The Funeral Director
by Jack F. Byrd

unerals are expensive for the same reason that legal care, medical care and psychological care are expensive. They require many hours of labour and creative thought of intelligent and sensitive people to be done properly.

he tasks themselves are stressful, taxing, often unpleasant, occasionally physically and psychologically harmful and, sometimes unappreciated. To do his job efficiently, under stress, he must often repress anger, disgust and his own fear of death, and attempt, at a latter time, to dredge up these stored inner feelings and deal with them in a way that will preserve his own mental health. If he knows and loves that person who died, or if it is a member of the family, his pain may be intense. But, he must suppress his own grief, perform his services and, later, work out his own sorrow. If those he serves are in the state of grief where the stress of their psychological conflict has produced aggression, he may have to bear the blows. And, he always leaves each family and funeral feeling helpless to prevent the pain, even though he knows it is a "pain that heals."

ike police and fire protection and medical services, funeral directors are demanded 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and no one is willing to wait for a time convenient to the person who serves. If he supervises others, his work is never done.

here is little social prestige which accompanies his job, and only those he helps most intimately realize his sincere interest, sympathy and desire to ease the pain.

o those he has helped in the past, he often represents the reawakening of forgotten grief, and many turn away from him rather than face those feelings again.

o the many who do not understand his work, or who rightfully don't want to, he is a parasite. He is often the source of tension relieving humor that relieves the stress that many feel about the fear of death. He helps here, too, by encouraging the relief.

sually, he makes an adequate living and, occasionally, if he is extremely good at his profession, makes an above average income. But, his wages and the wages of all those who help him help others make up more than half the cost of a funeral and are combined with the costs of buildings, automobiles, equipment and taxes to make the whole. As in most professions, if he is not competenet, scrupulous and sincerely helpful, he is found out and fails.

e works in elaborate surroundings, with expensive tools and equipment, trying to ease the pain and protect the public health.

any criticize him and, sometimes rightfully so, but few wish to trade places with him.