Dewey Smith Hastings, 97, of Morgantown, died Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, at Sundale Nursing Home in Morgantown. He was born Sept. 10, 1925, in Morgantown, a son of the late George Dewey and Jeannette Elizabeth (Smith) Hastings. He was raised on a dairy farm owned and operated by his family. He graduated from Morgantown High School and was attending West Virginia University when he joined the United States Army Air Force and served during World War II. After his honorable discharge in 1945, he began serving his two-year apprenticeship as a funeral director and embalmer at a local funeral home in Morgantown. Upon completion of his apprenticeship, Dewey attended the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science in Pittsburgh, Pa., graduating in 1949 and was a member of the Pi Sigma Epsilon Honorary.
Returning to Morgantown after graduation, he married a local girl, Mary Nichols and resumed his work. With the help of his family, Dewey and Mary purchased the Hardigan property in Morgantown, the site of the first Morgantown hospital. They established Hastings Funeral Home on Feb. 15, 1952. He was a faithful member of Spruce Street United Methodist Church. Dewey was a member of several civic and fraternal organizations, including the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at WVU, Sons of Italy, Sons of the Revolution, IOOF #10 as a 70-plus year member, WV Farm Bureau, and Rotary International as a Paul Harris Fellow. He was also a founding member of The Pines Country Club.
Professionally, he was past president of the WV Funeral Directors and Embalmers Association from 1985-86 and was a longtime member of NFDA.
He is survived by his two sons, Edward Daniel Hastings and Dewey Samuel Hastings; three grandsons, Matthew Daniel Hastings, Grant Smith Hastings and Ted Andrew Hastings; two granddaughters, Mary Elizabeth Hastings and Jennifer Ann Hastings; brother, Robert Hastings and his wife Carol; sister-in-law, Marcia Nichols; and several nieces and nephews, including Andy Pickering, Paula Pickering, Tim Hastings, Rob Hastings, Kimberly Nichols Goodman, Edward Bartow Nichols, Leigh Nichols Turner, Claudia Nichols Bays, Monica Nichols and Andrea Coleman.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 72 years, Mary Stella Hastings; and his sister, Margaret Peggy Hastings and her husband, Richard “Dick” Pickering.
The Hastings family would like to thank the administration and staff at Sundale Nursing Home and special friend Donna Darby for their excellent care.
Friends and family will be received at the WVU Erickson Alumni Center, 1 Alumni Drive, Morgantown, today, Sept. 13, 2023, from 10 a.m. until the time of the funeral service at 11 a.m. with the Rev. Bart Thompson officiating. A family committal service will take place at East Oak Grove Cemetery with full military rites being conducted by VFW Post #9916, #548, and the United States Army. Donations may be made to Morgantown Hospice, 3596 Collins Ferry Road, Suite 250, Morgantown, WV 26505 or to St. Ursula Food Pantry Outreach, P.O. Box 18, Pursglove, WV 26546.
Condolences:
hastingsfuneralhome.com
