Funeral Directors: Same compassion, new methods

March 19, 2026/Business, Regulations/

Compassion has always been present in the role of “Funeral Director”. This recent article on the Mortuary Science program at the University of Minnesota quotes Director Michael LuBrant as saying, “It’s such a unique field and it isn’t something a lot of people think of. . .” But LuBrant also says that the characteristics for success remain constant as he is also quoted as saying that the profession requires, “the ability to deal in a calm and rational manner when there is so much stress going on at so many levels”.

LuBrant has been at the University of Minnesota for over 25 years and the article also says this about how funeral directors have changed in what they do in that time:

In his quarter-century heading the program, he’s witnessed the mortuary science industry change dramatically. Traditional burials used to be the norm, but now a majority of Americans are choosing cremation. Decades ago the field was dominated by men, but now two-thirds to three-quarters of the students are women..

While LuBrant talks about the same compassion among those in the program, the article also talks about how that compassion is being put to work in different ways than the tradional funerals of the past. One student highlighted in the article is Colby Voigt. Voigt graduated from the University of Minnesota program in 2013 and went to work for a funeral home. Voigt is quoted in the article about how it was when he first went to work when he says, “Forever, it’s been about just doing things the way they’ve always been done. We call the same funeral home. We go to the same church. We sit down and we say the same prayers, and eat the same crappy ham sandwiches.”

We are now in 2026, over a dozen years after Voigt graduated and here’s what the article says about Voigt and his duties today, “Voigt confirms the massive shifts in disposition preferences, noting that the cremation rate in Forest Lake is now up to 90 percent. He also says that families have changed their expectations for memorial services. To adapt to a changing palate, Voigt has helped launch a new funeral home brand, SendOff – Funerals Reimagined, that hosts personalized events at venues across the Twin Cities and beyond.”

Voigt is quoted on that subject, “We’re taking it out of the box and giving people what they want.”

The article sums up Voigt and his satisfaction as a funeral director whether it has been in the traditional realm, the cremation realm, or the funerals reimagined realm when he says, “This is a very meaningful way that you can give back to your community. You’re making a lasting impact on someone’s life. When they’re able to have that experience and when they’re able to grieve properly because of that … intrinsically, it’s the best feeling, and that’s what I love about this job. I wouldn’t be able to get that in any other career path.”

Dr. LuBrant, the Director of the University of Mortuary Science program, sums up a little of what Voigt brings out when he talks about the role of the funeral director. LuBrant says:

“I think there really is a sense of the sacred to what we do. We’re talking about people’s loved ones — hands that you’ve held, lips that you’ve touched, bodies that you’ve hugged. Until it’s somebody that you knew, that you loved, that was dear to your heart, I don’t think one can fully understand the depth and the profundity of the impact of what we do.”

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take: I enjoyed writing this article because I’m a graduate of the University of Minnesota School of Mortuary Science and also had the added opportunity to partially oversee the department during my duties as a Board Member of the University of Minnesota. That was a great honor for me and I also consider it a privilige to have gotten to know Dr. Michael LuBrant better during that time and witness his devotion to turning out “ready and able” funeral directors to the profession.

I also am a friend of the founder of SendOff – Funerals Re-imagined, Kelly Roberts. Kelly is passionate about this business and we’ve sat and visited about the possibilities and potential of it. I’m excited to see that when I look at the current obituary pages that the idea seems to be resonating and growth is happening and will eventually happen even faster as the company reaches a certain threshold of business.

When I think of SendOff and other business like natural organic reduction leader Recompose, I do see the methods of Death Care, and choices of consumers, in a paradigm of change. And, while we don’t know if that paradigm will continue or how fast it will continue, the one aspect that remains the same is that the same compassion that has been a funeral director’s calling card for over a century will remain into the future.

Here is the website of SendOff

Here is the website of Recompose

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