When Funeral Service Fails Its Sacred Trust

By Jay Jacobson, LUTCF, CPC, CFSP

There is a disturbing story unfolding in Chicago that many people may not have heard about yet.

They should.

Authorities say 56 deceased people were discovered improperly stored at South Chicago Chapel, some reportedly in advanced stages of decomposition. Illinois regulators described deplorable conditions, including unrefrigerated remains, rodent infestation, decomposition and maggot infestation. A funeral director's license associated with the establishment has been temporarily suspended while the investigation continues.

For those of us in funeral service, this is more than another disturbing headline.

It is a betrayal of sacred trust.

And it demands more than outrage.

These Were People

Before we talk about regulations, licenses or enforcement, remember what matters most.

These were people.

Someone's mother. Someone's father. Someone's spouse, child, grandparent or friend.

A family entrusted each of them to a funeral service professional.

That word, entrusted, matters.

When a family calls a funeral home, they place someone they love into our care during one of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. They cannot see everything that happens behind our doors.

They should not have to.

They trust us.

Throughout my career, I have believed that the person in our care deserves exactly the same dignity whether their family is standing beside us or no one else will ever see what we do.

That is professionalism.

That is integrity.

And that is funeral service.

Regulation Must Mean Something

This case also raises difficult questions about regulation and enforcement.

According to authorities, the operators had previously been connected to Heights Crematory, which lost its license after authorities discovered improperly stored bodies and hundreds of cremated remains reportedly never returned to families. A funeral director's license had also previously been revoked.

If our regulatory system identifies serious violations, we have to ask a simple question:

How do we prevent them from happening again?

Regulation without meaningful enforcement is paperwork.

Licensing without accountability is permission.

Standards without consequences are suggestions.

Good funeral directors should welcome effective regulation and enforcement. The purpose is not to make life difficult for reputable professionals. It is to protect families, protect the deceased and protect the integrity of funeral service.

When someone demonstrates that they cannot be trusted with human remains, our regulatory system must be capable of responding decisively.

Training Matters, Too

Regulation alone cannot create professionalism.

That requires education, training and culture.

We must train funeral professionals not only in what procedures are required, but why they matter.

Identification matters. Chain of custody matters. Refrigeration matters. Documentation matters. Facility standards matter. Communication with families matters.

And dignity always matters.

That training cannot stop when someone receives a license. Continuing education should reinforce ethics, accountability, professional standards and the sacred responsibility that accompanies caring for the dead.

It should also extend throughout the funeral home. Removal personnel, crematory operators, interns and support staff are all part of the chain of care.

Professionalism cannot simply belong to the funeral director. It must become the culture of the entire organization.

Know Your Funeral Director

There is also an important lesson here for families.

Know who you are trusting.

Many of us spend more time researching a restaurant, contractor or vacation rental than we do developing a relationship with the professionals who may eventually care for someone we love.

Do not wait until a death occurs.

Meet your local funeral director.

Visit the funeral home. Ask who owns it. Ask who will care for your loved one. Ask where the deceased will be kept. Ask who performs the cremation if you choose cremation. Ask about identification procedures and how the funeral home maintains custody of human remains.

A reputable funeral director should welcome those questions.

For generations, funeral directors were woven into the communities they served. You saw them at church, Rotary, Kiwanis, school activities, the grocery store and Friday-night football games.

You knew them before you needed them.

There is tremendous value in restoring that relationship.

Technology has made it easier to compare funeral providers and prices. Transparency is important. Families deserve to understand their options and what those options cost.

But funeral service should never become merely an online transaction where the lowest price wins.

Price matters. Options matter. Convenience matters.

But trust matters more.

You are choosing someone to care for a person you love.

Do Not Let This Story Define Funeral Service

Perhaps the most frustrating part of stories like this is that they cast a shadow over thousands of honorable funeral professionals.

Tonight, somewhere in America, a funeral director will leave dinner to answer a death call.

Someone will carefully prepare a mother so her children can see her one last time.

Someone will double-check an identification.

Someone will make sure a veteran's flag is folded correctly.

Someone will sit patiently with a grieving spouse who needs the same question answered for the fourth time.

No television cameras will be there.

No headlines will be written.

They will simply do their jobs with compassion, dignity and integrity.

That is funeral service.

But those professionals also have a responsibility to speak when someone violates the standards of our profession.

We cannot protect funeral service by protecting bad actors.

We protect our profession by protecting the public.

When funeral professionals see something wrong, they must speak up. When regulators receive credible complaints, they must investigate. When serious violations are established, there must be meaningful consequences.

A professional license should never shield someone from accountability.

It should demand a higher level of it.

Families Deserve Certainty

I hope this Chicago story receives attention, not because I want families to fear funeral homes, but because I want families to understand the importance of choosing carefully.

The overwhelming majority of funeral directors I have known throughout my career are honorable professionals who consider caring for the dead a privilege.

Find one of them.

Meet them before you need them.

Build a relationship.

Ask questions.

Know their reputation.

Then, when one of the worst days of your life arrives, you will not have to wonder who is caring for the person you love.

You will know.

There is something powerful about being able to say, “I know my funeral director.”

I know who will answer the telephone.

I know whose hands I am placing my loved one into.

I know the standards they live by.

I know their reputation in my community.

That relationship cannot be created by regulation. It cannot be guaranteed by a license hanging on the wall. And it cannot be replaced by an online transaction.

It is built over time through presence, professionalism and trust.

The Standard Cannot Change

Funeral service is built on a remarkably simple promise:

When you place someone you love into our care, we will treat them with dignity.

Not because a regulator might inspect us.

Not because a camera might be watching.

Not because someone might complain.

We do it because dignity is what we promised.

Because professionalism is what our license represents.

Because integrity is who we are called to be.

In Lead by Legendary Example, I write that integrity is revealed when compromise would be simpler, faster or more comfortable. It is measured by what we choose when the world is watching, and even more importantly, when no one is. That principle has particular meaning in funeral service, where families must trust us to do the right thing behind doors they will never enter.

That is why what has been reported in Chicago matters far beyond one funeral home.

It should cause regulators to examine enforcement.

It should cause educators and employers to examine training.

It should cause funeral professionals to examine accountability.

And it should remind families of the importance of knowing the people they choose to serve them.

Most importantly, it should remind every one of us in funeral service why we entered this profession in the first place.

Families trust us.

The deceased depend upon us.

Our communities expect more from us.

That is the standard.

And when funeral service fails that sacred trust, we should be the first to stand up and say:

This is unacceptable. We can, and must, do better.