You know just as well as we do – the funeral service profession is growing (and changing) rapidly. It’s impossible to know what the day in the life of a funeral director will look like 20 years from now.

But after talking with Shaun Myers from Myers Mortuary in Utah, we are able to guarantee one thing: the future of death care is bright, and we’re encouraged by the conversations that are taking place.

As part of their commitment to providing exceptional service to their clients, Myers Mortuary turned to Gather, our online platform that’s designed to streamline the funeral planning process and provide a more meaningful experience to every family they serve.

The Legacy of Myers Mortuary

Myers Mortuary first started in 1921 when Shaun Myers’ great, great, great grandfather moved into the Salt Lake Valley as a pioneer. He moved to Ogden to help care for decedents and started a funeral home.

Fast forward to 2023 – Myers Mortuary now oversees five funeral home locations, a pet crematory, a cemetery, and an insurance agency. Their staff has been serving several communities in Utah for generations, including Ogden, Roy, Brigham City, and Layton.

With a dedication to excellence in everything they do, Myers Mortuary has won the Pursuit of Excellence Award for 43 consecutive years, and at one point, they were even honored by George H.W. Bush with the We Care Award for excellence in community and professional service.

Shaun Myers’ Legacy in Funeral Service

If you’ve had the pleasure of speaking with Shaun, you know just how much he cares about every family he serves – you’re also able to see just how much he cares about his staff.

Here’s what you may not know – Shaun didn’t always have his eyes set on funeral service. But after a change of heart, he ended up graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mortuary Science and doing graduate studies at the University of Utah.

41 years later, and Shaun is the current president of Myers Mortuary. Mortuary science is still his true love. Shaun spent a significant amount of time doing administrative tasks, but spending time with families is truly where he enjoys his work the most.

Shaun and his staff are well-known and trusted across many communities in Utah. Why?

Here’s why: he knows that he isn’t just an order-taker. A lot of times, families are seeking guidance and direction during one of the most difficult moments they’ll ever experience. He approaches every arrangement conference with a consultative hat and strives to go beyond a cookie-cutter service.

The Impact That Family Dynamics and Changing Preferences Have on Funeral Service

Shaun and his entire staff at Myers Mortuary recognize that every family situation is unique, and they recognize that there is often a lack of harmony among families when a loved one is lost. As a result, the team at Myers Mortuary puts an emphasis on training everyone on how to help families through contention.

In addition to different family dynamics, Shaun’s team continues to embrace progressive change in the death care space. In addition to the changing preferences between cremation and burial, he notes that consumers are more aware of what goes into funeral services, and they expect more from funeral directors.

Because of these changes in the profession, Myers passes along important advice for new funeral directors: never lose the desire to learn. Never lose the desire to test new things, and never lose the joy that you get from helping serve others.

How Gather Has Impacted Business

On top of challenging other funeral directors and funeral home owners to be more innovative, Shaun Myers has incorporated that advice himself by switching to Gather. He attributes several tangible areas of success thanks to Gather.

Myers Mortuary’s Processes Are More Efficient

Since switching to Gather for case management and payment processing, Shaun has noted that his team’s operations are much more efficient when managing over 1,000 cases per year between 5 different locations:

• Customizable WorkFlows: his team is able to fully customize task lists and workflows to help keep every case organized, every step of the way.
• AutoForms and E-Signatures: “Today I met with a cremation family, and there were 3 marriages involved, and 8 children. And one of the things that I really appreciated today was to be able to sit down with the family and say “I need the majority of the kids to sign the cremation authorization form. I had it signed before I had even signed it myself. That saved me from having to go back over and email or fax. The AutoForms and e-signature function was amazing, being able to do that online. Having all of the family contact information there makes the paperwork a piece of cake.”
  

Myers Mortuary Adapts to More Digitally Savvy Families

More and more families are finding their information and connecting with funeral homes online – because of this, funeral homes must continue to innovate and find ways to meet families where they’re at. Shaun Myers recognizes this, and Gather helps his team in several areas.

• Digital Showroom For Arrangement Conferences: “We’ve got pictures set up on the digital showroom and it really tells a story. I like that people can easily go through that and see the services that we provide.”
• Statement Builder: “I like that people can easily go through and see the services that we provide, and get the price right there. No questions, they can see savings and various packages that we offer.”
  

Reimagine The Family Experience With Gather

Instead of having to rely on 10+ different tools to manage every case from start to finish, why not consolidate everything into one mobile-friendly, easy-to-use platform?

With Gather, you can:

• Manage every detail of every case from any device
• Process payments directly from families
• Create fully interactive Remember Pages
• Track bodies and belongings
• Create a fully integrated website and publish obituaries in one click
• Livestream every funeral service for families to view remotely

It doesn’t stop there though.

Schedule a demo with our team and learn how you can leverage Gather to streamline funeral arrangements, give your team better tools, create a better family experience, and take your funeral home to the next level.