March 2017

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Page A38 MARCH 2017 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A
Phone: 877-770-TIES (8437)
Fax: 276-466-3474
E-mail:
STYLISH MATCHING TIES
FOR PROFESSIONALS
Any Size Group or Organization
507
The National Museum of Funeral History
Houston, Texas
Museum
Corner
National Museum of
Funeral History Presents
A Tribute to George Barris
The National Museum of Funeral History, located in Houston, Texas,
houses the country’s largest collection of funeral service artifacts and
features renowned exhibits on one of man’s oldest cultural customs.
It belongs to YOU and everyone in the funeral industry. Visitors can
discover the mourning rituals of ancient civilizations, see up-close au-
thentic items used in the funerals of US Presidents and Popes and ex-
plore the rich heritage of the industry which cares for the dead.
The museum is located at 415 Barren Springs Drive, Houston,
TX 77090 and is open Monday-Friday from 10am-4pm, Saturday
from 10am-5pm and Sunday from 12pm-5pm. Admission is $10
for adults and children age 12 and older, $9 for seniors and vet-
erans; $7 for children 6-11 years old; and free for children age
5 and younger. For more information, visit “like”
the museum on Facebook or call 281-876-3063.
Celebrating its 25th Anniversary, the National Museum
of Funeral History is proud to present a new special exhib-
it, ATribute to George Barris, through December 31, 2017.
George Barris, known throughout the world as the ‘origi-
nal’ King of Kustomizers, created iconic automobiles in-
cluding the original 1966 Batmobile, the “Beverly Hillbil-
lies” jalopy, the Munster Koach and casket turned dragster
(the “Drag-U-La”) for “The Munsters,” and many KITTs,
the short name of two fictional characters from the adven-
ture television series “Knight Rider.”
Located in Houston, Texas, the Museum will display a
replica of the 1966 Batmobile, a replica of the casket Bar-
ris was buried in recreated by the original casket designer,
RichieValles, a memorial folder fromBarris’ funeral along
with other personal memorabilia.
President of the National Museum of Funeral History
Genevieve Keeney stated, “We have a wonderful gentle-
man who is on our board, Buck Kamphausen, who col-
lects cars. He has fascinating hearses that are on exhibition
in the museum and an outstanding private collection of
unique automobiles. Mr. Kamphausen owns the replica of
the 1966 Batmobile and the replica of the casket in which
Barris was buried. It is a unique opportunity to display
these items in A Tribute to George Barris.
Born in Chicago in the mid-twenties, Barris moved to
Roseville California with relatives after his parents died
in 1928. He pursued a passion for building scratch-built
model airplanes and model cars that resulted in winning
competitions for construction and design.
His interest in cars intensified during his teenage
years as he discovered “the black art” of body work
On display through December 31, 2017 by hanging out after school at local body shops. Barris
created his first full custom car from a used 1936 Ford
convertible before he graduated from high school that
led to his first commercial customer.
Shortly after, Barris formed a club called Kustoms Car
first shop in Bell,
a Los Angeles sub-
urb in late 1944.
As movie studios
took note of Bar-
ris’s kustoms on the
streets and at races,
the studios came to
George for cars for
their films. This in-
cluded customizing the personal cars of the stars as well.
As the sixties began, George shifted gears and bought
a new shop in North Hollywood where he designed
and built award-winning cars.
Kamphausen, who is a funeral director, stated that he had
attended the funeral for Barris. “It was aWOW! I knew he
would have something different. I have fond memories of
George. He was a great part of the automobile world.”
For more information, go to
Looking for a unique gift? Visit the Museum’s online gift
shop for a variety of gifts and one-of-a-kind trinkets and
treasures.
Be sure to follow the museum on Facebook www.
for the latest news
and happenings.
Club where the first use of “K” for kustoms ap-
peared. He later moved to Los Angeles where
his talents began to flourish. Barris opened his
Photos Courtesy National Museum of Funeral History
NFDA Expands Cremation Certification Program
NEWS Association
BROOKFIELD,WI— The Nation-
al Funeral Directors Associa-
tion (NFDA) Certified Cremato-
ry Operator Program has changed
its name to the NFDA Crema-
tion Certification Program™. It
will continue to lead the way as the
profession’s cremation certification
of choice and, is now offering two
designation options. Program at-
tendees can choose their preferred
designation based on their role in
offering cremation to families.
The name change and addition of
a second designation option reflect
NFDA’s ongoing efforts to respond
to the needs of cremation providers.
“Some funeral homes own and
operate crematories. Others part-
ner with a third-party crematory to
provide cremation services to fami-
lies,” said Mike Nicodemus, NFDA
vice president of cremation servic-
es. “By offering two designations,
the NFDA Cremation Certification
Program will better reflect the di-
verse roles funeral professionals have
in the cremation process.”
Developed for funeral homes that
offer cremation services, the NFDA
Cremation Certification Program
sets the bar high with a comprehen-
sive training program that covers eth-
ics, crematory operations, safety and
compliance, liability issues, customer
service, and more. Since the program’s
launch in September 2013, 2,177 in-
dividuals have been certified.
Regardless of the designation se-
lected by program participants, the
day-long training program and cer-
tification exam are the same. Dur-
ing registration, attendees select
the designation they aspire to earn
upon successful completion of the
program certification test: Certi-
fied Cremation Services Provider
(CCSP) which is for funeral direc-
tors and staff that offer cremation
services through a third-party cre-
matory; or the Certified Cremato-
ry Operator (CCO) program de-
signed for crematory owners and/
or operators.
“During my career, I’ve been called
on numerous times to testify as an
expert witness in cremation litigation
cases,” said Nicodemus. “The mis-
takes I have seen have caused heart-
ache for families and damaged the
reputation of businesses. With cre-
mation litigation on the rise, it is
critical that you understand the steps
you need to take to protect your firm
from the moment a family walks in
your front door until you deliver the
cremated remains to the family, that’s
true whether you own a crematory or
use a third-party. NFDA’s Cremation
Certification Program covers every-
thing you need to know in order to
safely and ethically provide crema-
tion services to families.”
NFDA’s Cremation Certification
Programs scheduled for 2017 are:
March 7th, Pace, FL; March 17th,
Atlanta, GA; March 30th, Mount
Vernon, IL; April 4th, South Jor-
dan, UT; April 12th, Detroit,
MI; April 26th, Newton, MA;
May 22th, Bloomington, MN;
June 28th, Williamsburg, VA; Au-
gust, Birmingham, AL (exact date
TBD); September 19th, Green-
wood, SC; and October 28th, Bos-
ton, MA, a preconvention seminar
for the 2017 NFDA Internation-
al Convention & Expo. Addition-
al programs will be confirmed in
the months to come. Registration
is open for most programs.
The NFDA Cremation Certifica-
tion Program has been approved
for CE by the Academy of Profes-
sional Funeral Service Practice; the
program is state-approved for cre-
matory operator certification in Il-
linois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine,
Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada,
North Carolina, Texas, Virginia,
and West Virginia at this time. It
also meets specific training require-
ments in states that require training
but not certification.
State associations, mortuary science
schools, funeral homes, and cremato-
ries that would like more information
about hosting an NFDA Cremation
Certification Program should visit
org/cremationcertification, contact
Nicodemus at 800-228-6332 or e-
mail for ad-
ditional information.