Blair Hennessey using measured amounts to mix

Just when you think you have seen it all – and I should know better after over 35 years in the business – you see something that you just look at and say, “How can that work”.  I came across an interesting article out of New Zealand from Stuff.com.nz today that tells the story of Blair Hennessey and his quest, following the legal loss of his sight, to become an embalmer.

Turns out that the 25 year old Hennessey had some type of ailment where he gradually lost his sight and he knew that if he was going to take care of himself  for the rest of his life he would have to find a different occupation than the forklift driving he was doing.  He had always been interested in funeral service and set his sights (no pun intended) on a career as an embalmer.

With the help of the Blind Foundation and Geoffrey Hall of Hall & Company Funeral Homes Hennessey got started towards his goal.  The article states how Hall was tremendously supportive – paying for Hennessey’s studies and  ensuring that he had all that he needed to get this education.  Hennessey, who can see shapes but has a difficult time with objects states, ” I have to do things more with my hands. . . I rely on being able to feel a difference, not see a difference”.  He also uses a combination of stickers, an Iphone, and pre-measured containers to help him mix fluids.

Hennessey passed his exam last month in a class of seven and is now ready to go to work.

Funeral Director Daily take:  There is a lot of things you can think about when you read this article.  First of all, great for Hennessey and his determination to overcome this obstacle and find a way to support himself as he moves forward.  I’m a believer in self-reliance and I’ve always thought if something of some debilitating nature happened to me, I would want to still find something to do to earn my keep.

Then there is Geoff Hall and his generosity of helping Hennessey reach his passion.  He has even set up his prep room in a different manner as to make it easier for Hennessey to move around and work in it.  This is really a great gesture on Hall’s part — but I really don’t think it is uncommon among funeral directors to be helpers in this way.

I also look at this article with a lot of questions.  On the practical business side, what will it cost to employ Hennessey?  Will he need a supervisor?  Does he see well enough to do restorative work and/or cosmetics work?  I think those are good questions – however – the great thing about living in a free society is that employers can make those decisions on how they work best for them while finding a way to offer meaningful employment to someone with a disability.

What I worry about – on the other hand – is increasing government regulation on what an employer’s obligation is to an employee that may need some extra help to get a task done.  I just saw a news report last night about raising a city’s minimum wage from $9 to $15 per hour and, without questioning the merits of that, that kind of government interference is, in my opinion, a little overreaching from what has been the free market system in America.  The costs that could be associated with some of the proposed government regulations in the U.S. could have a very adverse affect on funeral service and its cost structure.  We all need to be wary of an unneedful reason to raise the cost of services to our consumers.[wpforms id=”436″ title=”true” description=”true”]