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William D. Poole (W.D.) was born in 1882 in the Town of
Cedarburg. After graduating Cedarburg High School in 1901 he went to
Milwaukee to study embalming and received his state license in 1905
(Wisconsin's first year of licensing). After working in Milwaukee and
Chicago he came to Port Washington and purchased the funeral business and
Wells Fargo agency from Nic Grasser. In October, 1913 W.D. Poole & Bro
opened it's doors to serve Port Washington. His brother Eugene worked with
W.D. for a few years operating out of the storefront at 413 N Franklin Street. In 1915 W.D. married Mayme Van Ells. She was the daughter of Andrew Van Ells a former alderman and commercial fisherman. Together they ran the the funeral service and in 1923 the funeral home was moved to larger facilities at 231 N Franklin Street, as wakes were no longer held in the home. They raised a family upstairs and in 1933 Mayme received her license. W.D. also ran the ambulance service in town which was common in small towns. When the city started their own, he donated his equipment to the city.
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W.D. & Mayme Poole