The funeral profession is changing . . . . but yet, what is really important should stay the same

October 16, 2026/Business/

I met John Adams, a past President of the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) of Great Britain at the Baltimore NFDA Convention a few years back. We had randomly sat down at the same table in the concession area during the convention and just struck up a conversation.

Since that time I’ve followed John’s work and also subscribe to John’s podcast “Death: A Changing Industry”. By doing that I’ve learned a lot about John and the state of Death Care in Great Britain. And, if you follow Death Care like I do the old saying “What goes around, comes around” seems to have merit on the planet of Death Care. . . .What I mean is that what happens in a location around the world, generally replicates itself in other locales over time.

John Adams is a 3rd-generation funeral director at the family firm of Perry & Phillips. John and I also have a another common connection, not only was I a generational funeral director (4th generation) but both of us lost parents during our younger years which I believe greatly enhanced our abilities to care for grieving families.

My father died while I was a 19-year old college freshman and John’s mother died of cancer at age 39 when John was only 12 years old. John’s study of bereavement in children led him to lead the battle to make “bereavement education” a part of the statutory school curriculum in England beginning in September 2026. That inclusion has created what some call a “historic milestone” in bereavement education of Great Britain’s children.

In general the curriculum covers the following:

What Children Are Taught: Under the new curriculum, children learn in an age-appropriate way that death, loss, and bereavement are natural parts of life.
Primary Schools: Children are taught that change and loss provoke a range of feelings, that grief is a natural response, and that everyone grieves differently
Secondary Schools: The lessons expand to cover how families and relationships change over time, including through birth, death, separation, and new relationships.

That is just a little history on John Adams that I wanted to present before I present his latest podcast to you. I found this podcast presentation very interesting as it consists of a discussion between John and his father, Chris Adams, discussing funeral service and more.

Watching and listening to the presentation brought about a great many of the memories that I have about “serving my community” as a local funeral director. It made me think about the changes in the profession. . .all the bells and whistles about internet obituaries, websites, livestreams, new methods of human dispositions, and every thing else that has changed since I started working full time in the profession in 1980 or Chris Adams joined his family firm in 1978.

I also caught myself thinking, while there has been a multitude of change, what we do as local funeral directors — whether in Great Britain or the U.S.A. — to care for those families in need has not changed at all. . . .and never should. Funeral directors should continue to give care, empathy, sympathy, and anything else in our power to put our friends and neighbors on a healthy track following the death of a loved one.. . .. . . It remains that simple.

I hope you enjoy this podcast video as much as I did.