WEST WINDSOR, NJ — Out of the 56 American Board of Funeral Service Education (ABFSE) accredited programs in the country, Mercer County Community College (MCCC) offers one of the finest. In fact, the MCCC program is the second largest in the nation.

Michael Daley, program director of MCCC’s Funeral Service Education Program, shares his thoughts about his beginnings, the MCCC program, and what it takes to be a funeral director in our culture.

Can you please clarify for me? Is the program called mortuary service or funeral service?

The name of the program is the Funeral Service Education program. Other programs accredited by the American Board of Funeral Service Education (ABFSE) are call “Mortuary Science” but, it’s basically six of one, half a dozen of the other.

How did you get into the mortuary service field yourself and what drew you to it?

I grew up in a funeral home. My father got into the business in the 1950s. When I was eight-years-old he passed away. As such, my mother went through the program in the mid-1980s. As a kid and young adult, I was quite determined to not get into the funeral business. In the early 1990s there was such a fear of HIV and Hepatitis C (in regard to embalming remains) so that I did not want anything to do with embalming. I pursued a B.A. in history from York College of Pennsylvania, and then a master’s degree in Irish History at Queen’s University of Belfast. I initially was looking to go directly into a Ph.D. program, but was a little burnt on education after finishing the M.A. After finishing graduate school, I started doing side work for a number of funeral homes e.g. driving hearses on services, pallbearing, etc. I found that I really enjoyed working with families and helping people during a difficult time. My biggest concern was having to do the embalmings. New Jersey has a dual Funeral Director/Embalmer license, so it’s a requirement. But, as I got some additional information about safety and universal precautions (and the fervor surrounding AIDS in the 1990s winded down) taking part in an embalming seemed less frightening. Oddly enough, it’s now one of my favorite things to do.

What degree(s) do students receive and how long does it take to go through the program?

There are three degrees that the Funeral Service program offers. All students complete the Certificate in Proficiency. This is required to practice in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Many of our students have already completed a degree prior to enrolling in the program. As such, this is all they’re interested in pursuing.

Also available is the Associate in Applied Science. If students have the prerequisites for the program (English 1 and 2, Business Law, Accounting, Chemistry, Psychology and Human Anatomy) as well as a Math, General Education and an HPE/CSW class, they then qualify for the A.A.S. as well as the Certificate of Proficiency.

The third degree available is the Preparatory degree. Both New Jersey and Pennsylvania require 60 credits in general education prior to Funeral Service education. Neither state specifies what needs to be studied in the 60 credits, just that they exist before pursuing the Funeral Service curriculum. The Prep Degree offers an option for students in this situation. They can earn the 60 credits needed for the statutory requirement, while earning an A.A.S. in Business Management.

It seems the students get a well-rounded education in science, law, caregiving, etc. Exactly what do students study and what do they walk away with in terms of knowledge gained?

The curriculum is crafted by the ABFSE (American Board of Funeral Service Education.) Theoretically, if a student were to attend MCCC or a program in, say, California, the content would be the same, or, at least, extremely similar. The curriculum is designed to cover all facets of Funeral Service, everything that a newly licensed funeral director will need to care for grieving families. This includes the sciences needed to properly embalm, and cosmetize decedents, as well as the restorative art needed in more extreme cases. This also includes preparation in the applicable laws, rules and regulations, at federal, state and local levels. Most importantly, we help prepare students to deal with the often complicated and ever-changing needs of the families that they will serve. This includes counseling, psychology, family dynamics, and the general concerns, logistics, and meaningfulness/impact of funeral services.

How long has the program been in existence? 

The program was started in the early 1970s by a funeral director and educator named Frank Mulligan. The initial accrediting process requires a class to go through the program with the hope that they will receive approval. In 1976, the first class graduated and accreditation was granted. The inaugural class included Jack Lechner, who would go on to run Arlington National Cemetery. Frank Mulligan ran the program until 1984, when he Robert C. Smith, III took on the role as Program Director. Robb (which is how he spells his name) ran the program until 2014, when he was elevated to Executive Director of the ABFSE and I took the role of program director.

Is this the only program in New Jersey? Do students come from other states to attend MCCC? 

There is one other program in New Jersey. It’s a private, for-profit institution in northern New Jersey. Although all 56 ABFSE accredited programs [in the United States] generally work together to help ensure the best for all students, and I’m very friendly with the faculty/administration at the other New Jersey institution, the decision to attend MCCC seems obvious. Based on tuition alone, MCCC is approximately 1/6 the cost.

We do have students from outside New Jersey. This is primarily from Pennsylvania. Students in the Philadelphia region of the state often attend MCCC. Although there is a program in Allentown, Pennsylvania, our school is closer to that portion of the state. We do occasionally have a few students from Delaware. This makes up less of our student body, simply because Delaware only produces one or two new funeral directors a year.

I have heard that MCCC has one of the best programs in the country? Is this true? If so, what sets it apart from other programs? 

I believe that we are one of the best programs in the country. As of 2019, MCCC has the second largest public funeral service program in the nation. The passing rate on the federal licensing test, the National Board Exam (NBE), has exceeded the average of all other schools combined. The results on the New Jersey State Jurisprudence Exam is often at 100% and has never dipped below 90%. The faculty is comprised exclusively of licensed funeral directors. Their dedication and commitment to student success is absolutely unparalleled. 

One of the program’s most valuable assets is our Embalming Lab. Not every program has access to such a resource. This allows students to have hands-on experiences fully preparing decedents for viewings, visitations and disposition. To support this endeavor, the school maintains an Anatomical Donor Program. We accept whole body donations similar in fashion to medical schools. Additionally, MCCC is a fully-licensed mortuary.

What types of students are typically drawn to the program? For instance, students who are interested in medicine or those whose families are already in the business?

I have found that the FUN (funeral) students are genuinely those looking to help others. The attributes that make a good funeral director are empathy, selflessness and, many times, patience. Although embalming/cosmetics/restorative art are extremely important, nothing can replace the funeral director’s ability to comfort, understand and lead a family during a difficult time. This often has to be done in the middle of the night. If a person is on hospice or in a nursing home, they must be retrieved immediately. If a funeral director has worked a 12-hour day (which is not uncommon in this profession) and can then give solace when called on at 3 a.m., they have the most important skill set necessary for funeral service. Although most think that our focus is the dead (to a degree this is true), the majority of our time, and focus, is the living.

How large are the classes and what are some of the rewards of the program that students walk away with upon receiving a degree? For instance, are students more in touch with others’ sensitivities and/or do they have a more robust love of life and humankind or am I reading too much into this program?

The classes are normally between 20 to 30 students. At any time, we have around 120 students in the overall program. This is split between a full-time program that starts in the fall, a full-time program that starts in the spring, and part-time programs that start in both the fall and the spring. The students progress in cohorts, so they are in the same classes with each other. By the end of their first semester, numerous life-long friendships have been made.

As part of the curriculum the students are taught how to interpret others feelings and sensitivities so they can better help the families with whom they will work. They have to understand family dynamics as well as individuals’ grief responses, and how they best fit into that group. I wouldn’t go as far to say that the program gives them a more robust love of life and humankind, but it’s fair to say that can be common in the funeral profession in general. Working with death does force one to appreciate life, to put into perspective the issues and problems encountered. There are also genuinely moving and beautiful moments that are experienced: Distant relatives are brought together to memorialize a loved one, sometimes old family grudges are put aside, or even relationships reestablished.

I interviewed a former student who has his own funeral home business now and he says he cannot wait to wake up in the morning to get to work. He loves this business that much. He pretty much works 24/7. Would you say this is typical of most people? What makes this vocation so special as compared to most other vocations?

This is extremely common among funeral directors. It really goes along with the commitment to service that is really a requirement for this line of work. It’s a common belief that funeral directors are extremely wealthy. This is not normally the case. The average starting salary for a newly licensed director is comparable to a teacher. But, unlike teachers, directors do not get every weekend off, as well as every holiday and three months at summer. Before I got into education, I couldn’t tell you the last time I made it through a Thanksgiving or Christmas without having to leave for work. To do this work, and do it well, you have to be highly motivated and really want to help others.

Do all of your students find work after they graduate? What percent find employment right after graduation? What is the drop out rate?

Of the students that graduate, we maintain a 100% employment rate. I do not track the employment rate after graduation, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the continued employment rate is extremely high.

I cannot think of a single graduate that has told me that they are having a difficult time finding employment. Because of licensing laws, while in the program (or even prior), students need to secure employment with a funeral home. They have to register as an intern with the State Board of Mortuary Science, which allows them to start learning how to embalm, make arrangements, etc. Although students can start the program without the internship, they need to have it in place to complete it. Legally, to be eligible to take Embalming Lab, the students must be registered with the state. The internship continues after the program, sometimes for several years. The vast majority of the internships lead to full-time employment.

The graduation rate hovers right around 80%. This includes students that simply leave the program, are not successful in their classes, leave for a personal reason, or simply decide that the funeral industry is not for them. This last reason is probably the most common. A generation ago, roughly 85% of those going into funeral service grew up in it (or, at least had a relative in it). Today the opposite is true. The vast majority of those getting into this line of work have no affiliation with Funeral Service before entering it. 

As mentioned previously, in order to be good at this, one has to be highly motivated and ready to make a lot of sacrifices in their personal life. There is no one that “sort of” likes this profession, you either love it or hate it.

Do you stay in touch with some of your alums after graduation? Do most of them end up staying in the field? Are there are other areas/vocations that students sometimes gravitate toward after receiving a mortuary services degree? If so, what do they do with the degree if it is not used in the funeral service business?

Yes, I stay in touch with many of the graduates. The funeral industry is a very small group, and everyone knows everyone else (and they gossip like old hens). I see many of them at continuing education courses, regional funeral director meetings and the annual convention.

There is a fair amount of overlap between funeral directors and Medical Examiner offices. This has always been the case, though. Back in the 1960s my father was coroner of Camden County. (Back when it was an elected position.) Likewise, I’ve had many former students go on to become investigators for their local Medical Examiner’s offices. The other full-time faculty member, Geralda Aldajuste, was previously an investigator for the Medical Examiner (I don’t recall which county, but it was possibly Passaic County.) There has always been a symbiosis in this relationship; funeral directors are familiar with the how to handle human remains, and the counties can provide an additional salary, often with medical benefits.

I do see a large percentage of our student body coming from professions outside of the “9 to 5” style careers. Those working careers such as law enforcement or firefighting are already used to non-traditional schedules. They are often recruited by funeral homes, who many times even pay their tuition. Police, in particular, are prone to this. After 20 or 25 years on the job, they have the option to retire, while still being in their mid to late 40s. As they are used to odd schedules, are usually able to handle difficult and stressful situations and are a little older/mature; they are particularly attractive to funeral homes.

It seems there is a stigma with regard to death and dying in our culture. Do you agree? How do students and teachers overcome this — facing death and disease every day? Is there some sort of spiritualness that is involved with working in this field?

There is absolutely a stigma surrounding death in our society. One of the lessons which we teach the students is that the United States is classified as a “Death Denying” society. People do not want to think about death or its certainty. I relay this to the students by pointing out that 99% of the time that people find out that I’m a mortician, they respond with jest. The most common response is “I guess people are dying to see you.” 

Although the students have only been in the field a short time, they’ve heard this same statement countless times. To laugh away the realities of death and dying is a defense mechanism, and that’s OK. We’re the knuckleheads that signed up to work in this field; the general public did not. But, this reality is something for which we prepare out students. The families with whom we meet have, in most cases, done almost everything in their power to ignore this eventuality, but now it’s something they must confront. This is perhaps the most important facet of this profession; we are not in casket sales, we’re not here to dispose of human remains. Funeral directors are the experts in death and the human response. Regardless of the method of disposition or style of service selected, the family and funeral director go on a journey together. There is this confrontation of death, the grief and emotions that surround this loss, the symbolical and actual removal of this person from their group and the reestablishment of new/restructured family unit on the other side.

This is something that is almost impossible for us to prepare the students. We can discuss these realities but it is basically a prerequisite to have a healthy understanding and comfort level around death and death-related phenomena. There have been numerous instances of funeral directors leaving the industry because they lose this ability. Normally because of a loss too great for them to work with death (e.g. the death of a child).

The fear of disease is overcome by having faith in your protocols, training and equipment. Embalmers are trained in Universal Precautions, which specifies that every body be handled as if they had the worst known diseases. Even during the pandemic, there was not a single funeral home that turned away a case because of COVID-19; there wasn’t a single embalmer that refused to prepare a body dead from coronavirus.

I wouldn’t necessarily say that there is a spiritualness to the job, but everyone seems keenly aware of their mortality. It’s always kept me going to church. But, there are those that don’t believe in anything, which I have always found odd (just because of the proximity to death).

Is there a desire to offer caregiving or desire to understand science that goes along with choosing a career in this field?

By far, the desire to be a caregiver is the most important attribute that a funeral director can have. I do find that most of the students have an innate interest in the sciences side of things. They take embalming and restorative art very seriously. They’re constantly swapping stories about situations which they’ve handled at their funeral homes as well as sharing stories in class. However, they all realize that prep of the body is just one step in the overall process of helping a family.

How do you recruit students or is this program popular on its own?

The biggest advertisement for the program is our participation in the annual funeral director’s convention. Aside from the national convention, New Jersey has the largest convention in the country (oddly enough). We get a booth at it so we can interact with the various funeral directors that attend. However, beyond that, we really do not do much recruiting. As the only public ABFSE program in New Jersey, most times students find us rather than the other way around.

What would you say to a student who is considering working in medicine or caregiving that would help him/her make a decision to consider pursuing a career in the mortuary services field?

All students looking to begin the program at MCCC are asked to meet with me for advisement. With those that are not from a funeral service background, I try to explain the downside to the industry. The late nights and early mornings, the transfers at 3 a.m., having to work weekends and holidays. It’s not the type of job that someone can or should be talked into doing. This career is more for someone that really wants to help others despite the downsides. There’s not a “gray area” in funeral service. People love it or hate it.

How has Covid-19 changed or affected the funeral services industry in general as well as what you do every day at MCCC? How have you seen it affect the community?

Just like seemingly every other facet of life, funeral service was affected by the 2020 pandemic. The early months of it (late March through late May) were the most difficult. Although the death rate was not nearly as high in South Jersey (I live and work in Burlington County), the area was still impacted. Crematories in the area offered their services to assist our colleagues in northern New Jersey and New York. So many bodies were brought south that these businesses started operating 24 hours a day. Even to schedule for any given person to be cremated, there was a 10 to14 day waiting period (by comparison it is normally closer to 48 hours).

The other major issue was the various, and often random, legislative changes that affected us. For a few weeks, the state of New Jersey forbade funerals. There was some legislation that was generic and some ... specifically aimed at funeral homes. When only ten people were allowed in a building, we had to get very creative to allow for funerals/viewings/memorials. Viewing times were stretched out to allow for fewer people at any one time, we asked that people leave the building immediately after paying their respects, and even my wife, who is the secretary at our funeral home, would stay home to not count as one of the ten. 

The state also instated executive actions that were directed at funerals. For several weeks, we were not allowed to have any decedent viewed, even by immediate family, and we were discouraged from embalming remains…. most of my colleagues found creative solutions to this. 

Obviously, my duties at the school have been impacted by the pandemic. Almost all of the funeral service classes are being done via distance techniques (Zoom, Collaborate, etc.) Although the students have worked extremely hard to make this work, some really need that face-to-face time. Several of my students have really struggled to keep up with their studies. But, as we’ve acclimated to these new modalities, there has been some marked improvement from where we started in March.

Do you see things getting back to normal or do you see permanent change?

I am not sure how fast things will get back to “normal.” There is a lot of news about a vaccine as well as the current treatments. I know that the death rate is back to normal in New Jersey and New York. All of this is promising. However, there are still questions about the logistics of getting a vaccine out to everyone that will need/want it.

As someone who is immersed in the field, what words of encouragement can you offer to someone who may be affected by the death of friends and loved ones during the pandemic we are currently living through?

As far as loss is concerned, I don’t think that the reaction to a death caused by Covid-19 is much different than one caused by other diseases. Grief is the least experienced emotion experienced during life. It can be extremely difficult, but it serves a purpose and is important. Regardless of how difficult the loss, people do eventually learn to accept the loss. 

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Michael Daley, program director of Mercer County Community College's Funeral Service Education Program, has been with the college for over 14 years. Daley has a B.A. in history from York College of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in Irish History from Queen’s University of Belfast.