Clive Anderson

I recently discovered an inspiring article about a young man and his quest to be involved in funeral service on the web-site IrishCentral.com.  The article centers around Irish born Clive Anderson, age 34, who now owns his own funeral home in Yonkers, New York.  It is a true tale of a young man who saw funeral directors at their best and aspired to be one of them.

Turns out that Anderson was living with his family in Ireland and was 15 years old when his father died of cancer.  He vividly remembers his father being removed from the home with gentleness, care, reverence, and dignity.  It was not long after that that Anderson found his way to America and Mount Ida College in Massachusetts to learn the funeral director profession.  According to Anderson, he wanted to study the craft in America because Irish funerals are done very economically, but standards also suffer because of that.

The young man fell in love with his new country, found employment selling caskets in the northeast and forged relationships with funeral directors.  That led to the eventual purchase, at age 31 – three years ago- of the Pelham Funeral Home which is located near the Irish strongholds of Yonkers and the Bronx.  Anderson says, ” I was in the right place at the right time and I’ve never looked back.”

Funeral Director Daily take:  A couple of things strike me when I read the entire article.  Number one is that this young man found his passion and stuck to it.  He knew early on that he wanted to be a funeral director – and not just any funeral director – he wanted to make a difference as the funeral directors who cared for his father did.  Even at an early age – before he was involved in funeral service – he knew the difference between low price and quality of service – and he wanted to be a part of the quality of service.

Secondly, I cannot tell how many times that I’ve felt like I was in the right place at the right time.  I’m not so sure that it is coincidence.  I’m of the opinion that the harder you work, the more opportunities come your way — you make your own right time, right place situations!!

Finally, I think that there is a lot to be said for young Clive Anderson’s passion.  If you enjoy your work, do it hard and try to please your client families, success will be bred off of that.  Anderson’s just a case in point!![wpforms id=”436″ title=”true” description=”true”]