Our History

Moore’s Home for Funerals was founded by Robert C. Moore, Sr. in Paterson, NJ. In his early years Mr. Moore, Sr. was a barber. He was often called to give haircuts to deceased people as they were made ready for the funeral in their home. Getting exposure to funeral service in this way, he decided to take the necessary training to become an undertaker. He opened his storefront funeral service business shortly thereafter in 1902 at 384 Totowa Avenue in Paterson.

Robert C. Moore, Sr. and his wife, Lillian Carlisle Moore had three sons and a daughter; Robert, Jr., Evan, Harold and Lillian. All of who worked at the family funeral home where they also resided. The boys all went on to become licensed funeral directors and embalmers in the 1920’s and 30’s. Their sister spent most of the time as the office secretary. (Pictured below about 1925 from left to right; Lillian, Mr. & Mrs. Moore, Sr., Robert, Evan and Harold in front.)

After the Senior Moores passed away, the three brothers oversaw the rapid growth of the family funeral home. The original building was expanded 3 times because more and more people needed a place to have the funeral instead of at their homes and adjacent lots were purchased to create parking for the increasing use of automobiles.

The third generation of family involvement was started when Robert C. Moore, III, son of Robert C. Moore, Jr. choose funeral service as his profession and became licensed in 1956. With the second and third generations now active, the business continued to prosper. In 1957, the brothers decided to expand and purchased a home, (1591 Alps Road) to convert to a new location in the nearby farming community of Wayne. With two locations five miles apart, the firm continued to serve their two communities through the 60’s and 70’s.

In the mid 1970s, Robert C. Moore, III’s wife, Barbara J. (Bosland) Moore, changed careers. She decided to leave her job as a Licensed Registered Nurse and join the family business by becoming a Practitioner of Mortuary Science, as the title had now become. Her decision created three firsts for the family business; first licensed female director, first in-law and first husband/wife directing team.

In the late 70’s, the fourth generation was added when Robert C. Moore, IV, son of Barbara and Robert, III, became a licensed practitioner. At that point in time, there were 3 active generations working together - Robert, Jr., Robert, III, and Robert, IV, until the death of Robert, Jr. in 1983.

Mirroring his own parents’ history, Robert C. Moore, IV's wife, Patricia (Josephs) Moore, left her career as a NJ Licensed Environmental Specialist, and joined the family business in 1987, by earning her funeral director’s license. This created the second husband/wife directing team.

In 1994, the family sold their original Paterson location and consolidated their business into their Wayne facility. They have expanded and remodeled it several times to meet the needs of the greater Wayne area. In June of 2022 they celebrated their 120th Anniversary Year.