Journal of the Funeral Profession
Issue 40 Available Now!
Southern Calls Issue 40 begins with an interesting dive into the dual careers of Jack Lechner and his lifetime of service, both military and funeral. Our Places article continues the theme of service with Powles Staton Funeral Home and their Veterans Honor Guard Museum, while this time Passions goes behind the scenes with the story of Southern Calls art director, Chris Griffin. We wrap this one up with a salute to the legend of Robert Waltrip, a visionary in the funeral business, his passing...
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People, Places, Passions
Mitchell’s Journey
I drove by your building a hundred thousand times and never once noticed it. Why would I? Death is what happens to other people. And when you have young children, mortality is the last thing on your mind. Instead, we're focused on young life and the promise of a...
Snyder Funeral Homes
More than 100 years ago, Ora O. Snyder worked as a horse keeper for undertaking establishments. Known as Orrie to friends and colleagues, his early exposure to funeral service consisted of accompanying the local undertaker into the family home instead of waiting...
After Life Mortuary Services
The year is 1961. The Soviet Union has just successfully put Yuri Gagarin into space—and brought him home again. The Soviets are winning the space race. President John F. Kennedy immediately begins exploring ideas to re-take the lead, settling on reaching the moon....
Rhonda Keyes Pleasants
Before reading any further, pause for a moment and reflect on your career, regardless of your age or your job title. Reminisce about opportunities that were afforded to you, both past and present. Consider equally decisions you made with the excitement of future...
Bibber Memorial Chapel
The air smells briny and gulls caw overhead. In the distance, against the backdrop of an iron-colored horizon, a few hearty lobstermen trawl the sea, braving the frigid temperatures. It’s snowing again, but that’s not newsworthy. It’s winter in Maine. Three miles up...
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Funereal Fridays
The Charleston Nine
Southern Mourning | from Southern Calls Issue 16, September 2017 (Opening Image: June 22, 2007 – Charleston 9 Firefighters ServicePresident, Mike McDaniel,1999-00 (head), President Thomas E. Baker II, 2007-08 (foot) Photographer – We are very appreciative to SCFDA...
Man O’ War’s Funeral
Southern Mourning | from Southern Calls Issue 9, September 2015 (Opening Image: As visitors look on, legendary thoroughbred Man O’ War lies in state in a casket lined with his racing colors at owner Samuel Riddle’s Faraway Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, Nov. 3, 1947....
The Art of Undertaking
Here are three powerful images that I believe capture the essence of our beloved Profession - Mike Squires ABOVE: The Recessional | Mac Brown, Photography “Red clay fills the hole left in our hearts. Only flowers remain as guardians of the grave, until they too wither...
Check back frequently for new Funereal Fridays!
Recent Stories
Mary Evelyn Cantwell / Stevens Mortuary, Knoxville TN
Click to view this article as FlipBook Stevens Mortuary occupies the historic Cedar Grove estate nestled in north Knoxville, Tennessee. When one arrives at the mortuary, surrounded by flowering dogwood trees, the stately antebellum era house, with wide, inviting...
COVID-19 in Rural Alabama
Everything’s changed. We’re now living in a world we didn’t expect a month ago, a week ago, or even yesterday. It’s a world of constant flux with changing mandates and directives coming from the state and federal level. And yes, it’s a world of fear. Masks and gloves...
Billy Graham | Funeral & Eulogies
Leading up to the day of the funeral, feelings of anxiety and uncertainty abounded. Although receiving media passes for the visitation had been fairly streamlined and straightforward, obtaining credentials to attend the private funeral service was a highly-...
Remembering Jacquelyn Taylor
In a career that came full-circle, the enduring and steadfast funeral service advocate was excited about the opportunity to continue her life’s work. But on August 10, 2018 Jacquelyn Taylor was diagnosed with breast cancer and on September 4, 2019 the cancer returned...
Additional Recent Stories articles can be found in our archives.
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Events
Learn more about some of the top upcoming events in the funeral profession, or book Mike Squires, Editor/Publisher of Southern Calls, for an upcoming speaking engagement.
From the Past
A Florida Undertaker’s Family Museum | Volume 11, March 2016
Take a step back in the life of an undertaker when you walk into Tommy Begg’s Funeral Museum in Madison, Florida. Visit the original coffin shop with boxes of original ornaments and hardware, his restored 1918 Dodge hearse, the first motorized hearse in Florida, and...
Presidential Passings | Eisenhower
The Solemn Journey to AbileneA Look Back at the Eisenhower Funeral Train By Bob Boetticher, Sr. Chairman, National Museum of Funeral History The first of an 8-Part Series focused on the History of Presidential Funeral Trains On March 28, 1969, the world learned that...
Sunnyside Magazine, January 1900
This is "The Sunnyside," a magazine for the funeral industry, dated January 1st, 1900. It contains fabulous old ads for hearses, caskets, embalming fluid, etc. from advertisers such as National Casket, John Marsellus Mfg. Co., Champion Chemical Co. and many others....
NFDA State Association Officers from 1900
Here's an interesting look back at the 1900 National Funeral Directors' Association roster of officers from the state associations. This comes from a point in history when there were only 45 states in the United States, and we were just 35 years removed from the Civil...
An industry with rich history, see more relics and stories from the past here.
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