Compassion, Patience Required In Funeral Director?s Day

It was a cool and rainy Friday morning, typical funeral weather as many would attest, and Daniel Ford was busy making sure everything would go smoothly. It was July 31 and Ford was preparing for a 10 a.m. funeral at Alderson Funeral Home in Waterbury, but he already had a full morning before the service was even set to begin. Early in the morning he received a phone call from one of the Alderson staff members, stating that a client had died during the night. He had to talk with Ford to discuss the personal arrangements that would be occurring rather quickly. ?I?m on call every other night and every other weekend,? Ford said. ?So, the times when I?m not on call, I never know what to expect. It?s sort of tough to plan for.?