VALDOSTA — I have read that morticians provide a service of consolation for the living and a necessary service for the dead. Although the career of a mortician is not glamorized as other careers may be, the work provided by a mortician is work that we will all one day seek.

I have spoken with funeral directors before, but I never delved into what they do because I felt that it would make me focus too much on my own mortality. However while interviewing J. Bernard Braswell II, funeral director for Godfrey Funeral Home LLC., I realized that the job of a mortician is an often misunderstood profession.

James Bernard Braswell II knew that he wanted to be a funeral director since he was 4 years old.

“The first funeral I can remember was that of my grandfather, Elder James Braswell,” said Braswell, now 37. “The late Mr. E.B. Stevens directed the funeral. The way he carried himself just impressed me. I remember him coming to the house after my grandfather died and treating my family like his family. There was so much order in his style of direction.”

After observing Stevens direct his grandfather’s funeral, Braswell began to line his toy cars up like cars would in a procession and play “funeral.”

“I also enjoyed hearing my father, the late Abel Braswell, tell stories about my uncle, Milton James Braswell, who was a funeral director who passed before I was born,” Braswell said. “Those moments greatly influenced my decision to pursue this career.”

Braswell attended Lowndes County and Valdosta City schools and graduated from Valdosta High School in 1990. From there, he enrolled in mortuary school.

“I got used to several science courses in mortuary school, such as biology, anatomy and pathology,” said Braswell. “I also took courses in accounting, small business management and funeral service management.”

Braswell said that he learned how to bring a human-like appearance to the deceased in his restorative art class.

“We learned to use things like wax to cover up injuries sustained in traffic accidents and other incidents,” he explained.

Braswell was also taught the basics of embalming, which preserves a person’s remains until a funeral or memorial service is held.

Braswell completed mortuary school in 1992. He then began his apprenticeship/internship at Harrington Funeral Home.

When asked about how he separates his emotions from his job duties, Braswell said, “Sometimes the volume of people at a time can desensitize you, and you start to detach yourself from your emotions. At one point during my internship, I remember that happening to me because it seemed like an ‘in and out’ thing.

“However, in July 1994, the worst thing that could ever happen to me happened. My mother, Letha Braswell, passed. At that point, I was able to feel what our clients were feeling. I knew how I wanted to be treated at that time, so I made a promise to make each family feel like my own family. It would be hypocritical of me if I did not. By the help of God, I have been able to keep that promise.”

Braswell added that a funeral director has to find a balance between his or her feelings and the job.

“Some people may venture into alcoholism and other things trying to keep balance and control. However, you have to realize that it’s your family and your emotions, and then it’s the business.”

After his internship at Harrington Funeral Home, Braswell relocated to Macon. He became a funeral director at Hutchings Funeral Home, one of the most successful businesses in Macon and Middle Georgia, according to the Georgia Informer, a newspaper that covers African American business, health and entertainment in Georgia.

“We did approximately 350 to 400 funerals a year during my tenure there,” Braswell said.

Braswell worked at Hutchings Funeral Home until he returned to Valdosta in 2006. He then became a funeral director at Strong Funeral Home in Moultrie, where he remained until becoming the director of Godfrey Funeral Home in October 2009.

“I love it,” he said. “I always wanted to work in my hometown. I didn’t like commuting. In addition, it’s something about serving the folks that you know and came up with.”

What sets Godfrey apart from other funeral homes in the area?

“Well, first it’s the appearance of the facility,” Braswell said. “But that’s only a shell of what’s really on the inside. We provide personal care with our service because you can only serve each family one at a time. Death is one of the most challenging things that can happen in a family. There has to be someone who has the family’s best interest in mind to serve the family. Who better than the funeral director and the funeral home?”

Braswell said that some funeral homes use “subtle” marketing strategies to attract and maintain clients.

“They usually provide something for the family to hold on to. However funeral homes that provide the best service are the ones that you will remember.”

As a funeral director, Braswell said that he wears many hats.

“My job does not end with taking care of the remains and directing the funeral service,” he said. “The wise funeral director is also a notary public. He or she may even have to advise on legal or estate issues.”

Braswell also has good working relationships with several local beauticians who sometimes assist in making a deceased person look as he or she did in life.

Braswell said that, according to the National Funeral Directors Association, the average funeral costs $6,000 to $6,500.

“This includes the casket, the actual funeral service, the program and the preparing of the remains,” he explained.

However, the cost does not include burial plots and monuments, he said.

Cremations are far less expensive, he added.

Braswell credits Williams Hutchings of Hutchings Funeral Home and his mentor, Arthur Lee Parker, for influencing him to stay in the mortuary business. Parker is the owner of J.W. Williams Funeral Home in Cordele.

“It is rare that a funeral director mentors another director, but Arthur Lee Parker has been a pillar in my success. He has always offered good advice and left no stone unturned.”

A full-time funeral director, Braswell is also the senior pastor at New Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Ashburn.

In his spare time, the funeral director and pastor likes to watch and attend football games.

“I also sing in a gospel group with my brothers, A.C. and Todd,” he said.

Braswell is married to Carmella Braswell, who is the zoning administrator for Lowndes County. The couple shares four children, Cedric, a 20-year-old junior at North Carolina A&T; State University; Carmen, 14; J. Bernard III, 14; and Cameron, 9.