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Undertaken: The Next Generation Of Funeral Directors

An illustration with a young femme-presenting person in the foreground wearing a dark blue blazer buttoned down with a white shirt and mint green tie showing. The person has long dark hair with the tips dyed green. Behind them is a brown casket with yellow flowers on top. The words "Embodied Undertaken" are in the upper left hand corner of the illustration.
Charnel Hunter

As the workforce of funeral directors ages, young folks are stepping up to lead and change the death care industry.

The median age for workers in funeral homes, crematoriums and cemeteries is close to 50 years old. And according to a 2020 survey, over half of the 55-plus constituent plans to retire by 2025.

So who will be shaping the death care landscape in the years to come?

Folks like Jasmine Berrios and Joél Simone Maldonado, two licensed funeral directors under the age of 40.

Host Anita Rao talks with Jasmine, who works in California, and Joél, who works in South Carolina and is also an educator, about their paths to finding passion in the funeral industry, the role of young folks entering the profession and the ways that their work impacts their mental health and relationships.

A special thank you to our colleague, Naomi Brown, and funeral director Christopher Weaver for contributing to this episode. Chris works at Weaver and Peaks Memorial Funeral Care in Durham, North Carolina.

Read the transcript

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Kaia Findlay is the lead producer of Embodied, WUNC's weekly podcast and radio show about sex, relationships and health. Kaia first joined the WUNC team in 2020 as a producer for The State of Things.
Anita Rao is an award-winning journalist, host, creator, and executive editor of "Embodied," a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, relationships & health.