Forward

Jessica Kent-Smith

03 Jul 2024 — 1 min read

Featured image: Handwritten-draft of the Forward post

In April of 2020, after the world had been in Lock-Down for over a month, I was involved in a traumatic car accident. This event set into motion an unexpected yet not entirely surprising journey for me.

In the Fall of 2020, I made the decision to enroll in Mortuary School, and by January of 2021 at the age of 39 I began my education of becoming a Funeral Director and Embalmer.

During this time, I worked as a Wake Attendant at a local funeral home. My goal was to serve my apprenticeship at this funeral home as well, once I finished school and passed the National Board Exams.

In total, I spent three years at that funeral home. Those three years were the absolute best and worst of my life so far. Those three years shaped the Funeral Director that I am today.

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wooden hand sculpture supporting large tree branch

F'Home is Where the Heart is (Part 1)

I was working two part-time jobs up until my third semester of Mortuary School. My first job was with an event coordination company I'd been with as a full-time employee for about two years at that point. I worked remotely, so there was a fair amount of flexibility

A person wanders around ruins of mossy stones in the woods in autumn

Welcome to Deth Skool™ (Part 1)

Trusting high schoolers to know what they want to do with their lives and jump directly into college is absolutely bananas. If I could go back to 17-year-old me and just set me down for a second, I’d tell me to take a few years off from schooling. I

Black and white picture with sppoky face peering out, holding finger to lips to "shush"

Enter at Your Own Risk

Let’s get a few things in order before we go all-in, shall we? First and foremost, if you’re new here, welcome and thank you! I recommend checking out the post “Forward” first, and then reading through “In the beginning there was the Word”. Before we go any further,

concentrated flock of birds above a field filled with sheep

In the beginning there was the Word

Death and I began our relationship when I was just five years old. There was a death on my mother's side of the family, and I was going to attend my first wake. A few important key moments I distinctly remember: 1: I wore a matching top-and-skirt set

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F'Home is Where the Heart is (Part 1)

Welcome to Deth Skool™ (Part 1)

Enter at Your Own Risk

In the beginning there was the Word