December 2018

Page A38 DECEMBER 2018 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A The National Museum of Funeral History Houston, Texas Museum Corner 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 www.nmfh.org, “like” the museum on Facebook or call 281-876-3063. www.nomispublications.com Funeral Home & Cemetery News Contributors share insights and exchange ideas. Blogs Keeney , NMFH President and curator. “Most of the public doesn’t get a chance to learn about cremation un- til they have to experience it in life, and then they’re dis- tracted by grief. The museum provides a neutral envi- ronment to learn more. This is the industry’s museum.” As cremation has soared in popularity in America, a significant lack of understanding about the process and possibilities of cremation exist. Barbara Kemmis , Executive Director of CANA stated, “This first of its kind exhibit is not simply about educating the public, the exhibit will demystify cremation for funeral service professionals as well.” Throughout the exhibit, visitors will see how cre- mation has evolved over time—the changes in soci- etal views, equipment and memorialization options. Interested in donating an artifact? If you’d like to donate a historical cremation item to the History of Cremation Exhibit collection, contact Jason Engler , CANA Historian at cremationhistori- an@hotmail.com or (479)-381-4424. A driving force behind the History of Cremation Exhibit, Jason En- gler donated approximately 90 percent of his personal collection of historical cremation items to the exhibit. “Historic crematories can get involved by sharing their history,” Engler says. “We can help tell their unique story. Visitors will then see that these historic crematories have long focused on memorialization, not on body disposal.” Taking Pride in Cremation’s Past On the evening of September 16, 2018 the National Museum of Funeral History celebrated the opening of its newest permanent exhibit, The History of Cremation . ingly endless possibilities for memorialization. The exhibit blends the his- tory, modern science and memorialization possibili- ties for a hugely popular— yet largely misunderstood— industry. “I want every funeral home to take ownership of the mu- seum and be proud that we have this exhibit to educate the public,” says Genevieve How to Donate to the History of Cremation Exhibit Financial or artifact contributions are what make the History of Cremation Exhibit possible. Please consider do- nating to the History of Cremation Exhibit today. Several monetary donation options are available, including Niche Wall donors (ask for pricing information), Urn donors ($1,000), and Keepsake donors ($500). Contact Gene- vieve Keeney at gkeeneyg@yahoo.com or (832)-419-3705. What Donors Receive in Return for Their Support Contributors will receive a Signature Keepsake Urn commemorating their donation. Niche space donors will have an urn engraved with their company’s name placed in the donor niche wall for a 5-year period with the op- tion to renew. Donors many also elect to place their own urn in the niche space upon approval. Robert M Boetticher Sr NMFH, chairman of the board, Barbara Kemmis CANA executive director, Genevieve Keeney NMFH pres- ident, and Jason Engler, CANA cremation historian. Donor Niche Wall Entrance to the Exhibit More than 200 guests at- tended the opening re- ception to celebrate. This exhibit is a joint project developed with CANA, Cremation Asso- ciation of North America , to tell the full-circle story of cremation in America: from chronicling its birth in Pennsylvania to dem- onstrating a step-by-step modern cremation pro- cess, stories of early cre- mationists and a section illuminating the seem- News Educational DeSoto Center Funeral Service Technology Program Director earns Doctorate Angela Hopper SOUTHAVEN,MS— Dr. Keith Reed, dean of Northwest Mississippi Commu- nity College’s DeSoto Center is pleased to announce that Angela Hopper, pro- gram director of the funeral service tech- nology program recently earned her doc- torate in education with an emphasis in higher education from the University of Mississippi. In her job at Northwest, Hopper discovered a dis- parity between the pass rates of African-American students and Caucasian students on the National Board Examination stu- dents are required to take after finishing the pro- gram. She noticed that the problem was not just at Northwest, but appeared to be a national problem. “I wanted to find out if it be made. “I have to also recognize my col- leagues, Dr. Keith Reed, Dr. Tonyalle Rush, and Ebone’ Dukes for giving me valuable feedback on my work,” Hopper said. Her dissertation was entitled “Armatures of Success: Advancing Racial Equity for Funeral Service Technology Students.” “An armature is a support- ive framework used in re- storative art, and I used that title to show that we are at- tempting to support these students,” Hopper said. “Dr. Hopper’s study re- vealed some very impor- tant and useful informa- tion concerning our funeral service technology students at the DeSoto Center. The wealth of knowledge and information Dr. Hopper has acquired from her doc- toral studies will be benefi- was a problem, and what could be done to overcome it. I tried to discover what we were doing in our own program here at North- west that was not helping our students to succeed,” Hopper said. She began by exam- ining the program’s documents and spaces and discovered ways that will hopefully im- prove students’ experiences at Northwest and help them to succeed in the future, she said. She noted that interviewing students for her dissertation also helped her identi- fy areas where more improvement could cial to our college as well as other college communities,” Reed said. Hopper came to Northwest as an instruc- tor in 2012 and was named program direc- tor in 2016. She also teaches oral commu- nications at DeSoto Center as an adjunct instructor. Before coming to Northwest, she was a supervisor in tissue recovery at the Mid-South Transplant Foundation in Memphis. She worked as triage coordina- tor, manager of the Communications Cen- Continued on Page A40