Staff

Our team is dedicated to serving each family in the way that is unique to them. 

  

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Bert Haskell, Jr. Owner; Funeral Director/Embalmer and Licensed Pre-Need Agent
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Veronica Haskell Certified Funeral Celebrant and Licensed Pre-Need Agent
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Nicole Reed Funeral Director/Embalmer and Certified Funeral Celebrant
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Shalaine Maher Office Assistant
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Becky Colgan Funeral Assistant
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Al Gloyd Funeral Assistant
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Rob Finney Funeral Assistant
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Rich Knapp Funeral Assistant
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Mike Naumann Funeral Assistant
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Jim Price Funeral Assistant
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Lee Taylor Funeral Assistant
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Don Schmidt Funeral Assistant

Bert Haskell, Jr.

Owner; Funeral Director/Embalmer and Licensed Pre-Need Agent
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Born and raised in the southern suburbs of Chicago, IL I am now a proud resident of Princeville. I am a 1994 graduate of Eastern Illinois University with a BS in Psychology, completed courses towards my Master’s Degree at Governors State University, and graduated from The Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in September 1998.

I completed my mortuary science apprenticeship at E.C. Nurre Funeral Home in Amelia, OH and continued to work as a funeral director/embalmer until February of 2000, when I relocated back to Illinois. I worked for Cumerford-Endsley-Diggle Funeral Home until October 2002, when I returned to my Chicago-born roots and became re-employed at Hirsch Funeral Homes, which is where I got my start in funeral service in 1995 as their bereavement support facilitator.

In May of 2006 I was presented with the opportunity to be the manager of the funeral home in Elmwood, IL and relocated there with my wife Veronica, and our two children, Gabrielle and William. In 2008, I met Joseph B. Hott, owner of Hammitt-Hott Funeral Home, and became employed there in September 2009, where I have been ever since.

In March 2013, upon the retirement of owner Joe Hott, I purchased Hott Funeral Homes, Inc. from him, which included Hammitt-Hott Funeral Home, and Wyoming and Toulon Funeral Homes. In September 2013 the names of each location were officially changed to Haskell-Hott Funeral Homes. Most recently my business underwent a final name change and in March 2019, we are now Haskell Funeral & Cremation Services.

I am a member of the National Funeral Director’s Association, Illinois Funeral Director’s Association, am a Licensed pre-need agent, a member of the Princeville Lions Club. I am a former member of Maple Lane Country Club board of directors and Elmwood Kiwanis. I enjoy golfing, fishing, jet skiing, riding 4 wheelers and am a Corvette enthusiast, participating in the St. Jude Corvette Drive. I am an avid Chicago Bears and Chicago White Sox Fan.

I am proud and honored to continue the tradition of providing the community members in Princeville, Wyoming, Toulon and other local areas the personal, compassionate, and caring service they deserve.

Veronica Haskell

Certified Funeral Celebrant and Licensed Pre-Need Agent
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Born in Kentucky, I spent my life growing up in the midwest and call Peoria my home. I am a proud 1990 graduate of the former Woodruff High School and completed my Bachelor’s of Science in Organizational Leadership at Greenville College. I married Bert in 1994 and we began our journey in Funeral Service in the Fall of 1997, when we moved to Cincinnati for him to attend the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science.

I spent the early years of my career in retail management and transitioned to office management, while Bert was attending mortuary college. I have worked for Procter & Gamble, Farmington Central CUSD #265, and most recently The Sherwin-Williams Company. Bert & I have 2 children, Gabrielle and William.

In 2015 I became the first Certified Funeral Celebrant in the Peoria area. I am a state of Illinois licensed pre-need agent. I am also a Certified Administrative Professional (CAP). I can be found throughout the greater Peoria area, providing education and seminars on the importance of pre-planning for your end of life affairs. In my time outside of work, I enjoy brisk walks with our miniature goldendoodle, Casper; jet skiing; and participating in the annual St. Jude Corvette Drive with my husband.  I am honored to have the opportunity to serve many families in and around the Princeville, Wyoming and Toulon communities!

Nicole Reed

Funeral Director/Embalmer and Certified Funeral Celebrant
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I grew up in Lovington, a small town in central Illinois, before moving to DuBois, Pennsylvania with my family in 2015 for my senior year of high school. I married Devon Reed from Princeville in August of 2018, and we are happily living in Wyoming with our sweet, boxer-lab mix dog, Piper, pix-mix dog, Frederick, and cat, Blue. 

My junior year of high school is when I realized that my calling was to be a funeral director. I graduated from Worsham College of Mortuary Science in September 2016, served my apprenticeship under the mentorship of Bert Haskell and am now a licensed funeral director/embalmer. In April of 2019 I attended the training to become the funeral home's second Certified Funeral Celebrant. I am truly honored to have been nominated and chosed as a recipient of the WEEK 25 Women in Leadership Award in 2020.

In November of 2022 I published a funeral pre-planning and informational guide, "In the Event of My Death" to help walk people through the many questions they may have about funeral service, while making it easy for them to document their wishes. 

I am becoming involved in the community as I grow my life here in these small towns. I joined the Wyoming Lions Club in 2018 and am the former 2020 and 2021 president of the Wyoming Chamber of Commerce. I can often be found with my dogs on our walks around Wyoming, or playing out front of our house. We also love to take Piper out on our boat to go fishing, even though she can't swim and needs a lifejacket! Devon and I also enjoy working in our vegetable garden, growing everything from beans and peppers to brussel sprouts and tomatoes, and most recently pumpkins! 

I could not be more honored to have this opportunity that has been given to me. I love these communities and call Wyoming my home. I look forward to being able to proudly serve the communities of Princeville and Stark County.

Shalaine Maher

Office Assistant
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I grew up in Elmwood, Illinois and am a 1989 graduate of Elmwood High School. I received an Associate's Degree from Illinois Central College and began my paralegal career.  My husband, Sean and I were married in 1995 and lived in Elmwood with our two daughters, Ashlyn and Erin.  A move to Minnesota for Sean's career at Caterpillar came in 2008. Moving back home in 2012, we settled in Brimfield and I began working as a special education aid at Elmwood Junior High School.  My most recent job before joining the team at the funeral home was at Bruns Chiropractic in Peoria.  I enjoy helping people, as evidenced by my various jobs.  In my free time I enjoy traveling to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, going to concerts, and spending time with my family and friends.

Becky Colgan

Funeral Assistant
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Becky has been with Haskell Funeral & Cremation Services since 2016. She has previously supported our office staff and currently works in the role as funeral assistant. She lives in Princeville with her husband, Bernie and their two dogs, Mary and Molly. 

Al Gloyd

Funeral Assistant
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Rob Finney

Funeral Assistant
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Rob joined our funeral home in January 2015.  He grew up in Toulon, IL and returned home 10 years ago, after having been gone for 35 years.  He enjoys golf and reading books in his spare time.  

Rich Knapp

Funeral Assistant
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Rich has been with our funeral home for over 43 years.  He began when the funeral home was originally named Bouton-Hammitt in 1972.  He is a volunteer at the Princeville Heritage Museum, Princeville Civic Association, and a member of the Akron-Princeville Fire Department.  Rich resides in Princeville with his 2 "kids", Shadow and Sammy.

Mike Naumann

Funeral Assistant
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Mike is originally from Chillicothe, Il. He married Janet Maddox in 1992 and they moved back to Princeville in 2000. They have a son, Hunter, who is an Investment Specialist at Heartland Bank in Normal, IL.  Janet’s mother lived directly behind the Princeville’s funeral home and the previous owner asked Mike to mow and maintain the lawn when working in his mother-in-law’s lawn.  Since Mike has always had seasonal jobs, he also became a reliable source for maintaining snow removal for the sidewalks when necessary.  Mike enjoys all outdoor adventures hunting, fishing, lawn care and landscaping. Mike graduated in 1982 from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale with a Bachelor of Science in Plant and Soil Science, specializing in Horticulture.  Mike currently is the Sexton and Sales Representative at the Princeville Township Cemetery.  Mike takes great pride in maintaining the cemetery’s beautiful ground and its heritage.  He joined our staff in 2019 in his new role as a funeral assistant.

Jim Price

Funeral Assistant
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Jim was born and raised in Wyoming, IL  He has been with our firm for over 20 years.  He married his wife Joyce in 1965 and they celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2015.  Jim and Joyce have 2 children and 7 grandchildren.  Jim worked for Caterpillar Tractor for 30 years, retiring in 1996.  Jim is very active in the Wyoming community as a member of the Wyoming Lions Club, Masonic Lodge, a past EMT and Trustee with the Wyoming Methodist Church.  Jim enjoys spending time with his family, watching his grandchildren in their various sporting events and traveling. 

Lee Taylor

Funeral Assistant
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Lee joined the Haskell funeral staff staff in 2015.  He and his family moved to Princeville from Atlanta, GA in 2003. Lee currently serves as the pastor of the Princeville Baptist Church. He and his wife Mary, have 6 children. His hobbies are spending time with his family, watching sports and traveling.

Don Schmidt

Funeral Assistant
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I grew up in Toulon and graduated from Toulon High School.  I was valedictorian of my class and held school records in basketball and was named to the first team All-Conference team for three years.  I earned an A.B. Degree in chemistry and physics from Wabash College and a Ph.D. in Physical-Inorganic Chemistry from Oregon State University.  For 30 years I worked as a research chemist in the chemical industry and oil industry, working about 15 yeras each for The Dow Chemical Company and Amoco. I worked to improve the properties and processing of Saran, the plastic in red Solo cups and drilling fluids.

Bonnie and I were married not long before we finished our education.  A Registered Nurse, Bonnie put me through graduate school. We have two daughters, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. We lived in Corvallis, OR, Midland, MI, Tylsa, OK and Houston, TX. When I retired, Bonnie and I moved back to Toulon. For a few years I taught a five-day course in how oil wells are drilled.This job took me to many international locations, including Calgary, London, Cairo, Madrid, Jakarta, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Scotland, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Trinidad.  In 2018, I was inducted into the Fluids Hall of Fame of the American Association of Drilling Engineers.

I am a member of the Toulon United Methodist Church, Toulon Lions Club, Stark County Genealogical Society and Stark County Historical Society. Since the  year 2000 I have been superintendent of Toulon Cemetery.

I am heavily involved with genealogy research.  I have transcribed nearly 15,000 obituaries of Stark County citizens and have maintained the Genealogical Society's records of Stark County's 27 cemeteries. My experience in reading cursive in old genealogy records helps me deciper old mortuary as Haskell Funeral & Cremation digitizes and modernizes its files.