Planning Ahead: Talking with a Director About Funeral Plans

The person in charge at a funeral home, such as W J Smith & Son Funeral Home, gets asked a lot of questions regarding making plans for a funeral, but chances are, there are a lot of general curiosities that you have for a mortician that you would never ask out loud. For fear of being rude, crude, or even just down right weird, you may never ask the following questions, but that does not mean that you would not be interested to learn the answers.

1. Why would someone want to work with the deceased? - The answer to this answer will of course be subjective and dependent on the individual asked. However, there are a few basic reasons that morticians usually land in their position. One of the more common is that the funeral business is actually a family trade, and when someone grows up in a family that has been in the business for a long time, it is only natural that they would become accustomed to the other side of life. Some people get into the business because they have a genuine care and compassion for people who are dealing with grief, and then there are those that do it for the money.

2. So, how much does a mortician really make?

In 2011, the average annual salary of a mortician was just over $60,000, but this figure can vary greatly from place to place. This is an attractive figure and is a good example of why some people choose to get into the business at all.

3. Why do some morticians live at the funeral home?

Once home funerals started to evolve and more people started looking for outside alternatives, family run funeral homes became common. These businesses were merely family households where a specific person would prepare the deceased individuals brought in and give a funeral service in a designated room of the house. Therefore, the tradition of the mortician actually living at the funeral home was more of just a necessity than a choice. In modern times, it is often more convenient for this professional to stay in quarters near the service area where they can be available at all times of the day or night.

If there is one business professional that probably does not get to share information regularly about their job, it is a funeral home director. Therefore, if you have curiosities that you would like answered, don't be afraid to strike up a conversation and ask questions. You may be surprised at just how willing a mortician is to share with you some of the details about their occupation.