I Am A Funeral Director: Paula Sexton
The former coach of the Chicago Bears (Mike Ditka) experienced a death in his extended family. His daughter-in-law was the family member in charge of representing the family, we worked closely together. Afterwards, she sent a lovely picture of the coach’s grandson hugging the Neptune Bears we had given her. She also offered me a job at their restaurant. A year later she returned and allowed us to serve her family once again.
Paula Sexton
About the I Am A Funeral Director Series
If you ask a classroom full of kindergarteners what they want to be when they grow up, you will get some interesting answers. The children are likely to explain that they hope to one day be astronauts, doctors, football players, or singers. The responses will probably be just as unique as each individual child answering the question.
However, one response you’re unlikely to hear is: “I want to be a funeral director”. This begs the question - why do people become funeral directors? In a job that is both physically and emotionally demanding, who would want to take on this career full time?
We asked our funeral directors how they came into the deathcare industry. We were shocked by many of their responses.
The job appears on the surface to be so full of sadness, but in reality we found that our funeral directors have chosen this profession because they are selfless caregivers who want to effectively help people during their darkest times. Many form lifelong friendships with the family members they serve. The stories in this series demonstrate how funeral directors are unsung heroes, caring for people each day.
Above is just one of their stories, from Paula Sexton of Palatine, IL.
For more stories like this please see our I Am A Funeral Director Series
