October 2018

Page A46 OCTOBER 2018 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A JOSEPH P. BRASHEN of Hermitage, PA died August 13, 2018 at the age of 82. He was a licensed and prac- ticing funeral director since 1970 and had operated his own business. He operated most recently out of the Harold W. Stevenson Funeral Home until his retirement in 2013. He graduated from the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. EUGENE G. BROOKS of Au- burn, NY died August 22, 2018 at the age of 93. A li- censed funeral director, he was the owner and operator of the E. A. Heieck and Son Funeral Service, retiring in 1986. GREGORY W. “BIG G” GORGEN of Mineral Point, WI died September 1, 2018 at the age of 79. He joined his father at Gorgen Funeral Home to become a third gen- eration funeral director in the family business. He graduated from the Wisconsin Institute of Mortuary Science in 1962. years. A 1957 graduate of the Simmons School of Mor- tuary Science, he served as past president of the Erie Niagara Funeral Directors Association and a member of the New York State Burial Vault Association. WILLIAMTHOMASO’CONNELL of Buffalo, NY died Septem- ber 3, 2018 at the age of 86. He was a licensed funeral di- rector at the Ray O’Connell Funeral Home, which his fa- ther established in 1929. He left the funeral home in 1974 to open O’Connell Precast, Inc. He retired after oper- ating the company for ten Death Notices Send obituary information to Funeral Home & Cem tery News PO Box 5159, Youngstown, OH 44514 • Fax (800) 321-9040 E-mail info@nomispublications.com a a Featuring News Funeral Home & Cemetery online If you have an obituary you would like to see listed here, please send information to: PO Box 5159, Youngstown, OH 44514 Fax 1-800-321-9040 E-mail info@nomispublications.com Continued from Page A43 the opportunity to save lives through organ and tissue donation. We are grateful for the role funeral home professionals play in their communi- ties and for their support of the or- gan and tissue donation process.”  “The embalming lab renovations will provide students with one of the most up-to-date facilities in the Mid- west,” said Fleege, noting that there have not been any significant up- grades in about 40 years. The facelift will include drywall repair, paint and new ergonomic flooring. The project should be completed by Jan. 1, 2019.  The equipment donation will pro- vide for a camera/microphone over each embalming station connected to a large monitor over each station and a DVR to record all embalm- ing and restoration operations. The monitors will also be connected to a laptop computer to assist students while they are embalming and doing lab activities; a new embalming table, so there will be four individual work- stations for the optimal student-to- donor ratio; and an upgrade in clini- cal and hairstyling instruments, and workstation tools. “The research assistantships allow students interested in doing research to advance in the mortuary science field,” Fleege said. “Students are paid for 20 hours a week so they can con- centrate on school and research and guided by faculty to narrow topics and provide valuable research out- comes that mainly focus on the do- nation and transplantation process as it relates to the field of study.”  “Students also work on their em- balming topics for the senior em- balming colloquium, as well as their own focused research,” Fleege said.  The bachelor’s degree program is the only mortuary science and funer- al service program of its kind offered at a public university in the state. The program is accredited by the Ameri- can Board of Funeral Service Educa- tion and students who graduate meet the state’s Department of Profession- al Regulation licensing requirements. Donation to Help Upgrade SIU Mortuary Science Program Lab, Provide Assistantships Global Ministries offers Unique Celebrant Training News Educational ContinueD MURRIETA,CA— A unique program designed to train individuals to conduct funerals, memorial servic- es, and celebrations of life is being offered by Glob- al Ministries University, a non-denominational, in- terfaith university that trains individuals for ministry.  Participants are given an opportunity to adapt the program to a particular community, spirituality, eth- nicity and/or interfaith affiliation by allowing for vari- ations of service design pertinent to the celebrant’s focus. Furthermore, the student has a one-on-one re- lationship with the instructor, who will give personal advice and guidance. The program includes the study of the role of a fu- neral celebrant; how to design funerals and other rites of passage with substance, meaning, and dignity; how to write and deliver a service message; as well as cov- ering the practicalities of being a rites of passage cel- ebrant, such as image, marketing, working with other professionals, and running a business. Upon comple- tion of the program, participants are able to establish credibility with a Funeral Celebrant Certificate grant- ed by Global Ministries University. Learn more at www.globalministriesuniversity.org/celebrancycertificate.html . Perfect Gift for any occasion! Order Your Favorite Animal Today! Order Online www.nomispublications.com or call 1-800-321-7479 “I Love My Funeral Director” “I Love My Cemeterian” ONLY $ 11 95 ALFRED BURGESS ROBINSON of Easley, SC died September 10, 2018 at the age of 89. A third generation funeral direc- tor, he joined Robinson Fu- neral Home in 1950, serving as president. After his father’s death in 1953, he took over the family’s business, expand- ing it to include Robinson Memorial Gardens, which he founded in 1992. He served on the South Carolina Board of Funeral Service and was a member and former president of the Selected independent Funeral Homes.