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OCTOBER 2013
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
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By Elleanor Davis Starks, CFSP-CCA,
Founder and Executive Director of the 100 BWFS, Inc.
preparation of their dead, the laying out of the body by earlier civiliza-
tions, to the most important events surrounding the Civil War which
defined the embalming process by allowing the return of loved ones so
families could mourn and have a last look at those lost in battle. Our pro-
fession is demanding and respectful. The 21
st
Century licensed funeral
director and embalmer must pass national and sometimes state board
exams to serve the public. Mortuary training schools and educational
seminars have been developed. Around the nation training has taken
place at Clark’s, Welch School of Embalming, Dr. Renouard’s Training
School, Eckels, Landig, American Academy McAllister, New England In-
stitute, Pittsburgh Institute, Worsham College, Barnes School, Cincinnati
College of Mortuary Science, Kentucky School, and Atlanta College to
name a few. Some of these historical training grounds have been re-
placed with newer institutions, while others just closed down over the
years, but the training lives on in the lives of great funeral legends.
The 100 BWFS Organization, founded in 1993, is honored to present a
select group of International Funeral Professionals who will be recipients
of the 2013 International Leadership Awards and the 2013 International
Awards of Excellence - 2 different categories recognizing contributions
to the rich history of our demanding but great profession. Some of these
great colleagues are legacies and go back as many as seven generations.
Some are International leaders, officers of funeral service organizations,
some hold and represent historic positions or honors in these organiza-
tions, while some are new generational founders and owners who have
impacted the funeral industry. Each story is different, each personality
different, each journey is different but you
find the ultimate goal the same, success and
love for the funeral profession. It's time for
you to "Meet Your International Colleagues
and National Movers and Shakers in Funeral
Service." Over the next 12 months we will
travel around the world and meet the old
heroes who created legacies and the new
generations who were polished to step into
the 21st Century to create their own legacy
or follow in the footsteps of someone who
had an impact on their life.
International
Leadership
Excellence
Throughout history the funeral
service profession has played an
important role in our lives. Dating
back to the Egyptians, Greeks and
Romans servicing the dead was or-
ganized. From the high priest who
selected the finest balm leaves for
Wendell G. Dean II, Emerald Ridge Mortuary &
Monument Company, Ltd. Nassau N. P., The Bahamas
I asked her to repeat her question. She yelled in a
loud excited voice “My son is one of the ball bear-
ings, do you have a car to take him to the cemetery?”
Okay, now I got it. Pall bearers, were, at this particu-
lar funeral, transformed into ball bearings. Everyone
in hearing distance started to laugh, and finally the
woman blurted out, “Oh my God, I mean the pall
bearers car – good God what did I say?”
Here were people in grief, and out of the blue hu-
mor popped its head up, and people released their
tension. Looking closely at community rituals and
practices one realizes quickly that there are many
ways that people try to manage their anxiety about
death – and usually some form of humorous acting
out is a silent yet powerful companion to such activi-
ties. Let’s take Halloween for instance.
I used to love Halloween when I was a child. I still
love Halloween and relish staying home and hand-
ing out all the goodies to the goblins, witches, ninja
warriors, and Star Wars people who ring my doorbell.
Great fun and I get a great laugh out of it.
The theme and history of Halloween, no matter
how well it is disguised, is unquestionably death. In-
terestingly, on Halloween parents can – without even
knowing it – act out their death anxieties in a socially
accepted manner. They dress their children up in the
symbols of death – skeleton suits, death masks, and
ghostly dress. They send their children out into the
dark of night, fully aware of the hazards, but willing
to take that calculated risk (on a temporary basis) so as
to have it all over with and then the little ones return
back to normal, safe, se-
cure ground in only a few
hours. Once again, risk-
ing death culminates in
safe and secure ground,
but with the accompa-
nying delusion still pres-
ent. The delusion, of
course, is that the reality
of death is ever present.
On the serious side, we
all know that some lit-
tle ones every year never
make it home from their
night of trick or treats,
some are poisoned, some
are kidnapped, and some
are murdered. Yet the
risk is still taken, and to
be sure it is a calculated
risk on the parent’s part,
for unquestionably they
are skirting death. It is a
powerful silent symbol-
ic death lesson wheth-
er people are aware of it
consciously or not.
If a person were to
stand back and take a
rational and objective
look at the strange and
bizarre behaviors that
take place on Halloween
night, one would have
difficulty making sense
of it – unless that person
sensed its deeper mean-
ing, which many people
do sense to be sure. All
Soul’s Day, after all, is
one of the major events
in the Christian Church
calendar. I believe that
when parents accept the
events of Halloween and
take the calculated risks
involved, they are proba-
bly expressing their need
for a symbolic, socially
approved way of getting
close, and possibly deal-
ing with, albeit tempo-
rarily, their own death-
anxiety.
Certainly our behav-
ior at Halloween is light-
hearted and humorous.
The holy drama of the
death and resurrection of
Jesus lacks humor, yet its
function may also be re-
lated in a big way to the
Humor & Death
ysis, that the more serious the human problem, the
more likely it is to become a subject for humor. This I
believe is the embryo of undertaker jokes. They hurt,
they sting, and yes they are horribly boorish, but I be-
lieve they stem from something much deeper, much
more profound than a knock knock joke.
The other side of humor, while it can be caustic and
rude, is that it also can be pure mental health. I had a
professor in Boston once say that a good belly laugh
was worth ten valium. I believe the good professor
was correct.
Humor reduces stress. This is clearly evident in fu-
nerals. I remember once a woman came running into
the narthex of the church. The place was packed, and
she saw me and came running over and in a loud
voice said, “Do you have a car for the ball bearings?”
I had no earthly idea what she was talking about.
International Leadership Honoree
Wendell G. Dean II Award of
Excellence Recipient Deborah Andres
Wendell G. Dean II
Wendell G. Dean II
is a first generation funeral direc-
tor. He was born in the City of Nassau, on the Island of
New Providence, the Bahamas. He was formerly educat-
ed at Windsor Lane Primary, William Sayles Primary, Ba-
hamas Academy and A. F. Adderley Senior High Schools.
Mr. Dean’s journey into funeral service began in late
November of 1981 working part-time at
Cedar Crest
Funeral Home
, under the leadership of
Keith A. Mc-
Sweeney
. At that time,
Dean had been accepted
to engineering schools in
Texas and Ohio, but one
morning while prepar-
ing for work, the Lord ap-
peared to him in a vision
and showed him his call-
ing in funeral service.
Wendell spoke with Mc-
Sweeney about mortuary
colleges. He then applied
to
Commonwealth College of
Funeral Service
, now
Com-
monwealth Institute of Fu-
neral Service
, in Houston,
TX. Wendell enrolled in the
Spring Class of 1984 and graduated in 1985 serving as Sgt-
At-Arms of Spring Class 1984-1985. Dean has also been a
member of ETA Chapter of Pi Sigma ETA since 1984.
Upon returning to the Bahamas in June of 1985, Dean
was unable to find work. In November 1985 he was em-
ployed for a short time at
Curtis Memorial Mortuary
.
In 1986 he was re-employed with Cedar Crest, then at
Rolle’s Funeral Home
as manager from 1987-1989.
From 1990-1994 he worked at
Rock of Ages Funeral
Chapel
,
The Good Shepherd Funeral Home
and
Beth-
el Brothers Morticians
.
In January of 1997 Dean opened the doors of the
Emerald Ridge Mortuary & Monument Compa-
ny Ltd.
to the public. This was the beginning of a
unique and higher standard of service never before
seen in the Bahamas. Organization and Order are the
main principles of his funeral home.
This level of service has allowed Wendell the great