Page A30 November 2022 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A www.ChildrenGrieve.org Visit our website to access dedicated resources to support children that are grieving and connect to local support. Working to ensure no child grieves alone. YOUR NEXT GREAT H I RE AWA I TS . A veteran’s commitment to serve doesn’t end when their service ends. Help them reignite their call of duty in a funeral service career honoring the values revered in every branch of our military. Respect. Dedication. Commitment to community. Visit JourneyToServe.com to download a FREE comprehensive toolkit designed to help you recruit and hire veterans into your business. Enlist the talents of a veteran to bring value to your business, comfort to your community, and purpose and possibility to your next great hire. A J O I N T P R O J E C T B E T W E E N BE A PART OF A VETERAN ’ S NEXT JOURNEY TO SERVE . JOURNEY TOSERVE . COM AMRA INSTRUMENTS Researched, Developed and Patented by Funeral Directors Research,Inc. visit www.amrainstruments.com for links to our Supply Chain Partners ™ ® funeral director, to write a majority of that chapter. My writing partner knew Joe from her days at SCI, but his son shared many of his memories of his father with us. Gawler’s record of JFK’s funeral couldn’t be found, but we were fortunate Jim Kurtz, a Dallas funeral director who has collected artifacts, documents and much of the Dallas-based, primary-sourced information about Kennedy’s assassination and what followed, agreed to write much of that chapter. Q: What do you, the author, believe has made “One Block West of the White House” so popular? A: This book is unique in the fact there has been little written down through the years in regards to funeral history in the United States and even less about specific firms, such as Joseph Gawler’s Sons. This book touches on history in District of Columbia, funeral history and the history of the Gawler family, all in one volume. Our aim was to preserve the funeral history of the firm with the history of the United States as well as honor a fourgeneration funeral home family who lived and experienced this unique opportunity. Q: As you wrote this book, did you learn anything that surprised you? A: One very interesting observation I made while writing the book was how the same handful of prominent people kept showing up in other folk’s stories. The Gawlers, themselves, were prominent members of the Washington elites in the late 19th century. Walter’s wife, “Til,” was a professional singer, participated in many of Washington’s social gatherings and was sought after to even perform at the White House. The Gawlers were a well-respected institution in Washington, DC. Q: Joseph Gawler’s Sons is one of a handful of well-known and respected funeral homes in the United States. How has this firm become one of this elite names? A: Gawler’s definitely became well-known nationally with the funeral of President John F. Kennedy, but by November 1963, the firm had already served the families of three other Presidents: Woodrow Wilson, William Continued from Page A28 One Block West of the White House Q: Rumor has it Joseph Gawler’s Sons has become a regular destination for funeral directors and history buffs visiting Washington, D.C. Any truth to this? A: A new feature, “The Founder’s Room,” has been added that is of interest to the families we serve and others. When the building was remodeled in 2018-2019, a special room was created on the first floor to accommodate artifacts I had been collecting, which were relevant to our history. Many wonderful items were donated by several descendants of Joseph Gawler, which are now proudly displayed in beautiful, custom-built showcases. Q: Any other surprises in the adventure of researching and writing this historic funeral home’s history? A: I was overwhelmed by the response for pre-orders of the book. Many friends and colleagues knew I had been working on the book for some time and once I announced it was to be released, the orders began coming in at a steady pace. We are so grateful – and humbled – by everyone’s interest. People within the funeral industry have a great interest in Joseph Gawler’s Sons because of the role this firm has played in District of Columbia and United States funeral history. Throughout the course of writing “One Block West of the White House,” I totally enjoyed those moments of discovery, where I would run into a story where Gawlers was the funeral home used for the funeral of someone that was not on our “Notables List” but should have been. It also was fun discovering individuals who played an interesting part in our nation’s development but time had forgotten. Q: Do you have a favorite chapter? A: Chapter 10, “Business in the Underground” was a favorite as I was writing it. I believe it is a part of history where little is known to the general public. I know that the subject of grave robbing would have been ever-present on the minds of the folks at Gawlers as it had become a serious problem in the late 1800s. Q: Why do you think there are so few extensive histories of funeral homes and the roles the funeral profession has played throughout this nation’s existence? A: The subject of death and funerals has never been a popular subject among Americans, nor is it today. Jessica Mitford demonized the funeral industry back in 1963 with her book, “The American Way of Death” which drew much negativity toward our profession. I’m not sure, but perhaps because of her scathing review, funeral professionals tended to stay more out of the limelight as a defense mechanism from further ridicule. I personally feel, back at the time of Mitford’s writing, the industry should have taken her, head-on, to defend themselves against her accusations. I hope with this writing of the Gawler story others may be encouraged to take up the pen and document other firms across the country to preserve our place in the history of America as a viable necessary profession. Just prior to her book’s publication, Joe McCarthy was crucifying Americans thought to be communists. Ironically, Mitford and her husband were both members of that party, but thanks to the pathological short memory of the American public, her ideologies were conveniently overlooked. Q: At this point, what is the ROI from this project, this book? A: My intention in writing this book as I have stated before was to document and preserve the history of Joseph Gawler’s Sons and the history of our profession. I hope it will serve as my legacy for the time I was privileged to serve as a president of this prestigious firm. Q: Any other book projects in your future? A: It’s funny you should ask. I’m hooked. We’ve begun researching and writing a second book as it relates to history’s forgotten scandals, scoundrels and saints in the District of Columbia. I hope to intertwine these stories with more funeral history as I work my way through the research. Q: Duane, thank you for your time. We know you’re a busy director. We’ll give you the last word. A: Writing has helped me stay involved in my search and understanding of American history. I enjoyed working with my son, Craig, as a graphic designer who assisted me in the production of “One Block West of the White House” with his cover design and the book’s interior design. I’m excited about our next book and hope it captures a storyline which the reader will find not only interesting but also something they never learned and never knew about the people who, either on purpose or by accident, became part of American history that time forgot. Howard Taft and Franklin D. Roosevelt. After Kennedy’s state funeral the Gawler’s staff would go on to be honored to serve in Dwight D. Eisenhower’s, Ronald Reagan’s, Gerald Ford’s and George H. W. Bush’s funerals. But, suffice it to say, if all we did was bury the presidents, we would have gone out of business years ago.” Order Your Favor i te Pl ush An ima l ! “I Love My Funeral Director” Now is the PERFECT TIME to order the PERFECT GIFTS “I Love My Cemeterian” Order Online at NomisPublications.com or call 1-800-321-7479
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