The Morte Girls

We’ve noticed, recently, several funeral homes billing themselves as “modern” or “contemporary.” They claim to have a new way of doing things; that they are bringing a new awareness to death and making it less sad. Really!? Light and airy reposing rooms will not change the abject sorrow felt by a family whose daughter has died from cancer shortly after giving birth, or by the family whose daughter was killed in a horrific accident with a truck. Nor will it make the family of a murder victim feel one iota better. Death is heartbreaking, painful, often ugly, and life-altering for survivors. Reactions by loved ones are visceral and emotional. Death does not become more tolerable if we dress it up in bright colors and attempt to sell soothing gift items. So, save us the spiel from unlicensed or newly licensed, self-appointed experts, who have little to no understanding of the business they have recently entered. Their thinly veiled criticism that we, as an industry, have been doing it wrong all these years is ignorant and condescending. Such people could learn a lot from us, and the thousands of families successfully served by established funeral directors.