Morticians, also known as funeral directors, are involved in every aspect of what happens to a person after death. Usually on call 24 hours a day, morticians respond to calls to retrieve bodies from their location, generally a hospital or home, and begin preparations for a funeral. Morticians are patient and compassionate professionals experienced with helping family members navigate and cope during their time of grief.
Depending on the needs of the specific situation, a mortician’s duties can include:
Retrieving the body
Transports the body from the place of death or the coroner’s office to the mortuary.
Counseling the family
Provides support during the initial stages of grief and guides the family through the many decisions that need to be made. This includes helping the family to choose between burial and cremation, select a casket or urn, plan the viewing and funeral/memorial service (if desired), order flowers, select music to be played at the service and more.
Handling paperwork
Morticians often deal with much of the paperwork that is necessary after a person dies, such as obtaining a death certificate and burial permit.
Making all of the funeral arrangements
If a funeral or memorial service is desired, the mortician coordinates with the cemetery and/or chapel, arranges for the hearse, and arranges for pallbearers and vehicle escorts as required. The mortician can order the flowers, have programs printed and arrange for clergy to conduct the service and musicians to play at the funeral. If the deceased is entitled to military honors, the mortician can coordinate this as well.
Preparing the remains
Cleans and dresses the body. If there will be a viewing the mortician arranges the body in the casket, and does their hair and makeup. If the family has chosen to have the remains embalmed, the mortician does the embalming.
Transporting the body
Transports the body to the funeral home, church or chapel, cemetery or crematory, as per the family’s wishes. If the body needs to be shipped to another state or country, handles all of the arrangements to make this happen.
Preparing and coordinating the visitation and funeral
Sets up and decorates the room, is on hand during the event to ensure things run smoothly, and then cleans up afterwards.