Funeral director

Short description: Professional in the business of funeral procedures

Funeral directors driving a hearse in a funeral procession

Showcase of an urn shop in Nice, France

A funeral home in Jyväskylä, Finland

Mortician's restorative tools, Museum of Funeral Customs, Springfield, Illinois

A funeral director, also known as an undertaker or mortician (American English), is a professional who has licences in funeral arranging and embalming ( or preparation of the deceased) involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks often entail the embalming and burial or cremation of the dead, as well as the arrangements for the funeral ceremony (although not the directing and conducting of the funeral itself unless clergy are not present). Funeral directors may at times be asked to perform tasks such as dressing (in garments usually suitable for daily wear), casketing (placing the corpse in the coffin), and cossetting (applying any sort of cosmetic or substance to the best viewable areas of the corpse for the purpose of enhancing its appearance) with the proper licences. A funeral director may work at a funeral home or be an independent employee.

## Contents

* 1 Etymology
* 2 History
* 3 Role in the United States
* 3.1 Organizations and licensing in the United States
* 4 Role in the UK
* 4.1 Organizations and licensing in the UK
* 5 Role in Canada
* 5.1 Organizations and licensing in Canada
* 6 References

## Etymology

The term mortician is derived from the Latin word mort- ('death') with the ending -ician. In 1895, the trade magazine The Embalmers' Monthly put out a call for a new name for the profession in the US to distance itself from the title undertaker, a term that was then perceived to have been tarnished by its association with death. The term mortician was the winning entry.[1][2]

## History

People's need to respect the dead and their survivors is as ancient as civilization itself, and death care is among the world's oldest professions. Ancient Egypt is a probable pioneer in supporting full-time morticians; intentional mummification began around 2600 BC, with the best-preserved mummies dating to around 1570 to 1075 BC. Specialized priests spent 70 full days on a single corpse. Only royalty, nobility and wealthy commoners could afford the service, considered by some to be essential for accessing eternal life.[3]

Across successive cultures, religion remained a prime motive for securing a body against decay and/or arranging burial in a planned manner; some considered the fate of departed souls to be fixed and unchangeable (e.g. ancient Mesopotamia) and considered care for a grave to be more important than the actual burial.[4]

In ancient Rome, wealthy individuals trusted family to care for their corpse, but funeral rites would feature professional mourners: most often actresses who would announce the presence of the funeral procession by wailing loudly. Other paid actors would don the masks of ancestors and recreate their personalities, dramatizing the exploits of their departed scion. These purely ceremonial undertakers of the day nonetheless had great religious and societal impact; a larger number of actors indicated greater power and wealth for the deceased and their family.[5]

Modern ideas about proper preservation of the dead for the benefit of the living arose in the European Age of Enlightenment. Dutch scientist Frederik Ruysch's work attracted the attention of royalty and legitimized postmortem anatomy[clarification needed].[6] Most importantly, Ruysch developed injected substances and waxes that could penetrate the smallest vessels of the body and seal them against decay.[5]

Historically, from ancient Egypt to Greece and Rome to the early United States, women typically did all of the preparation of dead bodies.[7] They were called "layers out of the dead". In the mid-19th century, gender roles within funeral service in the United States began to change. In the late 19th century, the industry became male dominated with the development of funeral directors, which changed the funeral industry both locally and nationally.[8]

## Role in the United States

In 2003, 15 percent of corporately owned funeral homes in the US were owned by one of three corporations.[9] The majority of morticians work in small, independent family-run funeral homes. The owner usually hires two or three other morticians to help them. Often, this hired help is in the family, perpetuating the family's ownership. Other firms that were family-owned have been acquired and are operated by large corporations such as Service Corporation International, though such homes usually trade under their pre-acquisition names.[9]

Most funeral homes have one or more viewing rooms, a preparation room for embalming, a chapel, and a casket selection room. They usually have a hearse for transportation of bodies, a flower car, and limousines. They also normally sell caskets and urns.[10]

### Organizations and licensing in the United States

Licensing requirements in the US are determined at the state level.[11] Most require a combination of post-secondary education (typically an associate's degree), passage of a National Board Examination,[12] passage of a state board examination, and one to two years' work as an apprentice.[13]

## Role in the UK

A funeral director in the UK will usually take on most of the administrative duties and arrangement of the funeral service, including flower arrangements, meeting with family members, and overseeing the funeral and burial service. Embalming or cremation of the body requires further training.[14]

### Organizations and licensing in the UK

In the UK no formal licence is required to become an undertaker (funeral director). There are national trade organizations such as the British Institute of Funeral Directors (BIFD), the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) and the Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF).

The BIFD offers a licence to funeral directors who have obtained a diploma-level qualification; these diplomas are offered by both the BIFD and NAFD.

The British Institute of Embalmers (BIE) offers embalming training and qualifications.[citation needed]

All of the national organizations offer voluntary membership of "best practice" standards schemes, which includes regular premises inspection and adherence to a specific code of conduct.

These organizations help funeral directors demonstrate that they are committed to continuing professional development, and they have no issue with regulation should it become a legal requirement.[15][16][17]

## Role in Canada

The role of a funeral director in Canada can include embalming, sales, oversight of funeral services as well as other aspects of needed funeral services.[18]

### Organizations and licensing in Canada

A funeral director in Canada will assume many responsibilities after proper education and licensing. Courses will include science and biology, ethics, and practical techniques of embalming.[18] There are a number of organizations available to Canadian funeral directors.[19][20]

## References

1. ↑ "How Morticians Reinvented Their Job Title". Mental Floss. 5 January 2016. http://mentalfloss.com/article/68177/how-morticians-reinvented-their-job-title.
2. ↑ "Home: Oxford English Dictionary". http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/122475?redirectedFrom=mortician#eid.
3. ↑ "Encyclopedia Smithsonian: Egyptian Mummies". http://www.si.edu/encyclopedia_si/nmnh/mummies.htm.
4. ↑ "Death in Ancient Civilisations". History. http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-death/death-in-ancient-civilisations.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Steven Fife. "The Roman Funeral". World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/96/.
6. ↑ "Frederik Ruysch: The Artist of Death". The Public Domain Review. http://publicdomainreview.org/2014/03/05/frederik-ruysch-the-artist-of-death/.
7. ↑ Quigley, Christine (1996) (in en). The Corpse: A History. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786401703. https://books.google.com/books?id=QbRreZuttqMC&q=layers+out+of+the+dead&pg=PA52.
8. ↑ "Funerals and Burial Practices | Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia" (in en-US). http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/funerals-and-burial-practices/.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Turner, Chelsea. "Corporate Growth in Funeral Home Industry". https://www.cga.ct.gov/PS98/rpt/olr/htm/98-R-0480.htm.
10. ↑ "Funeral Directors." Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-07 Edition. 4 Aug, 2006. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. 8 Dec, 2008. http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos011.htm
11. ↑ http://www.nfda.org/education/resources
12. ↑ theconferenceonline.org, Students' NBE
13. ↑ American Board of Funeral Service Education, Frequently Asked Questions
14. ↑ "The British Institute of Funeral Directors" (in en). http://www.bifd.org.uk/.
15. ↑ "National Association of Funeral Directors". https://nafd.org.uk/.
16. ↑ "The British Institute of Funeral Directors". https://www.bifd.org.uk/.
17. ↑ "UK Independent Funeral Directors". https://saif.org.uk/.
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Funeral Services | ontariocolleges.ca" (in en). https://www.ontariocolleges.ca/en/programs/education-community-and-social-services/funeral-services.
19. ↑ http://www.ofsa.org/
20. ↑ https://www.fsac.ca/

* v
* t
* e

Death

In medicine|

Cell death
Necrosis

Avascular necrosis
Coagulative necrosis
Liquefactive necrosis
Gangrenous necrosis
Caseous necrosis
Fat necrosis
Fibrinoid necrosis
Temporal lobe necrosis
Programmed cell death

AICD
Anoikis
Apoptosis
Autophagy
Intrinsic apoptosis
Necroptosis
Paraptosis
Parthanatos
Phenoptosis
Pseudoapoptosis
Pyroptosis
Autolysis
Autoschizis
Eschar
Immunogenic cell death
Ischemic cell death
Pyknosis
Karyorrhexis
Karyolysis
Mitotic catastrophe
Suicide gene

* Abortion
* Accidental death
* Autopsy
* Brain death
* Brainstem death
* Clinical death
* DOA
* Death by natural causes
* Death rattle
* Dysthanasia
* End-of-life care
* Euthanasia
* Lazarus sign
* Lazarus syndrome
* Medical definition of death
* Organ donation
* Terminal illness
* Unnatural death

Lists|

* Causes of death by rate
* Expressions related to death
* Natural disasters
* People by cause of death
* Premature obituaries
* Preventable causes of death
* Notable deaths by year
* Unusual deaths
* TV actors who died during production

Mortality|

* Birthday effect
* Child mortality
* Gompertz–Makeham law of mortality
* Holiday effect
* Immortality
* Biological
* Digital
* Infant mortality
* Karōshi
* Maternal death
* Maternal mortality in fiction
* Memento mori
* Micromort
* Mortality displacement
* Mortality rate
* RAMR
* Mortality salience
* Perinatal mortality

After death|

| Body|

Stages
Pallor mortis
Algor mortis
Rigor mortis
Livor mortis
Putrefaction
Decomposition
Skeletonization
Fossilization

Preservation
Cryopreservation

Cryonics
Neuropreservation
Embalming
Maceration
Mummification
Plastination
Prosection
Taxidermy

Disposal
Burial

Bed burial
Burial at sea
Chariot burial
Jar burial
Natural burial
Premature burial
Secondary burial
Ship burial
Sky burial
Space burial
Cannibalism
Cremation
Dismemberment
Excarnation
Promession
Resomation

Beating heart cadaver
Body donation
Cadaveric spasm
Coffin birth
Death erection
Dissection
Gibbeting
Postmortem caloricity
Post-mortem interval

|

Other aspects|

Afterlife
Cemetery
Consciousness
Customs
Death mask
Eternal oblivion
Examination
Funeral
Grief
Intermediate state
Internet
Mourning
Obituary
Resurrection
Taboo on the dead
Vigil

Paranormal|

* Ghosts
* Near-death experience
* Near-death studies
* Necromancy
* Out-of-body experience
* Reincarnation research
* Séance

Legal|

* Abortion law
* Administration
* Capital punishment
* Cause of death
* Civil death
* Coroner
* Death-qualified jury
* Death certificate
* Declared death in absentia
* Death row
* Dying declaration
* Faked death
* Inquest
* Legal death
* Murder
* Necropolitics
* Prohibition of death
* Right to die
* Suspicious death
* Trust law
* Will

Fields|

* Forensic pathology
* Funeral director
* Mortuary science
* Necrobiology
* Post-mortem chemistry
* Post-mortem photography
* Taphonomy
* Biostratinomy
* Thanatology

Other|

* Apparent death
* Dark tourism
* Darwin Awards
* Dead pool
* Death and culture
* Death anniversary
* Death anxiety
* Death deity
* Personification of death
* Dying-and-rising god
* Psychopomp
* Death camp
* Death drive
* Death education
* Death from laughter
* Death hoax
* Death knell
* Death march
* Death messenger
* Death notification
* Death panel
* Death poem
* Death pose
* Death-positive movement
* Death squad
* Death threat
* Death trajectory
* Dignified death
* Extinction
* Fan death
* Festival of the Dead
* Fascination with death
* Hierarchy of death
* Homicide
* Last rites
* Martyr
* Megadeath
* Museum of Death
* Necronym
* Necrophilia
* Necrophobia
* The Order of the Good Death
* Predation
* Sacrifice
* human
* animal
* Social death
* Spiritual death
* Suicide
* Assisted suicide
* Thanatosensitivity
* Undead
* Voodoo death

* Category
* Outline

Find out more on Wikipedia's
Sister projects|

* Media
from Commons
* Quotations
from Wikiquote
* Data
from Wikidata

|

[1]

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funeral director. Read more

|

1. ↑ [1], a trade association for funeral directors.

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Finance:Funeral_director&oldid=3318141"
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template