Our Loved Ones
I had the honor of meeting with the amazing Ruth Pegeron, President of Lay to Rest the other day. We broke bread together, and then she gave me a tour of the funeral home that she founded in Springfield, VA. As a veteran of the communication skills space, but new to the world of death, dying, and bereavement, it was a humbling honor to see “behind the scenes” of that world.
”And this is where we bring our Loved Ones through.” It took me a minute to realize - the Loved Ones were the deceased people. The ones who passed. Had Ruth not been particularly empathetic or compassionate, she might have said - and it’s harsh to write it and read it - “This is where we bring the bodies through.”
Let’s take a pause. That’s a lot. And if someone you love has recently died, I am so sorry. What a jarring thing that is to hear: “bodies.”
Wouldn’t we all prefer “Loved Ones?”
Ruth did it again - provided dignity to those who died - by escorting me into a part of the funeral home and saying, “This is where the Love happens!” We were in the back, with the industrialized refrigeration, the embalming machine, the make-up area, and where soiled hospital gowns were laundered.
To Ruth, it was all Love.
I wish you could hear her tone, her voice, her emphasis on Love. I knew, in my heart of hearts, that when it was just her in that back room preparing a Loved One for their final good bye with their families, where no one but God could see or hear her, she was exactly the same. She was Loving the Loved One. It wasn’t a show; it wasn’t an act she put on. Ruth Loves our Loved Ones.
We need more Ruth’s in this industry and in this world. We need more Love.
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