CARROLLTON - Funeral director Tabitha Brown selected an occupation she believed would combine several of her interests and it has worked out perfectly.
Brown has been with the Airsman-Hires Funeral Homes since 2015. She was born and raised in White Hall and graduated from North Greene High School in 2008. She later attended the St. Louis Community College in Forest Park where she received her mortuary degree in 2013. Today, she resides on a family farm in Carrollton with her husband, Tim.
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The biggest draw for Brown to be a funeral director was serving and helping others.
“I love working with people,” she said. “Working with people is basically the reason I got into it. I have always worked with the public since high school and when looking for a career, I was looking for something helping people. My mom is a nurse and I was interested in the medical field, but there were parts I wasn’t interested in and this tied all my interests together.”
She said on of her best friend's husband works at the funeral home and conversed with her about the occupation of a funeral director and that also helped her become interested in the profession.
Brown has broken some ground in rural areas being a licensed female funeral director.
She said the world is changing and she hopes to be an example for other women if they have a desire to be a funeral director.
Brown praised the staff at St. Louis Community College where she earned her associate’s degree in applies science and certificate in mortuary science. She said the program there combined the business side of the funeral business, legal and merchandising, along with the science, restorative art and embalming portion. She served an apprenticeship with Airsman-Hires before moving into her present role.
She said she loves all the funeral directors she works with in the Airsman-Hires company.
“The funeral directors in the company all work together as a team,” she said. “I can call any of them at any moment and ask them a question. They have all been through nearly every situation and know what to do with any type of question. I work with an amazing group of individuals.”
In her free time, Brown's greatest hobby is to run and exercise in general. She hopes to tackle a marathon race one day.
Brown said her prime hope for the future is helping others in her funeral director work.
“I am really proud of what I have accomplished so far,” she said. “My hopes are to continue to learn and build relationships with people and get to know more people. A lot of times you may not know the person or family coming in, but after the funeral is over and I see somebody out, they will come up and give me a hug. The bond you build with people in the funeral business is truly amazing.”
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