When John “Jack” Mitchell IV ’93 considered going to mortuary school at a program near Lehigh, he wondered whether he’d be able to live at his Lehigh fraternity house for another two years.
While that thought was fun to consider, the College of Business graduate nixed the idea and instead returned home to Maryland, where his father ran a funeral home that opened in 1837 and had been in the family for five generations.
He attended a mortuary program in Baltimore and became the sixth generation of Mitchell men to work in the family business.
He apprenticed under his father by day and took classes at night. But his inherent motivation to serve more than his own business was soon a driving force.
It started with his involvement in the Maryland Funeral Directors Association. Soon he rose through the ranks and was serving as its president.
But a seminal moment came at age 29. He was attending the national convention when it happened to be in his hometown of Baltimore. While there he saw three couples looking a bit lost in the downtown harbor area. He introduced himself and soon was dining with three members of the national board of directors.
“They were known names in our business and such great people,” he says. “That’s when I knew I could be doing even more.”
He ran for the national board and was elected. He served as secretary and chaired various committees. He was elected the 128th president of the National Funeral Directors Association for 2022-23.
He now is focused on keeping members informed while also working on key legislation, including using a health savings account to help cover funeral costs, chemical changes enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency, and greater regulation in the handling of bodies donated for research.
All the while operating his own business back home in a market that is constantly evolving.
“‘Funeral’ is no longer the word people want to use,” he says. “Rather than focus on a burial, families seek to celebrate a life.” Such celebrations demand a different approach and decor than what many somber funeral homes project.
“Funeral directors must shift their business models and thinking as families seek more economical and environmentally responsible choices,” he says. “People can buy caskets on Amazon, and inflation and recessions impact what people consider for their loved ones.”
Mitchell operates a funeral home, crematory, and cemetery.
“When folks hear that I am a funeral director, they often say ‘ewww,’” he says. “They think about bodies and the sadness associated with loss. But funeral directors have a passion to serve people and help in tragic times, and families who are grieving appreciate our support and compassion.”
It doesn’t mean he isn’t teased by the people who know him well.
“Professor [Michael] Kolchin, who then was the Business Management chair, was tickled that I took my degree and entered the family business,” he says. “He would ask if I drove the hearse to South Mountain on campus trips.”