Page A36 December 2022 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A Jim Kurtz Alice Adams Appropriate to Greatness: Caskets of the Rich and Famous Written, researched and photographed by Alice Adams and Jim Kurtz There have been many good books written about the deaths of the rich and famous. However, none have taken the viewpoint of the funeral service professional or cemeterian. In this series, we hope to accomplish exactly that with the little-known details, obscure facts and citations we have found in our research. We’re excited to share our findings. An award-winning writer, Alice Adams has chronicled the men and women in funeral service for more than two decades. “My goal has always been to recognize funeral directors and cemeterians who selflessly assist families during times of their darkest grief,” she said. Since 2018, Alice has teamed with fellow historian and photographer Jim Kurtz to tracing the much ignored and neglected beginnings of the funeral service profession. Adams resides in Dripping Springs, Texas, where she enjoys her children, four grandchildren, Cassie, the Black Lab and two cats – all three rescues. Jim Kurtz has been a funeral director in Texas since 1973 and is president of TFDA’s North Texas Region. He is a historian and educator, he founded the Jim Kurtz Museum of Funeral History and archives in Dallas, Texas. F U N E R A L H O M E & C E M E T E R Y N E W S w w w . N o m i s P u b l i c a t i o n s . c o m Monthly Columnsonline at Born in Washington, DC, John Phillip Sousa grew up in the Pipetown neighborhood, the third of ten children born to immigrant parents. Sousa’s father was a trombonist in the Marine Band. Young John, the only musician among his siblings, studied violin at an early age and was found to have perfect pitch. His studies soon proved the boy to be a prodigy, as he quickly learned to play a variety of instruments and composed his first piece of music at age 10. Like most kids in this romantic era, young Sousa was enthralled by the traveling circuses that played in Washington. In 1866, at age 12, he ran off with a circus troupe to play in the band, only to be quickly retrieved by his father who arranged for the youngster to serve an apprenticeship, playing violin in the United States Marine Corps Band. The apprenticeship lasted almost 7 years. Later, young Sousa conducted theatrical and other orchestras and gave violin lessons. In 1879, while first violinist with the Offenbach Orchestra he married 16-year-old Jane Van Middlesworth Beilis. He returned to the Marine Band as its leader. An article in the September 26, 1881, edition of the San Francisco Examiner reported the United States Marine Band had performed a sacred concert, including “Funeral March in Memoriam of President Garfield” composed expressly for the occasion by John Phillip Sousa, conductor. After a farewell concert at the White House in 1892, he was discharged from the Marine Corps and began a civilian career as a composer and band leader. Th r oughou t his career, the talented bandsman composed music, writing mainly marches, but also operettas. He soon earned the title, “Father of the American Opera,” due to the success of his Desiree. As one critic wrote, “Now that the ice is broken, Sousa believes home composers and librettists will have the recognition their industry and their merit well deserve. Heretofore, the mere fact that an opera was an American creation was enough to curse it.” During World War I, Sousa returned to military service, leading bands from Great Lakes Naval Station. He donated all but a token amount of his military salary to the Sailors and Marines Relief Fund and returned to conducting his own band after the war. The Associated Press reported on March 7, 1932, “John Phillip Sousa, whose martial airs have thrilled millions – his more popular compositions daily on the lips of legions everywhere – is dead. He passed on as he had wished to, ‘in the harness,’ leaving hosts to mourn him.” The 77-year-old Sousa was stricken with a heart attack after attending a banquet in his honor in Reading, Pennsylvania. His secretary, Miss Lillian Finegan, found him ill in his suite in the Hotel Abraham Lincoln a few minutes after midnight. He was pronounced dead at 12:30 a.m. on March 6, 1932. His body was escorted from the hotel to Pennsylvania Station by an Honor Guard composed of members of Reading’s American Legion posts. The funeral services were planned for March 10, directed by Joseph Gawler’s Sons Funeral Home in Washington, DC, followed by burial in Congressional Cemetery. According to reports on March 7 by United Press, the famous Marine Band he once directed would follow the casket of America’s March King to his grave. The band would be part of the military escort provided. A naval squad, a company of blue jackets and a company of Marines were also detailed for the services. The Marine Band also paid tribute to its former leader in a radio broadcast on March 7. Sousa’s numbers, “The Honored Dead,” “Stars and Stripes Forever” and “Semper Fidelis” were played. In opening the program, Bandleader Captain Taylor Branson paid tribute to his predecessor. “The March King is dead,” he said. “John Phillip Sousa was an American patriot, a musician, a master bandsman, a sportsman and a man among men.” Sousa was dressed in the blue and gold uniform of a naval lieutenant commander. A large American flag was carefully draped over the expensive bronze casket. Funeral services for the great band leader and composer were held in an improvised chapel at the Marine barracks where, for so many years, he led the crack band of the country’s military forces. Marines guarding the casket snapped to attention as two Episcopal priests walked slowly down the aisle between the benches to face a congregation made up of Army, Navy and Marine officers and men, and civilian men, women, and children. On the right side in the front were four women, heavily veiled and crying softly, the widow and other relatives. Beside them, along the wall, were the honorary pallbearers George M. Cohan, Arthur Pryor, Franko Goldman, Gene Buck, and Milton Bromberg, among them, as well as Assistant Secretary of Navy Ernest Lee Jahncke, Admiral William A. Moffett, Major General Ben H. Fuller, Commandant of the Marine Corps, Brig. Gen. George Richards of the Marines and other Marine and Naval officers. On the left side were Sousa’s white-aproned brother Masons. In a public career of more than 65 years, he composed more than 300 works, directed his famous band in cities around the world, and became one of the most widely known American musicians. Among his additional talents and hobbies, Sousa also wrote several books, which enjoyed a tremendous sale on account of the name of the author – Fifth String, Pipe Down and The Transit of Venus. Sousa believed “The Star and Stripes Forever’’ to be his most popular march. Other favorites were “The High School Cadets,” “Semper Fidelis,” “The Washington Post,” ‘‘King Cotton,” “The Manhattan Beach” and “The Thunderer.” John Philip Sousa The March King Born November 6, 1854 Washington, DC Died March 6, 1932 Reading, Pennsylvania Sousa and his band in concert in San Francisco Sousa’s grave in Congressional Cemetery, Washington, DC Call: 661-250-1507 • Visit: www.XLIndustries.com Available Through Quality Suppliers Made in USA It’s time to upgrade your Display Stands! Providing the Best-Designed Tools for Your Services Since 1926. Dozens of products that give you years of service and store compactly when not in use. Lightweight and easy to take to gravesides or churches. Portable Folding Display Table Basket Stands “A” Floral Rack Nesting Stands (NFDA) asks funeral service professionals interested in presenting an education session during its 2023 International Convention & Expo to submit proposals by January 2. The 2023 NFDA Convention will take place September 10-13, 2023, in Las Vegas, NV. “NFDA prides itself on offering the best education in the funeral service profession. We are looking for proposals from professionals who are not afraid to push the envelope and whose successes – and lessons learned – can help funeral service professionals build thriving businesses,” said director of education Carmella Hansen. “We highly encourage new voices – those who may not have presented on the national stage before – and presenters representing fresh perspectives to submit an education session proposal.” Proposals can be for one- or two-hour education sessions and should fall into at least one of eight topical areas: business management and operations; cremation; customer service; grief and bereavement; compliance and legal; technical skills; technology; preneed; or professional development. Session proposals should be thought-provoking and offer innovative and practical ideas that have tangible takeaways for attendees. Complete details, including information about submitting a proposal and what the Convention Education Task Force looks for when reviewing proposals, can be found on the NFDA website, www.nfda.org/Proposal. All proposals must be submitted online by 5 p.m. CT on January 2, 2023. All proposers will be notified whether they have been selected as a speaker via email by March 1, 2023. NFDA Seeks Presenters for 2023 International Convention BROOKFIELD,WI— The National Funeral Directors Association NEWS Association 1-888-792-9315 • mymortuarycooler.com Scan QR for our website Cots not included MODEL # TR3 Triple Cot Roll-In Mortuary Cooler AMC N W FAST SHIPPING BY 12/31 ON SELECT PRODUCTS
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