Funeral History Museum
“Every day above ground is a good one.” --motto
The National Museum of Funeral History was founded in 1992 in Houston, Texas.1 The idea for the Museum grew from Robert L. Waltrip’s 25-year dream of establishing an institution to educate the public and preserve the heritage of death care.2 The Museum collects and preserves the history of the funeral industry, including how it began and how it has evolved over time. The first major exhibit was a collection of vintage hearses.
Funerary transportation.
The National Museum of Funeral History has a large collection of funerary transportation. These include an 1860 German “Glaswagen” funeral coach, European funeral sleds, a 1935 Studebaker hearse, and a 1972 Toyota station wagon from Japan that is so gaudily adorned as to defy description.
The museum also owns the only remaining Packard funeral bus. Built in 1916, the Packard could carry the coffin, the pallbearers, and about twenty guests: a sort of rolling mortuary. But this Packard rolled too much on a San Francisco hill on its maiden processional voyage, toppling over and forcing the early egress of its passengers— both living and dead. Somehow the all-in-one funeral procession found its way here. 3
Event Venue, Obituary Tips
The National Museum of Funeral History offers a truly unique atmosphere for hosting events. Just imagine celebrating your event amongst the extensive collection of historic hearses and unique caskets.
Also, handy tips for writing Obituaries.4
Library and Citations
The National Museum of Funeral History has a link to its Library of online books and articles. Some selections:
Hanging Coffins of Asia
Water Hearses of Venice
Fantasy Coffins
Elaborate Cremations on the Island of Bali.
I looked at my university library catalog and was quite surprised at the many books and articles on funeral practices. Here are few I found:
Cole, Alan. “Upside down/Right Side up: A Revisionist History of Buddhist Funerals in China.” History of religions 35.4 (1996): 307–338.
Laderman, Gary. Rest in Peace: A Cultural History of Death and the Funeral Home in Twentieth Century America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Kennedy, Cyril. “The Divine Liturgy and the Byzantine Funeral: History and Contemporary Practice.” Liturgy (Washington) 33.1 (2018): 26–33.
Sloan, Christopher. Bury the Dead: Tombs, Corpses, Mummies, Skeletons & Rituals. Washington, D.C: National Geographic, 2002.
Tomaini, Thea. Dealing With the Dead: Mortality and Community in Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Vol. 5. Carol Stream: BRILL, 2018.
Robert Waltrip, founder of Service Corporation International, North America’s largest provider of funeral and cemetery services, also formed the Lone Star Flight Museum in 1987 which celebrates flight and achievements in Texas aviation and the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame.
Schmoll, Brett. “National Museum of Funeral History.” The Public historian 25.4 (2003): 108–.
HOW DO I WRITE AN OBITUARY? - The National Museum of Funeral History.
There was once a Museum of Funeral Customs in Oak Ridge Cemetery near Abe Lincoln's tomb in Springfield, Illinois. We visited there in 2007, but it closed in 2011. It had quite an impressive collection. Wikipedia says its holdings were transferred to the Kibbe Hancock Heritage Museum in Carthage, Illinois.
I’ve written four obituaries for family members. The fact they have a helpful checklist is brilliant.