The Living Urn, a division of Biolife LLC, hired Jason Ryan Engler as director of products and merchandising to curate an assortment of classic and custom cremation urns and keepsakes for the company’s new Element Urns platform.

A licensed funeral director, Engler brings more than 25 years of deathcare experience to his role. For more than 12 years, he served in various roles with Service Corporation International (SCI) – from funeral director and celebrant to location leadership and in the SCI home office, where he was responsible for guiding the cremation urn product line for all SCI locations. While at SCI, he was a founding member and also served as secretary of UNITE@SCI, the company’s LGBTQ+ associate resource community.

Engler also volunteers as historian for the Cremation Association of North America and as cremation historian for the National Museum of Funeral History. The latter’s “History of Cremation” exhibit, opened in 2018, largely comprises Engler’s personal research and cremation collection.

A regular speaker for professional associations nationwide, Engler is an author and contributor to funeral, cemetery and cremation trade journals. He also co-hosts the “Cremation: Then & Now” segment of the “Undertaking: The Podcast” platform.

Of his new role, Engler said: “I am so thrilled to work with Living Urn and to launch the Element Urns segment of such a fantastic business. I have known the team for years, and it is such a joy and privilege to be in their company to create products that families will use to help tell their loved one’s story.” thelivingurn.com