John Lunsford, Director of Funeral Service Education

One might expect those in the funeral business to not be animated when discussing their profession, but Director of Funeral Service Education John Lunsford is anything but morbid when discussing his path to NCC and the student successes that he's been a part of in his 14 years here. Lunsford is a people person and grief counselor. He is someone who has seen a lot of death, but uses those experiences to teach his students about the proper way to do their job from start to finish.

What makes a person want to do this job?

Lunsford says that he was first exposed to the business through his grandfather, who was a funeral director. His grandfather would fascinate him with stories about when funeral service was more physical and body preparation was done in the home. When he came of age, Lunsford went to mortuary college and also earned a college degree in his native state of Tennessee. There, he says he came to admire the personalities of other students in the program, and could see that a variety of people from all walks of life had their reasons for wanting to get into the business.

" In that class were people looking for a second career, children of funeral directors, people who always wanted to be funeral directors, or those who never had the opportunity to go to school," Lunsford recalls. "I just found that I identify with people who want to be funeral directors."

Lunsford was managing a combination funeral home/cemetery in Memphis when he made the choice to go into education. When NCC gave him the opportunity to move north and be at the helm of the Funeral Service Education program, he fell in love with the campus and the facilities.

"NCC gave my career an opportunity to bloom, and that's what I love about being here," Lunsford says. "It's a good place to work and study. Students develop while they're here. I like to see students inspire me."

Lunsford points out that while being in funeral services is a physically demanding job, the previously male-dominated field is seeing an influx in female students, including the incoming class of Fall 2011 which will be made up of 60% women. Lunsford, who also owns a funeral home in Bethlehem, believes that anyone who is ready to come in and commit to believing that there is "no 'I' in team" can find success in this type of career.

"Students in the program enjoy their friendships, but also recognize what we do," Lunsford points out. "They can build lifelong friendships, but the program has a strong business aspect. In this profession, you have to work with others and bring about a result in a short amount of time. It's all about communication, making decisions, and working as a team."

And what else does he want his students to take away from the program?

"At the end of the day, there's no greater joy than to have walked through the death of a family member with someone who is going to shake your hand and say thank you for helping them with something that they couldn't have gone through alone."