By Leader Contributor Megan Lanius
COVID-19 has hit the funeral profession hard, and the hits keep on coming. Here are some recent articles from across the country sharing details about how funeral directors are continuing to pivot in light of the circumstances, along with the stories of those who stepped up to serve during the 9/11 terrorist attacks 20 years ago.
Many Black funeral directors are already coping with large losses of life within their communities during the pandemic, including many of their own colleagues. Read the report here.
See what Alabama funeral homes are doing now that the state’s death toll has surpassed the birth toll for the first time in history. Click here to read.
One Tampa Bay funeral home is honoring pets by featuring their obituaries on its website. Read more here.
Morizzo Funeral Home & Cremation Services is meeting the needs of its community members where they’re at and forging ahead amid this unpredictable world we live in.
Jerry Gilmore III used his position as the owner of Gilmore Memorial Funeral Service to minister to the community of Winston-Salem. Read how he did this and find ideas you can incorporate into your community.
One Texas embalmer shares his testimony of how he and his colleagues are being personally affected during the changing tides of COVID-19.
Twenty years after 9/11, the brother of heroic flight attendant Betty Ong remembers her courage and bravery. He was interviewed at Cypress Lawn Funeral Home & Memorial Park in Colma, CA, which serves as her final resting place.
Read about Dwight Camp, director of the Cabot Funeral Home in Woodstock, VT, who spent over five months in New York as part of the National Disaster Medical System in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
James F. Kelley, who worked for the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office post-9/11, recalls how his experience made him a better person while also affecting him in ways he does not wish to relive.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Laura, the Lake Charles Cemetery Association is asking for help to restore graves that were severely damaged during the storm. Find out how you can help here.
In the Washington D.C. area, funeral directors are noticing an increase in disrespectful drivers during funeral processions. The isolating pandemic, the rising popularization of cremation, and the impatience of the residents in the Metro area may all be partially to blame.
There has been an increase in gun violence at funeral homes and funeral-related events nationwide. Read more here.
A funeral director in Fontana, CA, uses her position to help families who have lost loved ones to COVID-19 obtain the federal financial assistance they need. She said she never thought she would need this aid herself.
