Death is tricky for anyone to offer with, and turning into a funeral director isn’t for the faint of coronary heart. But, considering that the age of 15 Maria Kaufman understood in her heart it is really what she wished to do for the relaxation of her life.

“I had an practical experience when I was younger with a funeral home, funeral director, and I just imagined to myself, you know, if I was a funeral director, I could do better,” Kaufman mentioned.

And so she established out to do improved. But, she rapidly learned getting a feminine funeral director wasn’t likely to be straightforward. Though attending Alvernia University, her counselor established up two interviews. The initial guy interviewing her didn’t even trouble inquiring her title.

“It was a five-moment job interview and he advised me that I should quit pursuing funeral service for the reason that I was a female and that I would not make it. That I was also little and I’m not built to be a funeral director and that no 1 would employ the service of me,” Kaufman explained.

She did not pay attention to him, and fortunately the 2nd interview went a lot improved. Once she bought her funeral director’s license, she labored at a number of funeral properties, at some point landing at Lamm and Witman Funeral Property in Wernersville, Berks County.

Fred Krott was operating it when he employed Kaufman in 2009. She says he took her underneath his wing, and in 2019 when he retired, he requested Kaufman if she needed to obtain the dwelling. She explained, of course!

“We’re a smaller company, you will find only 3 of us below that are complete-time,” Kaufman said.

All three are girls. Danielle Nicholas is also a funeral director at the household.

“She has an remedy for anything, she truly is familiar with what she’s performing,”  Nicholas mentioned.

And there are some worries as ladies they overcome. Kaufman, with her petite frame, figured out early on she required added applications to aid her transfer bodies, but she says with individuals applications there is almost nothing she and the other females won’t be able to do. The mother of 3 also says that contains the situations she was pregnant.

“I took additional safety measures, but, I did not do something fewer just for the reason that I was pregnant. You know, I wore a respirator to embalm, I took extra persons with me to do transfers,” Kaufman reported.

And then there are the traits that arrive the natural way: compassion and sensitivity.

“It can be a whole lot of rely on that a family members places in us, I indicate it is their beloved 1 and we choose that career extremely significantly here, it is really like we’re getting in our own household,” Kaufman mentioned.

Kaufman appreciates she’s blazing a path, and claims the variety of women of all ages coming into the field is rising.

“We have had interns from superior school and they happen to be girls,” Kaufman mentioned.

“I have a few kids and two of them are daughters and I think it shouldn’t be as tough for them as it was for me to turn into a funeral director.”