Podcast

Talking to a child about death and loss can be challenging and parents are often looking for resources to help. In this episode, Gabe Schauf sits down with Lacie Bruckner and Katherine Pendergast, co-authors of the “In Loving Memory” books, which teach children about funerals, cremation and the grief journey. Lacie and Kat share their inspiration for the books; provide ideas for talking to children about death; and suggest ways parents and funeral directors can involve children in the funeral.

In this episode of A Brush with Death, Gabe Schauf is joined by five members of the Class of 2020 who share their experiences in mortuary science school and the funeral service profession. If you are curious about what the life of a mortuary student is like, this is a great place to start.

In this episode of “A Brush With Death”, we pick up where we left off in the discussion featured in our last episode. Host Gabe Schauf teams up once again with Sara Murphy, Ph.D., certified thanatologist and expert on death, dying and bereavement, to answer your questions regarding grief during these unprecedented times. Topics include self-care, managing the phenomenon of “COVID fatigue”, and reinforcing the importance of the funeral director in times of mass fatalities. If you haven’t listened to Part 1 of this series, we highly recommend Episode #10 where Dr. Murphy discusses the impact Coronavirus is having on grief and loss.

This episode of “A Brush With Death” discusses the impact Coronavirus is having on grief and loss.  Host Gabe Schauf talks with Sara Murphy, Ph.D., certified thanatologist and expert on death, dying, and bereavement, about the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on both individual and cultural grieving.

Our guest on this episode of "A Brush With Death" is Justin Baxley, a licensed funeral director and VP of business development for Foundation Partners.  A private funeral company based in Florida, Foundation Partners operates 140 funeral home locations across the country.  Justin describes how their firm is embracing new ideas and new technologies to serve families and communities during these trying times.

Funeral director, embalmer, owner, and national speaker, Wally Hooker from Family and Friends Funeral Home in Wingate, Indiana, joins “A Brush With Death” to offer some practical advice regarding transfers and embalming during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Today, we are going to be talking about burnout and compassion fatigue. While many in the death care profession hate to admit it, both are very present.

As funeral directors we are what some would call the “subject matter experts” in the death care industry. We have learned to embalm, make arrangements, provide services and help those in need. We know how to serve those families come through our door. The question is, how do we get them through the door in the first place?

Disenfranchised grief is the subject of this month’s NFDA podcast. Disenfranchised grief is grief not openly acknowledged, validated or publicly observed.  Our guest is Sara E. Murphy, Ph.D., a faculty member at the University of Rhode Island in the Honors Program and Department of Gender and Women's Studies and an expert on death, dying and bereavement.  Host Gabe Schauf will dive into the causes, effects and how funeral professionals can best serve clients struggling with it.

NFDA sits down with Ethan Morse to talk about his journey from tomb guard sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to filmmaker. He discusses his films “The Unknowns”,  a documentary about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Sentinels who stand guard at our Nation’s most sacred shrine, and the soon-to-be-released “Honor Guard”, a four-part series that highlights the dedication members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment—The Old Guard—show in paying their respects to those who gave all.