John Smith at work on a painting.
John Smith is a funeral director who paints artistic landscapes in under 30 minutes. His brother Matt runs Homeward Bound Shipping, a mortuary service that gets the dead where they need to be, looking their best. The brothers combined their talents to make an attention-getting splash at the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) convention expo.
“The primary focus is on great embalming,” said John Smith. “Everybody needs a body shipped at some time or another, the problem is getting them embalmed properly and looking really good.”
This is where artistry comes in. Homeward Bound Shipping finds the most talented embalmers to work with them as vendors.
“Homeward Bound Shipping handles the transportation of a dead human being,” explained Matt Smith. “When someone passes out of state, the local funeral home of the town or family they are serving will contact Homeward Bound Shipping, and we’ll take it from there. We’ll contact our vetted agent, they will be responsible for making the transfer from the place of death, they’ll take the decedent into their care, prepare the remains… file the proper paperwork for the death certificate, and from that point, we transfer the body to the airport in the proper container.”
“We make the arrangements to get their loved one back home to them in a timely and efficient manner, and our focus is on quality embalming,” said Matt. “So when the receiving funeral home receives that loved one into their care, there’s no guess work whether they are embalmed right.”
At the expo, funeral directors entered their information for drawings to win a painting created during the convention. It’s also a great way to collect leads! The company’s website is www.HomewardBoundShipping.com.
