Funeral Professional – Andrew Gonzalez

When “Why?” Never Gets Answered

I see pain every day. I empathize with anguish on a weekly basis. I’ve driven away from an old man in the middle of the night with his companion of 65 years in my care. I’ve stood next to a dad as he’s tried to figure out how his son’s car went off the road.…
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The Day That Time Stood Still

Two days throughout the year really affect me on my journey of grief. Though I feel my father’s absence on Christmas and Thanksgiving, I had already spend those days without him, living in Arkansas, so far from my California “home”. The first day is April 14. That was the day he slipped into eternity. The…
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When Holidays Feel Like Hollow Days

The holiday season is in full swing. It’s by far my favorite time of year. From the time I was a child and anxiously awaited the opening of neatly wrapped gifts…to the time when I came to the realization that it is truly more blessed to give than to receive. It is a season to…
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Sleepless In Hot Springs

I’m having trouble sleeping tonight. I’ve been told that I shouldn’t bring my work home with me. That was really easy when I was doing drywall for a living; I could leave that on the job with ease. Although the drywall mud I tracked through the house, and left on the couch, and embedded in…
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When a Baby Dies…

I’ve been in the ministry for 16 years now, and I’ve been a part of the funeral industry for over 8 of those years. I wouldn’t say that I’m calloused by any stretch of the imagination, but when you deal with goodbyes, and tragedies, and funerals every day of your life, you are affected differently…
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What’s the Rush?

The time between a death and a funeral can vary depending on several factors. Have you chosen cremation or burial? Do you have family coming into town? When is your minister available? Is the cemetery available? The answers to these types of questions play a role in determining when you can have your service. We…
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Willows and Palms

There is a dark cloud that looms over the funeral industry as a whole and it’s not the cloud of death. It’s a cloud of uselessness, and untrustworthiness. Egregious acts of carelessness, mundane funeral services, business owners who set quotas to drive profits, and cold, methodical funeral directors have given the entire industry a black…
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