

Our opinions are different and will likely not agree on this, but will on many other topics.


Regards,
Darren
 
I didn't realize I was agreeing or disagreeing with anyone. I thought I was just stating how traffic vs. funeral processions exist in Chicago. :confused:
 
Darren , there was a greyhound type bus made on a prevost body owned by Connelly-McKinley Ltd of Alberta, its on pp.300 of Greggs Merksamer book (ProfessionalCars Ambulance's Hearse's and Flower Cars).
 
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