Following in the family footsteps

Times Reporter

 

No little girl dreams of working in a funeral home, but for Sarah Van Bussel she has realized now it’s where she wants to be. 

The Van Bussel family owns the Wheatland Funeral Home, and both her parents and brother Glen work at the home.

“I started working here when I was 18. I had done a semester at the University of Lethbridge right after high school and they asked me if I wanted to work here and do secretarial work for the most part,” said Van Bussel.

“I intended to go to school in September for sewing but then I ended up liking it here so I stuck around and got my (funeral directors) license.”

Working in a funeral home is not something every 23-year-old can say they do, and Van Bussel admits she does get a few reactions when she first tells people, but said most of her friends are used to it by now. 

“More so than my job being weird, I find it really rewarding. People come in and they’re sad of course, that’s a given almost every time, and you get to sort of be that person that guides them through it and sort of helps them with as much of the technical stuff as you can,” said Van Bussel. 

“They’re just always really appreciative and that’s what you aim for. I really like it in that respect. I think that’s probably what I find myself talking about more than anything else is how much I like that side of it.”

The organization of the job appeals to her personality and she loves working with people. Van Bussel said it’s the people in the community that make the job, and isn’t sure she would enjoy it as much if she worked in the city.

“The bottom line is regardless of if they were my kids or not…if they weren’t capable of doing it here, they wouldn’t be here. I really enjoy working with them, I do,” said Francis Van Bussel, who owns the home with his wife. 

“My kids have grown up with this, although they haven’t been involved on a first hand basis, but they’ve all grown up with being involved with this business. It’s not a real big surprise in some ways that they are capable of doing it, it’s a bit of a surprise that they want to do it.”

The job can be taxing, especially when it’s a child or a young adult involved, and Francis said it helps to have an outlet that brings you back to reality. For him it is his wife. 

“If we can somehow walk a family through it and sort of lead them in the direction where they’re going to come out stronger than if they weren’t dealing with us then we’d done our job,” said Francis.

“That’s ultimately what we’re here for is to sort of lead them along and push them in the right direction.” 

Sarah is currently working on obtaining her embalming license and plans to stay in Strathmore. She and her brother Glen have both spoken of one day taking over the home when the time comes.