Back in the Spring, when the first wave of Covid-19 in the U.S. hit New York City like a tsunami, there were so many deaths in a such a short period of time that the normally seamless process of transporting, burying and cremating, and memorializing the dead was upended.

Funeral directors, typically poised managers of these end-of-life services, suddenly found themselves scrambling to adapt to a threefold conundrum: 

1. How to dispose of the dead amid a logistical logjam

2. How to support the living amid an emotional crisis in which people couldn’t be there in-person for their dying relatives and friends and couldn’t come together in-person to mourn and celebrate them after they died

3. How to keep themselves, their staffs, and their families safe amid widespread shortages of personal protective equipment meant to mitigate the spread of coronarvirus, including from the recently deceased

Today’s interview is with Caroline Schrank, a funeral director in New York City who runs Down to Earth Funerals, about what she went through both professionally and personally during those uncertain and overwhelming days.

As we approach the end of a year marked by a staggering amount of death, I’m highlighting this work—normally out-of-sight and under-appreciated—because it’s been critical throughout the pandemic, and it deserves greater recognition. 

You can reach Caroline Schrank at Down To Earth Funerals

Sources: here (scroll down once you’re there) 

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(Music: Brass Beat by Blake © 2011 licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.)