Deathcare Proud at NFDA 2024

Funeral Service Insider: The Podcast

We speak with funeral director Tim McLoone and Professor Sara Murphy, who includes death-care and LGBTQ+ issues among her special areas of interest.

Their journey began with a chance encounter at the 2019 NFDA convention, which led to the creation of the Deathcare Proud event series – an annual gathering to show support and provide visibility for LGBTQ+ professionals in funeral service. This episode covers the organic growth of Deathcare Proud from a modest meetup to what’s becoming an anticipated event backed by influential sponsors.

We discuss the motivation behind their initiative, the importance of creating safe and supportive spaces, and the broader implications for diversity and inclusion within the profession.

Selected quotes from the episode:

Support for Queer Professionals in Funeral Service: “We realized there really is a need for not only support for queer folks in funeral service (because it is such a prevalent profession for folks who are identify as LGBTQ+), but also as a means for them to be able to come together in fellowship and camaraderie in what is often a very closed off profession that has a lot of inherent discrimination." – Sara Murphy

Social Justice in Death Care: "I think when we saw that there was an absence of support for the people in this profession who make up this beautiful, diverse rainbow community and that people in positions of power and organizations weren't really doing anything to bring them together or to celebrate them or to validate them, you know the social justice warriors are going to say, ‘Well, then we're going to do it ourselves.’” – Sara Murphy

Creating Safe Spaces: "There are people who come to our events who are not out, but who know that they are safe in that space, whether they want to be out to us or not." – Sara Murphy

Networking Moment: “I started talking to Sara about my feelings about the LGBTQ+ community and funeral service and all that. We both looked at each other and were like, ‘Well, there’s something here,’ and I had already planned on approaching this mutual friend of ours … about the lack of seeing anything relating to the community in really any publications or anything like that.” – Tim McLoone

Discussing the Future of Death Care: “We hope to really have some of those conversations – with folks who’ve come consistently, with folks who have been to our talks, with people who still want to see more happening in this space – to see where we can take Deathcare Proud. Maybe it’s to a whole other level besides just meetups.” – Tim McLoone

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