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What does a mortician really do?

For many of us, the word “mortician” brings to mind a funeral home, embalming, or preparing someone who has died. But the reality of modern death care is much broader.

In this episode, we talk with Wil Harker, a Portland, Oregon mortician whose unconventional career journey took them from teaching, music, and sign language interpretation to becoming a funeral director, embalmer, crematory operator, and administrator of a green cemetery.

Wil shares what it's really like to work in death care, how they became a mortician, what mortuary science training involves, and what people often misunderstand about the profession. And Wil is part of a new trend of younger female morticians.

The conversation also moves beyond the funeral home into some of the larger questions surrounding death and dying, including green burial, environmental responsibility, medical aid in dying, Death With Dignity, dementia, and the importance of talking openly about our end-of-life wishes.

Whether you're curious about becoming a mortician, interested in funeral and death-care professions, navigating grief and loss, or simply trying to become more comfortable talking about death, this conversation offers a grounded look at the people who help us through one of life's most difficult transitions.

**In this episode:**
• How to become a mortician
• What a mortician actually does
• The roles of a funeral director and embalmer
• What it's like to work in a funeral home
• Green burial and environmentally conscious death care
• Death With Dignity and medical aid in dying
• Dementia and end-of-life choices
• Why talking about death matters

**Guest:** Will Harker

#Mortician #FuneralDirector #DeathCare

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We very much want to hear your thoughts. Please join us on Substack for our community chat.

This podcast helps anyone dealing with loss. It can guide you with end-of-life planning and death-positive resources.

Check out our introductory episode to learn more about Annalouiza, Wakil, and our vision/mission to normalize and destigmatize conversations about death, dying, grief, and loss.

You can find us on SubStack, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and BlueSky. You are also invited to subscribe to support us financially. Anyone who supports us at any level will have access to Premium content, special online meet-ups, and one-on-one time with Annalouiza or Wakil.

And we would love your feedback and want to hear your stories. You can email us at endoflifeconvo@gmail.com.

We want to be transparent that we use AI tools to help us with titles, show notes, editing, and introductions.

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