Assistant funeral directors and senior funeral directors who work in large mortuaries are the most common types of funeral directors. The typical funeral director runs a family business and performs a wide range of tasks, from hearse driver to bookkeeper. Funeral directors, also known as morticians or undertakers, are professionals who deal with death on a daily basis.
When a death occurs, the funeral director is the person who is called. He or she takes the body to the funeral home and transports it. The body is usually washed and embalmed by draining the blood and replacing it with embalming fluid by the same person. If the deceased died in a violent accident or crime, funeral directors must reconstruct the body with cotton, clay, and other materials to make it look as natural as possible.
If the family opts for an open casket, cosmetics are usually used to color the deceased’s face and hands. The duties of a funeral director include dressing the body and placing the deceased in the casket. If a religious or memorial service is planned, the director ensures that the chapel is clean and available.
One of the funeral director’s responsibilities prior to the actual service is to meet with the deceased’s family or friends to discuss the type of service they prefer. Funeral services can take place in the home, at a religious facility, at the gravesite, or at the mortuary. If the ceremony will be led by a member of the clergy, the director will contact him or her to set up a time and date. To allow for viewing of the body, some families hold a wake, also known as a visitation. Those arrangements are also handled by the director.
If a cemetery burial is planned, a funeral director ensures that hearses are available for the family and the deceased. He or she coordinates the gravedigging with cemetery officials and, in most cases, transports flowers from the mortuary to the gravesite. Funeral director jobs allow for the transportation of the deceased’s body if family members choose to bury him or her elsewhere.
One of the most important duties of a funeral director is to console the bereaved’s friends and family. Funeral directors should be aware of how different cultures deal with grief and burial customs. Occasionally, a funeral director will inform family members about grief-support groups in their area.
Keeping records required for the release of an official death certificate is part of the job of a funeral director. The job usually entails keeping financial records, tax records, and income and expense ledgers in family-owned businesses. Billing and collection of money owed to the mortuary may fall to the owner-operator.