Glenda Grimm Rokey presents Russell Jenkins with the Morrill High School Distinguished Alumni Award at the Alumni Banquet Sunday, May 28. He graduated with the Class of 1960.

So, I’m the odd type of guy that peruses obituaries and hones in on one or two a day to read of people I have never met.  I find it very fascinating and it is always interesting to see of the different and unique lives that have been lived.  Certainly, as a funeral director, it demonstrates why I believe so strongly in the rite of a life’s celebration through a funeral service, memorial service, or other means.

I tell you that because this morning in looking for future stories for Funeral Director Daily I did a Google Search of key words and an article from the Sabetha (KS) Herald popped up with no apparent funeral service ramifications and was titled, “Morrill High School Distingueished Alumni:  Russell Jenkins”.

So, of course, I had to look up the article and see why why it was included in this Google feed.  Turns out that Mr. Jenkins, a 1960 alumni of Morrill (KS) High School retired  after a more than 20 year career with the Republic Underwriters Company in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.  However, that doesn’t tell Mr. Jenkins full story.

Out of high school he wanted to become a mortician and enrolled at the Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science.  After a couple of years in the industry, he married and entered the United States Air Force.  His work in the Air Force took him around the United States and to posts in other countries also.  He later went back to school and eventually became an instructor at the Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science  for a few years before taking the position at Republic Underwriters Company.

He is now retired, but continues to work as an associate at a local funeral home helping with visitations and funerals.

Funeral Director Daily take:    An interesting story of a man’s life journey, but I think it tells people in funeral service even more.  Three times in his life, Mr. Jenkins has felt the calling of funeral service — as a young person going to college, later as an instructor, and now as a retired person helping as an associate.

I think that is not a unique story.  It tells us something of the “pull” of funeral service and the satisfaction those of us who work in the profession get from that work.  I’ve been in the profession over 35 years and I cannot tell you the number of people I know who left the profession, maybe even to become a minister, but then return to work in the funeral setting, albeit in retirement.  I’m of the opinion that there is a “pull and satisfaction” from working in the industry helping people in need that you just can’t get in many other professions.

Just last week I met a young lady in my community who lost a close relative to death within the past year.  The way she was treated and helped by the funeral service staff convinced her that funeral directing and serving those in need should be her life’s calling.  She told me she has closed her medical school studies and has enrolled for this fall’s semester at the University of Minnesota School of Mortuary Science.

In the last few weeks this column has had stories of funeral homes looking for funeral director help.  I think if we can tell our stories and what we do for client families, those that want that same employment experience are out there to come into our fold.  We just have to find them.[wpforms id=”436″ title=”true” description=”true”]