Rest Assured: The Funeral Profession Podcast

In the season finale episode of Rest Assured, Justin is joined by Aiyanna Rivera from Pollock-Randall Funeral Home in Port Huron, Michigan. In a wide-ranging conversation, Aiyanna discusses the humanization of funeral service, working in a funeral home as a young professional, her passion for organ/tissue donation, and much more! Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. 

In the latest episode of Rest Assured, OGR Past President Chris Miller from Thomas Miller Mortuary & Crematory in Corona, CA, joins Justin for a deep dive into funeral home marketing. Justin and Chris discuss how marketing for funeral homes has changed, how to make your funeral home stand out, and the importance of engaging with your community both inside and out of the funeral home. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts!

On a special international episode of Rest Assured, Justin is joined by Bettina Jose, a licensed funeral director from Arlington Memorial Chapels & Crematory in Quezon City, Manila, Philippines. In a wide-ranging conversation, Bettina talks about the next generation of funeral directors, the funeral culture in the Philippines, mental health in the funeral profession, and much more! Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. 

In this week's episode of Rest Assured, Peter Urban, Jr. from Urban Funeral Home in Ambler, PA joins the show. Peter is a licensed funeral director and embalmer, and his conversation with Justin covers his embalming experience, his passion for Future Leader development and much more! Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. 

In the latest episode of Rest Assured, OGR Past President Evan J. Strong from Evan J. Strong Funeral Services in Calgary, Alberta joins the show to talk about all things independent funeral service. Evan and Justin discuss the value of staying independent, the latest trends they are noticing in the profession, Evan's cremation services, and much more! Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. 

In part 2 of our conversation with Jamie Wieting, Justin and Jamie discuss the question of whether "To Crematory or Not to Crematory?" They dive into Jamie's experience of offering cremations in her funeral home and share their opinions on the opportunities and costs associated with making that investment. 

In the first episode of the 2025 season of Rest Assured, host Justin Zabor sits down with Jamie Wieting, President of the International Order of the Golden Rule and a licensed funeral director at Wieting Family Funeral Home in Chilton, WI. Jamie discusses her career, how she got her start in funeral service, the growing number of female funeral directors, and much more!

Wally Hooker, President of the Indiana Funeral Directors Association, discusses the roots of his passion for embalming, his greatest challenges when working with families and how he's overcome those challenges, his advice for other funeral directors and those young professionals just getting out of mortuary school, as well as his take on the changes we've recently seen in the profession and how we can best move forward post COVID-19. We enjoyed getting to know such an influential and accomplished funeral director who has enjoyed an illustrious career in numerous leadership roles. 

Larnique will talk about as an Air Force Veteran how she moved to the funeral profession, and how she uses Tik Tok and Facebook (1500 followers) to promote her business and engage and educate the community about funerals.

In the spirit of The Changing Consumer, Liesel focuses on discussing ways to combat both “compassion fatigue” and “change fatigue” in our profession. Entering the 2020s with all the change we’ve experienced globally, both big and small, how do we ensure our employees aren’t overwhelmed by it all? Liesel also discusses the nuances of working with families in grief and how we can practice a more empathetic approach to our interactions with them. Her encouragement in lifelong relationship building, highlighting her own philosophy and approach, is an inspiring message to all of us, particularly in the funeral profession.

As we continue our conversation about The Changing Consumer, we enjoy a discussion with Justin Zabor thinking “out of the box” regarding ways our profession can better serve families. Justin will talk about the modern cremation consumer, how he integrated catering into his business, and other exciting innovations. We learn about his softer approach when working with families to honor their loved ones, believing the little things make a big difference. As Zig Ziggler put it, “they don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Justin highlights his approach to showing families how much he cares and moving the profession forward with that mindset.

In this week’s OGR podcast, we’ll talk with Barbara Kemmis, Executive Director of the Cremation Association of North America. Barbara will delve into the latest insights and trends in the world of cremation. She’ll share the results of CANA’s recent survey that addresses both human and pet cremations and cremation merchandising. So, whether you're a funeral director, a crematory operator, or simply someone interested in learning more about cremation, tune in for an informative and engaging conversation.

As consumer preferences and needs change, so do the demands placed on funeral homes. Add to that an increased challenge to hire and retain staff and you have a recipe for burnout. Wendy King, Executive Director of the Order of the Golden Rule, shares why it is more important than ever for funeral professionals to take time to learn, grow and connect with others in their field. 

Being raised in a home “that was Army-Army-Army everything” built a strong foundation of respect within Jim Rudolph for veterans and the service they give their country. He used that knowledge and calling to establish the nation’s first veteran-specific funeral home, Veterans Funeral Care in Clearwater, Florida. Later, he expanded their mission, launching the Veterans Funeral Care Provider Network, a group of more than 160 funeral homes across 34 states dedicated to putting in the work to properly serve those who served us.

From a focus on veterans to storytelling and even discounts on credit card service charges, Charles has worked to develop his edge in a number of different areas. But he says no matter what yours is – you have to be passionate about it, and always remember why you’re in the funeral profession.

Kelley works for LifeSource, the Donate Life affiliate serving the Upper Midwest of the United States in all aspects of organ, eye and tissue donation. She served as a funeral director for a decade before moving to LifeSource, bringing with her a unique perspective from her time in the funeral profession… but also a pair of personal stories that connect her to the important work of organ and tissue donation.

Joe E. Pray is one of four Joes you may find around Pray Funeral Home in Charlotte, Michigan. They may have strikingly similar names in this family operation, but they pride themselves on the unique, customized service they offer the families who come through their doors.

Mike Hepburn started out working for his family's funeral home with his sister and brother-in-law, even renting out a room above the funeral home, but felt that marketing was more his calling.

Andrew Loos didn’t intend to become a funeral director, but when you marry a 4th generation funeral director, it may not be a shock when you slide into the profession. His degree is in public relations, plus he describes himself as being trained by birth to “be around people, be with people and be a good communicator.” So he put those skills to work with the living to honor the dead.