According to this January article that I recently read from the Carroll Times Herald of Manning, Iowa, the Ohde Funeral Home of that community has recently came into new ownership.  The newspaper article made note of the fact that the funeral home “recently began a new chapter of compassionate care and trusted service under the ownership of Tina Bartelson and Danielle Mikels.”

While there are a lot of ownership changes in the funeral home business at this time and there are many female owned funeral homes, I’m trying to remember if I can remember of a pairing of two non-related women funeral directors in the business partnership of a funeral home prior to this business announcement.  It’s probably happened but I don’t think I know of a particular funeral home business where I am aware of it.

And, I think it is great and a definite plus for our profession.  Not too long ago there were virtually no female licensed  funeral directors working.  My mortuary graduating class in 1980 had only one female graduate in our class of about 40 people.  That’s changed. . . as this 2023 article from the Portland (ME) Press Herald points out with its quote of the American Board of Funeral Service estimate that 72% of mortuary education students now being female.

I can also remember back in the 1980’s or early 1990’s in my area a male funeral supply sales representative died unexpectedly.  When he traveled his sales territory his wife many times accompanied him.  The position came open because of his death and the company named the wife as the successor.  At that time it was probably a risk to do so. . . but that company found an incredible sales person in her and I’m guessing that she was more successful than her husband was.

While there are many local and regional stories like this one national story that I am particulary fond of is that of Nira Mesker.  Ms. Mesker was the Controller for a Service Corporation International (SCI) owned supply company and when SCI decided to spin off that business, Kelco Supply in 1990, they offered it to Ms. Mesker.

As this history from the Kelco Supply website attests to, Ms. Mesker was quite an entrepreneur and grew the Kelco brand.  The greatly enlarged, family owned business is now led by Ms. Mesker’s daughter, Alicia Carr, and continues to grow its stature in Death Care.  I’m fortunate that I live in the same state as Alicia and know of the positives that she brings to Death Care and funeral service education.

I’ve also, thru Funeral Director Daily, met many great female executives and entrepreneurs in the Death Care business sphere.  One of them, Sarah Tepe, CEO of Crowne Vaults, was instrumental in convincing me that the publishing of Funeral Director Daily could be a very positive  forum for those people new to the Death Care business world.  I’m glad that I was encouraged by her and if you read Funeral Director Daily you can thank Sarah and some of her friends for keeping me going when I had only about 50 readers.

I’m guessing that Ms. Bartelson and Ms. Mikels will operate their funeral home with the same success that Alicia Carr and Sarah Tepe have done as pioneers in operating funeral supply companies in what once was a male-dominated profession.

Related — Ohde Funeral and Cremation Services website

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  As I look back in history I come to the realization that the United States usually gets things right. . . . but it generally takes a long time for us to get there.  For instance, Vermont became the first state to ban slavery in 1777 and the purchase of the Northwest Territory in 1783 banned slavery by the U.S. government in new territories, but it took a Civil War to ban the practice nationwide in 1865 — 88 years after Vermont got it right —  when the Civil War ended.

Or, the United States declared our independence in 1776 but didn’t give women the right to vote until 1919.  Or, even when I graduated from high school our school didn’t even have most sports for women. . . .about the only one was track and field.  At that time it seemed to me that females were expected to be cheerleaders, not athletes; nurses not doctors; and teachers not education administrators.

Title IX was passed in 1972 and gave this gender movement some legs.  And, I’m glad it did. . . . Matter of fact, during my tenure on the board I was among those that hired the first female president in the University of Minnesota history. . . .it only took about 170 years to get the University to that point!!!

When I look at American issues with that perspective I can understand why women were not invovled in funeral service for so long.  However, I’m glad to see them coming on board in droves now. . . . .it’s taken us a while, but it looks like Death Care is finally getting it right too!

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