I Am A Funeral Director: Cindy Simpson
I really enjoyed working on the implementation of the Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program. The Dignity Memorial® Homeless Veterans Burial Program provides dignified burial services for eligible homeless and indigent veterans to ensure they receive the honors in death that their service in life merited. The Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program has provided burial services for more than 1,600 homeless veterans since the program’s inception. Founded upon the belief that every veteran deserves a dignified and honorable burial, the Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program is a cooperative effort among Dignity Memorial funeral, cremation and cemetery service providers, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, local medical examiners, coroners, veterans advocates and veterans organizations. Through the program, homeless and indigent veterans who have no family to claim them are identified and provided with a proper military burial. Dignity Memorial providers supply preparation of the body, transportation, clothing, casket and coordination of the funeral service. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides eligible veterans with the opening and closing of the gravesite, a grave liner, a headstone or marker, a graveside ceremony and burial in a National Cemetery.
Cindy Simpson
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 Cindy Simpson of Plano, TX.
For more stories like this please see our I Am A Funeral Director Series
