Cremation certification allows students to expand career path

Next Friday, Nov. 2, the MHCC Funeral Service Education division will host an Oregon Funeral Directors Association (OFDA) Crematory Training & Certification session at the Gresham campus.

There’s a $95 entrance fee, which includes all funeral directors, according to an event flyer.

The gathering is said to serve as a “convenient continuing education opportunity for registered apprentices, licensed funeral directors and embalmers in the Northwest.”

Between MHCC students, licensed funeral directors and apprentices, attendance might reach 30 persons.

The event is set for seven hours, the second half focused on more dense material, ending with some hands-on learning.

Second-year students enrolled in the MHCC funeral services program are expected to attend. The session will feature five or six funeral directors.

Doug Ferrin, MHCC program director, is coordinating the session but won’t teach any segments. He expects about 20 students to attend, about half of them first-year students, he said.

Jack Trumbull is a funeral home and crematory owner due to speak at the event.

The meeting “focuses on two methods of body disposition, embalming and burial,” said Trumbull. “This seminar will focus primarily on cremation, which will further the education of these students.”

Trumbull described the allure of his profession, and of the event.

“Disposition is an extremely prevalent part of our society, and this is an opportunity for these students to get a leg up,” he said.