FDChat #13 – Celebrants and the Funeral Process

FDChat #13 – Celebrants and the Funeral Process

with nancy


Nancy Burban talks with Ruthann Brown Disotell about performing funeral ceremonies and leaving an impact on friends and family. Ruthann is a second generation funeral director, ordained minister and funeral celebrant. She has helped design and build a funeral home, assisted in two funeral home start-ups, is a speaker at funeral groups and an active member of her community in Hunterdon County, New Jersey.

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Show Notes

Contact Ruthann Brown Disotell:
Celebration of a Lifetime
On Facebook

American Academy McAllister Institute of Funeral Service
Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science

Interview Excerpt:

Ruth Ann: There are a lot of different celebrant trainings that are popping up all over the country. I can't speak to the value of each of them, because I haven't been to all of them. But I think it's important to understand that when you hire a celebrant, it should be somebody who has background in grief. There are a lot of people that go and do celebrant work because they want to do a good thing. That's nice and people should do a good thing. But to go from being an event planner to being a celebrant is a jump. I think there's a lot to be said for having education in psychology on some level and grief in particular. Because you're dealing with people that are going through a very traumatic time. And a funeral home does not want to take their family and turn them over to just anyone. I would caution people, when selecting a celebrant, to keep that in mind. That you really want somebody who has a background in understanding how to deal with a grieving family.

There are a lot of funeral homes who are having people trained to be an in house celebrant. That's a wonderful thing. To have somebody that is from your staff is perfect. Because they've been in the funeral home, they've seen the situations, they've come to understand what a grieving person is. To give them a little extra training is not a bad thing.  

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