Funeral directing — A growing field for women

According to the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), throughout most of the 20th century the terms "undertaker", "mortician" or "funeral director" have been socially tied to a visual image of a somber male in a black suit.

To quote Bob Dylan, the times they are a-changing.

NFDA, which represents more than 10,000 funeral homes worldwide and 48% of U.S. funeral homes, says most of its members are still men but female membership is growing.

In 2004, 9.7% of the trade association's membership were women.

A decade later, the figure had grown to 16.5%.

Dana Townsend of Crain Funeral Home and Cremation Service, examines a death certificate in her office at 829 N. West End Blvd. in Cape Girardeau. The funeral home occupies the building once owned by First Christian Church.Jeff Long

Dana Townsend of Crain Funeral Home and Cremation Service, examines a death certificate in her office at 829 N. West End Blvd. in Cape Girardeau. The funeral home occupies the building once owned by First Christian Church.Jeff Long

Dana Townsend, licensed funeral director/embalmer with Cape Girardeau's Crain Funeral Home and Cremation Service, said the demographic change in those now being trained for the field is clear to see

"I went over to the school in Carbondale (Illinois), which does an embalming colloquium every fall, and there were only a handful of men in attendance. There are, actually, more women coming into the profession than men," said Townsend, who has been a licensed full-time funeral director and embalmer for 16 years, with 11 of those years in Southeast Missouri.

"I think women (funeral directors) can relate better with some families than men can. I had a family recently which lost a baby. Most of the time a woman who has had a child of her own and perhaps had a miscarriage herself can relate to that family. You can honestly tell them, 'I know what you're going through,' and can do so with credibility."

Drilling down

Available data would seem to back up Townsend's observations.

In 2016, 61% of students in U.S. college and university mortuary science programs were female, according to NFDA.

Angela Woosley, a licensed funeral director and senior teaching instructor in the mortuary science program at the University of Minnesota, said the fundamental nature of the funeral profession has changed.

"Funeral directors used to perform a finite function, and most funerals were pretty much done one way. Now we are facilitators. We take a client-centered approach to discover a family's needs and to understand the story of the person who died. We bring the community together for a one-time event," Woosley told www.nextavenue.org.

"There was a longstanding cultural taboo that women were too delicate or squeamish for this work," she said. "When I still hear that, I tell people to remember that women have always been nurses. The ill and the dead share a lot in common; bodies do things that require a strong stomach."

History

During the Christian season of Lent, churchgoers are reminded that women attended the grave of Jesus of Nazareth following his death, and prepared his body for the tomb.

In the U.S., men took over the preparation role during the Civil War via the introduction of the embalming process. The ability to preserve physical remains transformed death care into a profession and often a family business, passed from father to son.

Townsend, who began her career in her native Indiana, sees herself as a mentor to women who want to enter funeral service.

"I actually had one gal, a senior in high school from Jackson, who came every other Saturday and she kind of shadowed me, and I think she actually is going into mortuary science," Townsend said.

"I'm always open to talking to women because I think some people have a misperception about what funeral service is. They see movies and they see funeral directors driving nice cars and nice suits and think we make a lot of money, but what they don't see are the long hours. It's not a 9-to-5 job. You take a lot (of the job) home with you. I've cried in arrangements with families. I've prayed for families before they sit down with me for the arrangements to let them know I sincerely care and am with them to do a meaningful job for them."

Common misperception

Townsend said every funeral home for which she's worked has expected its directors to be on call.

"This means, among other things, that you do removals from nursing homes and hospitals, sometimes in the middle of the night," she said, noting the expectation is to be able to lift a cot bearing a deceased person who may weigh 200 pounds.

"Recently, at a local nursing home, I showed up by myself for a removal with a cot, and a female nurse asked me, 'Are you here by yourself?' When I said I was, she was surprised. I get that a lot."

NFDA fast facts (2021)

• According to the association's most recently available "Cremation vs. Burial" report, 57.5% of all funerals were expected to be cremations in 2021.
• Median cost of a traditional funeral with viewing and burial was $7,848 in 2021, compared to $6,971 for cremation.
• The overwhelming majority, 89.2%, of U.S. funeral homes are family-owned.
• There are fewer funeral homes today. National Directory of Morticians Redbook said there are 18,800 such facilities in the U.S., compared to 19,902 in 2010.

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