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JULY 2014
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
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Chancellor Mfg, Inc.
P.O. Box 1457, 420 West Garnett Street, Gainesville, TX 76240
spurred a career change.
After working in the elec-
tronics industry for sev-
eral years, he quit his job
and went to fill in for his
father in the family funer-
al home. “It was just amaz-
ing, the fulfillment I got
out of helping families,”
Lowman said. “I decid-
ed to go to school and get
my funeral director license
so I can eventually run
the family funeral home.”
Lowman said the most
valuable thing he learned
was how different people
cope with death and how,
by body language and
voice tone, he could pres-
ent himself in an appro-
priate manner to assist the
family.
“They know things from
personal experience and
that information keeps
you focused,” said Adair,
32, who initially went into
resort management in Cal-
ifornia, but returned to the
family business to work
with his sister and father.
He likes having the abili-
ty to help people during a
hard time and try to make
their experience a positive
one. Adair noticed that the
industry could improve by
incorporating more tech-
nology and said, “I would
like to be part of changing
that.”
All of the graduates say
they decided to attend
MCC’s Mortuary Science
Program based on others’
recommendations and the
fact that it’s the only ac-
credited program in Arizo-
na and one of few in the
surrounding states.
MCC proudly recogniz-
es the seven-year accredi-
tation earned by its Mor-
tuary Science Program this
spring, along with a rarely
earned ‘no stipulation’ no-
tation.
The Mesa Community
College Mortuary Science
Program is a member of
the National Association
of Colleges of Mortuary
Science and offers an As-
sociate in Applied Science
degree in Mortuary Sci-
ence. The degree includes
studies in public health,
business management, nat-
ural sciences, legal, ethical
and regulatory concerns,
and clinical requirements
associated with the mor-
tuary field. The curricu-
lum combines coursework
in mortuary science with
a general education com-
ponent. The AAS degree
from MCC is accredited
by the American Board
of Funeral Service Educa-
tion. Completion of the
program prepares the stu-
dent to sit for the Nation-
al Board examination and
begin state internship re-
quirements. For more in-
formation on the program,
MCC Mortuary Science Program Helps Graduates
Continue Family Businesses
Donna Backhaus
(L to R) Tyler Adair, Bryce Bunker and Bill Lowman
MESA,AZ—
Of the 37
Mesa Community Col-
lege
(MCC) students
graduating with Associate
of Applied Science (AAS)
degrees in Mortuary Sci-
ence this semester, three
will be taking over local
family businesses. Gradu-
ates
Bill Lowman
(Phoe-
nix), of
Lowman’s Ari-
zona Funeral Home
,
Taylor Adair
(Tucson), of
Adair Funeral Home
, and
Bryce Bunker
(Mesa), of
Bunker Family Funeral
Home
, all say it’s an honor
to be carrying on a fami-
ly tradition and that MCC
helped them obtain the
necessary credentials.
Local family-owned fu-
neral homes have un-
dergone many dramatic
changes in the last decade.
In response to economic
conditions and changing
preferences in the indus-
try, a handful of large con-
glomerates have stepped
in and purchased many
smaller funeral homes that
may not have family mem-
bers who want to continue
the business. While large
corporations offer cer-
tain advantages to funeral
home operators, some fu-
neral operators prefer to
keep the business in the
family, if possible.
On a national basis there
are generally more jobs
available than there are li-
censed funeral directors
to fill them. “The grow-
ing number of people
prearranging their end-
of-life services is increas-
ing the need for individ-
uals with expertise in the
broad spectrum mortu-
ary science covers,” reports
Donna Backhaus
, Coor-
dinator of MCC’s Mortu-
ary Science Program Op-
erations. “Students must
have aptitudes in a wide
variety of areas: the sci-
ences, including micro-bi-
ology, pathology, chemis-
try, anatomy, embalming
and restorative art; busi-
ness, social sciences, psy-
chology, and of grief and
law and ethics.” The AAS
degree from MCC is ac-
credited by the American
Board of Funeral Service
Education. Completion of
the program prepares the
student to sit for the Na-
tional Board examination
and begin state internship
requirements.
Bunker, 28, is the young-
est of six kids and the only
one to go into the fam-
ily business. He original-
ly pursued another line
of work, but returned
when his father told him
he didn’t want to sell his
business to the conglom-
erates. For him, the most
valuable part of MCC’s
program was building re-
lationships with others in
the industry and having
exposure to different tech-
niques. He feels honored
when he helps a family de-
cide how best to celebrate
the life of a loved one. “If
there’s anything I’d like
to accomplish, it’s to let
people know that it’s ok
to celebrate in a different
way sometimes, wheth-
er extremely formal, or a
more casual celebration,”
he said. “It’s ok to cele-
brate an individual’s life
in a unique and individu-
al way and to strip some of
the stereotypes away…we
want our business to re-
flect more of a message of
hope and light and that we
will help you celebrate and
heal.”
For Lowman, 43, it was
his father’s illness that
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