PRINTOn the Job: Mortician
Clay Vogl
Kelli Hovey
Clay Vogl, 23, stands in front of the Parker Funeral Service chapel on the corner of Walnut and Tenth streets, where he has worked for more than a year. Vogl has been a mortician for nearly three years and says he enjoys the challenges of his job.
February 21, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
The word mortician can send chills down a person’s spine and bring horror films to mind. So what would inspire someone to work at a funeral home for a living? With salaries in the $30,000 range, it’s not the money. Clay Vogl, a licensed mortician at Parker Funeral Service in Columbia, decided to become a funeral director after the death of a relative. “The funeral of my grandfather was handled so well by the director,” he says. “I hoped that I could do the same for others.” Vox asks Vogl about the gritty details of his chosen trade.
Vox: What’s the training process like to become a mortician? Is a college degree required?
Clay Vogl: There are several options for educating and training a mortician. I chose to go the direction of two years of college. From there we are required to complete state testing and licensing.
Vox: Who do you think has the toughest job in the funeral industry?
CV: I might sound biased, but I have to say the directors. We are the face and name that every family is going to relate to their experience with a funeral. So there is an amount of pressure on us to do our absolute best, and if something happens to go wrong, it is our duty to be responsible and take care of it in a timely manner.
Vox: Has your work as a mortician desensitized you to death?
CV: I certainly hope that it has not. Since I have become a funeral director, I have not had to deal with the loss of a close relative or friend. I have had to assist some of my friends with losses, and of course that was sad. But we remain strong, for we are there for their needs first.
Vox: Where are the bodies stored?
CV: We have a walk-in cooler on our site; so if a body is to be held here without embalming, it will be kept here in a locked cooler. An embalmed body does not need to be kept in a cooler, so it is kept in our locked preparation room.
Vox: Is the smell as bad as rumor has it?
CV: Most often there is no smell, but there are also those times when rumors prove true or can even be understated.
Vox: How did you learn to style hair and makeup?
CV: I still haven’t figure out how to style hair, but cosmetics are fairly easy. We are taught to match skin tones and how to highlight certain facial features in classes, but practice has really been proven most helpful.
Vox: What do you do for fun at work?
CV: We have plenty of fun in the office. We joke around with each other, but we are always sure to be on our best behavior when our professionalism is expected. We keep an upbeat mood that allows us to be better at our jobs.
