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Horse drawn funeral service held in Warwick

| 23 Oct 2014 | 03:20
    Flowers are placed on top of the horse drawn carriage for the funeral procession to from Lazear-Smith and Vander Platt Memorial Home on Oakland Avenue to St. Stephen's Church and then on to the Warwick Cemetery.
    Flowers are placed on top of the horse drawn carriage for the funeral procession to from Lazear-Smith and Vander Platt Memorial Home on Oakland Avenue to St. Stephen's Church and then on to the Warwick Cemetery.
    Warwick Fire Police member Charlie Kittner Jr., left, saluted the hearse as it turned onto West Street.
    Warwick Fire Police member Charlie Kittner Jr., left, saluted the hearse as it turned onto West Street.
    Photos by Robert G. Breese The horse drawn hearse traveling along West Street near Pelton Crossing on the way to St. Stephen's Church.
    Photos by Robert G. Breese The horse drawn hearse traveling along West Street near Pelton Crossing on the way to St. Stephen's Church.
    The hearse crossing over County Route t1 at West Street on the way to St. Stephen's Church. The journey fulfilled the wishes of Warwick resident Richard Katstra, who had passed away peacfully at home on Oct. 11.
    The hearse crossing over County Route t1 at West Street on the way to St. Stephen's Church. The journey fulfilled the wishes of Warwick resident Richard Katstra, who had passed away peacfully at home on Oct. 11.

WARWICK — Although it may seem unusual in this day and age, a funeral procession with a horse drawn hearse, led by a pair of majestic Friesian horses, can be a special way to bid farewell to a loved one.

On Saturday, Oct. 18, Joe Tetz Horse Drawn Funerals in New Tripoli, Pennsylvania, provided that service for the funeral of Warwick resident Richard Katstra (whose obituary appeared in the Oct. 17 edition of The Warwick Advertiser) at Lazear-Smith & Vander Plaat Memorial Home on Oakland Avenue.

The hearse, driven by Joe Tetz, who was accompanied by John Olszewski from Lazear-Smith & Vander Plaat, proceeded from the memorial home to the Church of St. Stephen, the First Martyr for a funeral Mass and then to Warwick Cemetery.

This was only the second time in its history that a horse drawn hearse was used in a funeral conducted by Lazear-Smith & Vander Plaat. The first time occurred 10 years ago.

According to Tetz, his firm provides this service throughout all the states in the surrounding area and as far away as Ohio and West Virginia. The horse drawn funerals are frequently held for high officials as well as military veterans and police, especially those killed while in the performance of their duties.

Joe Tetz Horse Drawn Funerals also offers unique services such as a white hearse drawn by white horses as well as the riderless, caparisoned horse, which is led behind the caisson. In military tradition, as one may recall from the funeral of President John F. Kennedy, the rider's boots are reversed in the stirrups to signify that the person will never ride again.

- Roger Gavan