Death isn’t always the easiest topic to tackle.
While it is something every living being on the planet will experience eventually, what happens to your remains after you die is a mystery to most and often a taboo topic around the family dinner table.
That wasn’t the case for 34-year-old Stesha Moore.
Moore’s uncle was a cremationist. Her mom worked in the office at the same crematory in Phoenix.
“My mom would talk about work when I was growing up and it would never bother me,” Moore said.
Moore’s exposure to the industry led her to get into the funeral business herself. She is currently a funeral service counselor for a funeral home in Tucson and is working toward her mortuary science degree.
On Sunday, Jan. 28, Moore, and her colleague Francine Martinez, another funeral service counselor, who is also earning her mortuary science degree, will be part of Mourning with a Mortician, a new Q&A session at the oddities shop Woolly Fern, 4401 E. Speedway.
Attendees will get to ask Moore and Martinez questions about the funeral industry, and what happens to our bodies from the time we die to the time we are laid to rest.
“Everyone that I talk to seems to be a little death curious, but there aren't many opportunities to learn about death and the funeral industry until the services are needed,” said Woolly Fern owner Bridgett Scofield. “The common thing I keep hearing is that there is a need and want for an educational Q&A series where the community is welcome to sit in and listen, ask questions, and learn from those who take care of Tucson's deceased in a respectful and non-religious way.”
Both Moore and Martinez have years of experience working with families on the front end of the funeral business, and with preparing lost loved ones for viewings, burials and cremations.
Moore said she and Martinez are only representing themselves at these Q&A sessions, not the funeral home in which they work, and will be answering questions covering any topic relating to death to the best of their abilities.
“We are coming in as individuals, answering any questions that might help or ease people,” Moore said. “A lot of people don’t know what to do if their loved one passes away tomorrow. We can tell them what to expect.”
Mourning with a Mortician will start at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted to help further Martinez's and Moore’s education in mortuary science.
