The Undertaker

During the the 20th century, communities had undertakers. The undertaker would go to the home of the deceased person and take on the responsibility of obtaining a casket, preparing the funeral service, notifying family members and friends, arranging the burial and would prepare the body. They began to see themselves as Funeral Directors. They began to see themselves as professionals and would charge for their services.

Laderman, G. (2003). Rest in peace: A cultural history of death and the funeral home in twentieth-century America. New York: Oxford University Press.