You have to wonder which came first: The marriage proposal or the suggestion that she should also become an embalmer. But here’s Mrs. Moke in 1908, a newly minted graduate of the United States College of Embalming, only the second woman in the state to be certified.
Moke’s first wife, Lottie, died along with a daughter in the great earthquake, and he married again about a year later.
In July, the Mokes welcomed another undertaker into their business: W. B. Ward of Ft. Bragg. The funeral parlor was renamed Moke & Ward.
MRS. MOKE IS GRADUATE
Takes Degree From School on EmbalmingLast Thursday evening Mr. and Mrs. H. H. Moke return from San Francisco, where they have been attending the United States College of Embalming. Mrs. Moke passed the examinations and received a diploma and is now an embalmer and undertaker. She has the distinction of being one of the only two lady graduates of an embalming school in the state of California. Mrs. Moke put in some hard hours studying during the four weeks they were away and she is glad to be back home again. Mr. Moke also took the examinations again, as his diploma was destroyed in the earthquake and fire, and he took this means of getting it renewed. Mr. and Mrs. Moke attended a banquet Wednesday evening at the Jefferson Hotel, which was given by the class of which they were members. There were 13 in the class and a jolly time was had. Mr. and Mrs. Moke came home by way of Sacramento to spend a day with Mrs. Moke’s mother, who resides in the capital city.
– Santa Rosa Republican, March 23, 1908