The History of Washington Wilbert Vault Works, Inc.
The People of Washington Wilbert Vault Works, Inc.
The
History of Washington Wilbert Vault Works, Inc.
Royden H. Wood, Sr., was a businessman and a very good friend of Wilbert
W. Haase, the founder of Wilbert® Vaults in Chicago, Illinois.
In 1938, at Wilbert Haase’s suggestion, Mr. Wood, Sr. became
a Wilbert Burial Vault licensee, receiving license number 13. He opened
Washington Wilbert Vault Works, Inc., in Rockville, Maryland, and
began to provide Wilbert products and services to his clients. This
territory, in what is still the largest single territory ever granted
to a Wilbert licensee, is still served by the Wood family today.
The advent of World War II brought difficulties to WWVW. Shortages of the metal used to reinforce the vaults and liners, asphalt, (a vault coating of the past) and huge manpower shortages combined to make business difficult.
Royden H. Wood Jr., known to many as ‘Woody,’ entered the service as a Sergeant in the Army Signal Corp. While helping his country in the Far East, Woody was unable to help at the plant, making things more difficult on Mr. Wood, Sr. When Woody did return from the military; he joined his father in the business full-time, to make it a two generation company. Richard, Woody’s much younger brother, did join the company briefly, but left to pursue his own interests. WWVW continued to grow after the war, and the Woods worked closely with Wilbert, Inc., participating in a free exchange of ideas so that both companies could progress rapidly.
In 1949, a gentleman came to see the Woods at the plant. He had a special request for his dying wife’s burial vault. He wanted her vault lined with copper, as this had a spiritual significance to his family. The Woods, never ones to turn down a challenge, took a Continental® Vault (which, at that time, was the top of the line) and, after much thought and some hard work, fashioned a complete copper lining for the cover and the base. They were able to embed the copper in the interior asphalt coating of the concrete vault, and came up with the precursor to today’s Copper Triune®. Their invention was called the ‘Copper Continental;’ and the concept was embraced by Wilbert Haase. Haase was so impressed that he made the Copper Continental part of the Wilbert product line. The Copper Continental evolved into the Copper Triune (Triune means ‘three in one’), is made of concrete bonded to seamless ABS, which is bonded to copper sheeting. The Copper Triune is now a permanent part of the Wilbert product line. The Copper Triune led to the creation of Bronze and Stainless Steel-lined Triune (SST Triune®) vaults and to the development of the Wilbert Bronze, the finest burial vault Wilbert makes. (And the finest in the world, as far as we are concerned)
Mr. Wood, Sr., was a generous man who was great friends with Wilbert Haase, and he gave the rights to his invention to Wilbert Haase, free and clear. The Wood family is proud that their family invented the Wilbert Copper Triune®, and both companies have experienced the value that the double-reinforced Triune line brings to families they serve.
In 1957, WWVW’s founder, Royden H. Wood, Sr.; died, and ‘Woody’ took over the leadership of WWVW. Vault demand increased, and WWVW was running out of space at the Rockville location. In 1961, a decision was made to purchase a tract of land in the “wilderness” of Laurel, MD to allow for expansion. A new, modern plant was built, and still exists at the same spot, with several additions to the building.
In the following years, Woody worked very hard to expand the company, giving funeral directors’ the type of professional and personal service that Wilbert had pioneered. Sadly, he died in an automobile accident on October 28, 1973. His many friends attended his funeral, and he was buried in a local cemetery.
Woody’s’ widow, Lillian Peterson Wood, gamely stepped in and took up where her husband had so tragically stopped. She took over the company after his death, and hired Ronnie Hendrickson, the bookkeeper, whose job description includes, “and everything else.”
Lillian was a very hands-on person, and when the new Venetian® vault came out, she loaded it onto a vault truck, and with her son Chris, drove around to show it to every WWVW client. Clients could climb up a ladder to see the new vault perched on the vault truck. The Venetian became an immediate success for WWVW. Her creativity and verve contributed greatly to the continued growth of WWVW.
She also believed in hard work and earning what you get, and put her sons to work in learning the vault business from the ‘ground up.’ Chris and Roy performed every job in the plant, including sweeping the floors, pulling the concrete buggies, loading, setting vaults, and all the other things that the staff does. Lillian provided her sons with the knowledge and skills that they would need so that they could run the plant on their own.
Mrs. Wood successfully ran WWVW for 13 years, at a time when women business owners were a rarity, especially in the vault business. She persevered, and was able to maintain and grow WWVW’s support among clients. In 1986, much to the sorrow of those that knew and loved her, Lillian died after a long illness. She was able to leave things in good order, and trusted her two sons to carry on the family business.
Royden H. Wood, III and Christopher J. Wood, Woody and Lillian’s sons, are known to most as Roy and Chris. They have continued the successful third-generation tradition of WWVW, and kept and expanded WWVW’s responsiveness to the rapidly changing death-care profession. In 1998 they built an office and classroom facility so that clients could come to see the time and caring that goes into the crafting of each Wilbert Product and learn about the products. They also are teaching classes to Funeral Professionals who require Continuing Education Credits. These classes have been highly successful in educating funeral professionals about the burial products that WWVW offers.
In 1994, WFSI addressed the growing trend in cremation, and came out with the Urn vault series. This series consists of the Venetian Urn Vault, Stainless Steel Urn Vault, Cameo Rose® Urn Vault, Veteran™ Urn Vault, Copper Triune Urn Vault, and the Bronze Triune® Urn Vault. These urn vaults, constructed to the same standards as the burial vaults, offer the highest quality materials and workmanship. WWVW has embraced these new products, along with the urns that WFSI had already been creating. As a service note, WWVW is able to supply almost any Wilbert urn to a client in their territory within one day, without excessive overnight mail fees. For Urn vaults and urns, click here.
In 2002, WWVW added the Memorialization Plus™ feature to the vaults, along with an entirely new way to CUSTOMIZE a vault, the Life’s Reflection’s™ Program. WWVW is always innovating-to see what’s new at WWVW, click here
All of us at Washington Wilbert Vault Works, Inc. are grateful to you for your continued patronage. We look forward to serving your needs in the ensuing years with the quality products and service that are synonymous with Wilbert.
The
People of Washington Wilbert Vault Works, Inc.
Wilbert quality cannot be obtained without people who care. Everyone at Washington Wilbert Vault Works, Inc., cares about the crafting of the vaults from the beginning to the end. Our dedicated office staff also provides a caring, helpful environment for the funeral professional and, through them, for the grieving family. We offer marketing and education that is tailored to what you need. We know how important a funeral is, because we are there with you. You may not see Washington Wilbert quality until the graveside service, but we are here for you, assisting you in making every funeral perfect.
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Client Services Division and Dispatch Manager
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Client Service Representatives (CSR’s)
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Administrative and Office Staff
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