What is a funeral director?

Things you should know before you go

What is a funeral director?
By Andrew Hodges
Novemeber 2005

Every once and awhile someone will ask me the question: Do you have to go through some sort of training to become a funeral director? I usually answer the same way, after I chuckle and smile: Why yes. I didn't just wake up one day and decide to start doing funerals. Now, I don't mean any disrespect in my response. I suppose I rely on humour at times, especially with issues that concern me. If someone does not know what credentials are needed to become a funeral director, how can they appreciate the role of a funeral director, and furthermore, appreciate the value of a funeral? Of course this concern reinforces why I am writing these articles.

So let's look at what is required to become a funeral director and what the job entails. Keep in mind the following information pertains only to Ontario; each province has its own regulations when it comes to the training of funeral directors and what they are licensed to do.

Humber College, in Etobicoke (Toronto), has the only English-speaking Funeral Services program in Ontario. College Boreal, in Sudbury, has a French program. For this article, I will focus on Humber's program because this is where the majority of Ontario's funeral directors graduate from. The basic requirements for admission into the program are as follows:

• Ontario Secondary School Diploma at or above general level or equivalent, or mature student status;
• Grade 12 English (general level or above);
• Personal questionnaire;
• Observation or work experience in a funeral home;
• Questionnaire completed by the funeral director who supervised observation or work experience;
• Attendance at an information-sharing and assessment session;
• Pre-admission test for senior level biology, chemistry, reading and writing skills;
• Valid St. John's Standard First Aid Certificate (or equivalent);
• Valid Class G Driver's Licence;
• Have received Hepatitis B vaccination;
• Have a Tuberculin (TB) skin test.

According to Jeff Caldwell, program coordinator of Funeral Service Education at Humber College, approximately 350 to 400 people apply to the program each year, competing for 130 seats. Of that number, roughly 70 to 90 students complete the program. As a two year program, the first year consists of in class training divided into two semesters with the following curriculum: Human Anatomy & Physiology, Microbiology, Embalming Lab, Embalming Theory, Orientation to Funeral Service, Moral & Ethical Issues in Health, Writing Skills for Health Sciences, Humanities, Pathology, Restorative Art, Small Business Management and Psychology of Grief.

If you are wondering, the embalming lab does consist of hands-on embalming. Funeral homes in the Toronto area send bodies to the college -- with consent, of course -- from the deceased person's family. The bodies embalmed at the school are usually the most difficult embalming cases, such as people hit by trains, car accidents or sever burn vicitims, etc. In all honesty, the embalming performed at Humber is some of the best embalming work done in the province; each is done by four students with one or two embalming instructors. At most funeral homes, one person is responsible for each embalming, so you can imagine the detail that is put into an embalming as part of a lab. Furthermore, after each embalming, the students involved must write a detailed report and an in-class presentation follwed by questions from the class instructor.

The second year is a twelve-month internship at a funeral home in Ontario. During that time the intern must complete a minimum 50 embalmings, five at-need funeral arrangements, five pre-need funeral arrangements and direct five funerals while completeting monthly correspondence projects. The majority of internships take place in larger, urban, funeral homes simply because of the higher volume of funerals, making for a broader learning experience.

That experience can be very different for each intern in training. I know people in my class that did far more than 50 embalmings with the minimum amount of arranging and directing funerals. During my intership, I completed exactly 50 embalmings, but arranged and directed and 100 funerals. As a side note, 50 embalmings does not apply to students who are going for a non-embalming license(due to religious or ethnic reasons). However, having a non-embalming funeral director's license greatly limits employment opportunites.

Around the time of the internship completion, each student is called to do an embalming in the presence of a practical examiner. The examiners are licensed funeral directors, of five years or more, who volunteer with the Board of Funeral Service (the provincial body that regulates all funeral homes and funeral director licences) to observe the student to ensure they are capable embalmers. They will decide whether the student passes or fails. If, during the embalming, they observe the student performing poorly they will step in to ensuring the embalming is completed correctly.

After the internship is completed, the students are called back to Humber for final training before the Ontario Board of Funeral Service exams. Upon completion and passing all classes, they graduate from Humber College with a Diploma in Funeral Service.

The final step is to pass a two-day written exam administered by the Ontario Board of Funeral Service. The first day's exam consists of multiple-choice questions from every course in Humber's Funeral Service program. The second day is short- and long-answer questions. Each test must be completed in three hours, and most students take the full time to complete it.

By passing the practical exam and passing the Ontario Board of Funeral Service exams (65% is considered a pass) and having a clear criminal background check, the student then becomes an Ontario licensed funeral director that allows him or her to embalm, sign pertinent documents as a funeral director, and direct funerals in the province of Ontario. Each funeral director must renew their license with the Board of Funeral Service every year. And every five years, the Ontario Board of Funeral Services runs a continuing education program, updating funeral directors about any changes made to the funeral service legislation and related information.

As to the role of the funeral director, it can depend on the location of the funeral home he or she works in. In small towns like St. Marys, the funeral director's role is to do everything from building maintenance and everything involved with a funeral from start to finish, with part-time funeral director assistants (non-licenced staff) helping with visitations and funerals. In larger towns and cities, there may be full-time non-licensed staff who look after things like building maintenance, picking up bodies from places of death, assisting with visitations and funerals, answering phones, bookkeeping, etc., leaving the licensed funeral directors to do the embalming, funeral arrangements and to direct funerals. And in some larger funeral homes, the licensed funeral directors are specialized. That means that certain funeral directors only do embalming, or only do funeral arrangement, or only lead funerals.

Finally, is there any difference between a funeral director, undertaker or mortician? The answer is no; they are all mean the same thing, but are just different names that have been used over time. Undertaker was the traditional European term; mortician was the traditional American name and Funeral Director is newest name brought about to more clearly describe what funeral professionals do.