Wayne O. Eppers Jr., who spent seven decades in the funeral business in a variety of roles, died Jan. 8 from colon cancer at his Hampden home. He was 87.
“Wayne was our guy who did transfers, greeted people, took flowers to the cemetery and made sure everything ran smoothly,” said Carol Myers, a longtime funeral director at Burgess-Henss-Seitz Funeral Home in Hampden, where Mr. Eppers worked for the last 25 years.
“He was the greatest guy on the planet. He truly was selfless, so dedicated and a kind and positive person who cared so much,” she said.
Wayne Orlando Eppers Jr., son of Wayne O. Eppers Sr., who worked as an assistant at the old Donovan’s Funeral Home on lower Roland Avenue in Hampden, and Alice Kane Eppers, who managed the family home, was born and raised in a Falls Road home where Baltimore Polytechnic and Western High School are now located.
He attended city public schools and began working in 1953 when he was 16 years old in the produce department of the old A&P grocery store on Falls Road in Hampden.
The next year, he enlisted in the Army Reserves and served with the fabled 29th Division for nine years.
His entry into the funeral business began when he was 16 when his father took him on his first call.
In addition to his work at the A&P, where he rose to become produce manager, he worked for other area funeral homes doing transfers, removals and accompanying the deceased to cemeteries and greeting mourners.
Mr. Eppers began his career at the Hampden funeral home in 1999, after retiring from his 45-year career at A&P.
“He loved the business, funeral homes and people. It was his life,” said his wife of 60 years, the former Barbara Martin, who is a host at Burgess-Henss-Seitz Funeral Home.
“He’d come home from work and dress in a suit and go off to the funeral home,” she said. “He was a very kind man and enjoyed his work.”
Mr. Eppers and his wife lived in their longtime home on West 41st Street. It wasn’t uncommon for him to be called late at night or in the wee hours.
“Wayne would get calls at all hours of the night and he’d get up, dress, and go out on removals,” Mrs. Eppers said.
“He was a quiet guy who would talk to family and friends and help someone who needed assistance getting into the funeral home,” Ms. Myers said. “And Wayne was such a familiar face to so many.”
She recalled Mr. Eppers’ favorite saying.
“As we were leaving the hearse, Wayne would always say, ‘Roll on,’” she said.
In addition to his work at the funeral home, Mr. Eppers worked as a Pinkerton guard for nine years at the old Memorial Stadium on 33rd Street just so he could watch his beloved Baltimore Colts and earn a little extra money, family members said.
He was also a Ravens fan.
As his health began to decline, Mr. Eppers continued working.
“He never thought he’d be done working because he loved what he was doing,” his wife said.
He never officially retired, Ms. Myers said.
In his eulogy, his grandson said, ‘If Pop had his own way, he would have worked his own funeral,’” Ms. Myers said.
Mr. Eppers was a communicant of the now-closed St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Church in Hampden, where he also had been a Eucharistic minister.
A celebration of life service was held Jan. 17 at Burgess-Henss-Seitz Funeral Home.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, Timothy Eppers, of Hampden; a daughter Teresa DeMello, of Frederick; a sister, Alice Tennyson of Finksburg; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
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