On holidays like Labor Day, some people don’t get the day off. It’s the people that we came to know as “essential workers” during the Covid pandemic. Among the essential workers that we can’t do without for even a day are funeral industry professionals.
In terms of physical, psychological and emotional expenditure, few occupations are as labor intensive as those in the death care industry. Working with death isn’t a job many people want to do and even fewer people are equipped to do.
The Difficulty of Always On Call
Stay-at-home parents with young children can tell you that being constantly on is exhausting. Occupations where you are on call for 24 hours or more at a time can have the same feeling. Usually death care workers have long shifts that can regularly last 24-72 hours.
There are even morticians who live at funeral homes. This has commonly been the case at family-owned funeral homes. It’s simply a matter of practicality since death can happen at any hour of the day, and few people want to wait to have the remains transported.
Dealing With the Hardest Part of Life on a Daily Basis
Like a number of other essential workers, funeral workers have a very difficult job because they must deal with death daily. But unlike police officers, firefighters and ER personnel, funeral workers don’t get the upsides of saving a life.
Death drives the industry. To work in it you have to be very comfortable with having a constant reminder of mortality.
But even if you have come to terms with it, in some roles you’ll interact with family members who haven’t. And on top of that they’re personally connected to the deceased. Helping families through the process is an emotional toll that some death care workers take on. It’s a delicate balance of providing empathy without letting it overwhelm your own emotions. It’s not easy to do, even for seasoned funeral directors.
Professions in the Funeral Industry
So, who is it that takes the late night calls and makes the trip to the medical examiner’s office? Who is responsible for preparing a body for burial or cremation? There could be a lot of people involved from the time a person dies until the disposition is complete. Professionals who are commonly involved include:
Funeral Directors
Funeral directors are extremely hardworking people that have a lot of responsibilities. They work both directly with families and with the deceased. In addition to managing every aspect of funeral services, funeral directors also prepare the body.
Traditionally, men have gravitated to the role of funeral director. Interestingly, in recent years many more women are working in death care now as funeral directors.
Funeral Attendant
This is the title given to the funeral director’s assistant. The funeral attendant helps with the funeral arrangements, usually acting in an administrative capacity since they sometimes aren’t licensed professionals. Many funeral directors get started in the death care industry as a funeral attendant.
Embalmers
Professionals who are properly trained and certified can work as embalmers. As the name suggests, this is a specialist who embalms the body. The procedure can be quite risky since embalming fluid often contains toxic chemicals like formaldehyde. That’s why we never use it here at Cremation.Green. Embalming is not necessary, and the risks are too high.
Crematory Operator
The person who actually uses the retort and other cremation equipment is known as the crematory operator. It’s a highly skilled job that requires training and following certain safety protocols.
In addition to adjusting the retort’s settings and loading the body, the crematory operator also does the work of separating the bones from other materials like metal so that the cremains can be made.
Transport Technicians
In some cases the funeral director is the person who will pick up and transport the remains of the deceased to the funeral home. Other times there’s a hired transport technician who will make sure the remains are properly handled and get to the funeral home promptly.
Transport technicians need to be comfortable driving large and oversized vehicles. They also need to know how to operate equipment like lifts and gurneys. Of course, driving and using the equipment isn’t the difficult part for many people. It’s the handling of bodies that have to be loaded and unloaded from the vehicle that gets people.
All of this must be done in the most professional manner possible. Often the family is present during the pickup, and they want reassurance their loved one’s remains will be treated respectfully.
Medical Examiners
Whenever the cause of death needs to be determined, the medical examiner will get a call. They may even have to visit a crime scene at any hour of the day, if it could help them with their investigation.
Because that’s what medical examiners do. They’re doctors, but they’re also investigators. A death investigation can involve a lot of work that can take days, weeks or even months to complete. One part of the process most people are intrigued with is autopsies. Medical examiners are the professionals that perform a forensic autopsy if a physical examination isn’t conclusive.
Within a medical examiner’s office there is usually a chief medical examiner. This is the individual who runs the office and oversees the work of other medical examiners.
Cemetery Manager/Supervisor
If a loved one wanted to be buried or for their cremated remains to be kept in a columbarium, then a cemetery manager will be involved. They will be the person who will help you purchase a burial plot or niche from the cemetery. They will also help coordinate burial services and will be a long-term point of contact for the family.
It takes a special kind of person to work in the death care industry, and those people aren’t thanked enough for all that they do. At Cremation.Green we’re always here for families when they need us. You can reach out to us 24 hours a day 7 days a week, even on holidays. You can reach us by phone, email or text.
