By Bonnie McCullough

The primary role of the funeral director is to arrange and perform all details of the funeral service, from burial of the deceased to attending to the many needs of surviving loved ones. However, what is not as apparent is that many individuals in this profession also serve the living in various ways.

Funeral directors are very involved with local fraternal organizations, such as the Rotary, Lions Club, Kiwanis, Masons, Chamber of Commerce, Knights of Columbus and Elks.

Funeral directors volunteer for a wide variety of activities that serve members of their communities, such as raising puppies for Upstate Guide Dog; coaching for Little League baseball, football and the Special Olympics; and membership on local emergency squad and disaster response teams. Many serve on hospital and bank boards; school boards and town councils, and as county legislators, mayors and judges.

Through organizations such as the New York State Funeral Directors Association (NYSFDA), they support projects directed to education, consumer protection and promoting the general welfare.

Because criminals often target families who have recently lost a loved one, NYSFDA and the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police (NYSACOP) recently teamed up to produce a brochure entitled “Avoid Being the Victim of a Crime During Your Time of Grief.” The brochure explains that criminals are always on the lookout for opportunities to break into a home or scam a trusting person especially during emotional times after the loss of a loved one. The brochure gives tips on how to avoid these problems. It can be downloaded from www.nysfda.org by clicking on “consumer information” and then “crime victim brochure.”

NYSFDA was recently honored for its water conservation efforts with one of the first annual national Water Efficiency Leader (WEL) Awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to the EPA, NYSFDA has “worked diligently” to promote an innovative approach, through a series of best management practices, to reduce the volume of water used in an embalming from 120 gallons to 5 gallons.

The New York State Tribute Foundation, NYSFDA’s philanthropic and educational arm, supports education, outreach and research programs that advance the public’s understanding of end-of-life issues, and assists funeral service professionals in the performance of their duties. It publishes the Funeral Consumers Information series, a group of brochures to educate and inform the public about funeral issues. The Foundation donated $40,000 last year to Gulf Coast Funeral Service Programs in mortuary schools which were damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

The Funeral Service Foundation (FSF), based in Wisconsin, is the “charitable voice of funeral service.” It unites funeral directors all over the country to fund projects to better serve the general public and individuals who might be interested in a career in funeral service.

FSF awarded a total of 20 grants and scholarships in 2006. Scholarships were awarded to funeral service professionals who attended the Association of Applied and Therapeutic Humor’s annual conference to learn how to apply humor therapy when serving families with children in end-of-life situations. FSF made several other grants to support the improvement of children’s lives in 2006: Children’s bereavement programs at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx, New York; Hope for Tsunami, an organization serving children affected by the Southeast Asian tsunami; and a grant to the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center, a children’s museum in Gulfport, Mississippi, for rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.

Funeral directors are compassionate individuals who truly celebrate life in memory of the deceased and assist the living by participating in volunteer work in the towns, villages, and cities where they work and live.

(Bonnie McCullough is executive director of the New York State Funeral Directors Association, an organization of close to 800 funeral homes. If you have a question about funeral service or would like a list of NYSFDA member funeral directors in your area, contact NYSFDA, 426 New Karner Road, Albany, NY 12205.)

Editor’s note: To schedule an interview with Bonnie McCullough or your local NYSFDA spokesperson, please contact Vera Nuspliger at 518-882-9816, cell 518-424-8719 or email vnuspliger@aol.com, or Randy McCullough at 518-452-8230.