Funeral Work Gains as Career Choice as More Students Enroll in Mortuary Science Colleges

Online, March 4, 2011 (Newswire.com) - WHEELING, Ill., (UPI) -- Students at Illinois' only mortuary school say they are motivated by compassion, not ghoulishness.

Worsham College of Mortuary Science in Wheeling, marking its centennial year, has seen rising enrollment, The Chicago Tribune reports, with the tight job market seen as factor.

Across the United States, there were 2,857 students in 56 programs in 2009, an all-time high, the American Board of Funeral Service Education said.

"This is not like some secret society of weird people," said Worsham student Robert James Jr., a former naval officer. "Our job is to lead people through the grief process. So, you have to have compassion, you have to really care."

Tina Osornio, who was laid off from her job at a promotional firm in 2009, said that spurred her "to go back to school and pursue my dream of becoming a funeral director."

Steve Schultz, a retiree from Utah, said he was inspired by seeing a dead man's injured face transformed.

"By the time, they were finished with him, I knew this was what I wanted to do," he said. "We're doing something to help families, something they can't do themselves.