What is a funeral director?

A funeral director is a licensed professional who specializes in all aspects associated with funeral service. Funeral directors: • Provide support to the bereaved during initial stages of their grief. • Arrange and direct funeral ceremonies. • Arrange for removal of the deceased from the place of death. • Prepare the body according to the wishes of the survivors and requirements of the law. • Secure information for legal documents. • File death certificates and other legal papers. • Assist survivors with details for filing claims for death benefits. • Help individuals adapt to changes in their lives following a death through post-death counseling and support group activities. Education Requirements Education requirements vary by state. Following are the basic educational requirements for most states: • A high school diploma or equivalent. • Graduation from an accredited program requires the completion of an associates degree, or its equivalent, and, within the credits earned for the ...  more

A funeral director is the Bliley's staff member who works with a family to arrange burial, cremation or other funeral services. The director, who must be licensed to practice in Virginia, will also help personalize individual services, as well as carefully prepare remains for burial or cremation.  more

A funeral director is a professional who arranges and facilitates a funeral. They also actually direct a funeral to make sure everything goes through for you in a manner that you want to see the funeral happen. They facilitate any music, any special arrangements, any religious observances. They take care of all that for you to make sure that it's all done in a very professional and orderly manner.  more

A funeral director is someone involved in the business of funeral rites. The job often entails the burial or cremation of the dead, as well as the planning and arrangement of the actual funeral ceremony. The modern profession of being a mortician started in England in the 1700s.[1] Before it, officers of the College of Arms – a government heraldic authority – directed funerals. The family of the deceased had to contact a member of the College of Arms to manage the funeral. The family also had to hire and coordinate the efforts of others involved in the funeral, such as surgeons, plumbers, coffin makers, upholsterers, carpenters, tailors, drapers, and other contractors. Once the new profession was established, morticians would organize the entire arrangements of the funeral, and the family would only have to rely on them. The first mortician, according to Sir Anthony Wagner, was William Russel, a coffin maker who had set up the business as early as 1688.  more