Think You Can Be A Funeral Home Director? Job Responsibilities

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Some people think that their dark and moody selves are ideal for the job of a funeral home director. Others think that having a morbid sense of humor is enough. Unfortunately, both of those personality traits would not garner you a job as a funeral home director. The following highlights the job responsibilities and personality traits needed to complete those responsibilities. If you more closely match the following, then maybe you could be suitable for this job. 

Coordinating Body Pickups from Morgues

Morgues are where bodies have been taken for postmortem examinations. They are stored in refrigerated chambers until after the examinations are complete. Then it is up to the family to select a funeral home to go and fetch the bodies of the deceased and prepare said bodies for burial or cremation. The funeral home director is responsible for communicating with the families who want to engage the funeral home's services and the director also has to communicate with the morgues.

When the coroner's or forensic examiner's office has completed the final exam of each body, they contact the funeral home where the director arranges a pick-up date and time, preferably as soon as possible. The bodies are picked up in the hearses and brought back to the funeral home to be prepped for their wakes (if there will be a wake). The only exceptions to this process are Orthodox Jews, Muslims, and some Buddhists, who do not allow autopsies. In such cases, the bodies are immediately picked up from the morgues. 

Helping Bereaved Make Arrangements

Only someone who is really compassionate can fill this position because you have to help bereaved individuals make arrangements for their deceased family members. That includes helping people make decisions about wakes, burial plots, coffins or caskets, cremations, flowers or no flowers, etc. That is a lot of kindly advice you have to give, and you have to give it in a way that is respectful and helpful. 

Providing Grief Counseling or Finding the Grief Counselor Who Is Available to Help

Grief counseling is a nice addition to funeral home services. Those that offer it either have a grief counselor on hand, or they arrange for various therapists and counselors in the community to come and help the bereaved. Either way, it is another service that has to be coordinated properly so that there is a counselor on hand for any family and friends that want emotional support. 

For more information, you might want to contact a funeral home such the Danks-Hinski Funeral Home.

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