Famous funeral director comes to New Phila for an Evening to Remember
Another successful Evening to Remember was held by Toland-Herzig Funeral Homes & Crematory Tuesday, Nov. 3, at Kent State University Tuscarawas Campus. The college auditorium filled as the funeral home presented State Funerals in the 21st Century, with special guest, Robert M. Boetticher Sr. D.H.L., funeral director to the famous.Boetticher, who has coordinated some of the most visible funerals in recent history, spoke about the detail that goes into each one, including Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. He focused on the many pieces of symbolism involved in state funerals, as well as how much coordination is behind what is seen on television.
“He spent all morning with our staff and went behind the scenes,” said John Herzig, funeral director at Toland-Herzig Funeral Homes. “With the coordination and planning that goes into these things, we were all just awestruck.”
When he was younger, Boetticher had always wanted to be a funeral director. He would skip out early from Saturday night movies to walk down to the Gates, Kingsley, Gates Funeral Home, based in Santa Monica, Calif., to look at the antique cars. Little did he know that after a high school aptitude test revealed his perfect job to be a funeral director, he would be working for that very funeral home as an adult. And when Ronald Reagan passed away, the presidential family requested Gates, Kingsley, Gates to be used, with Boetticher in charge.
So began his life as funeral director to the famous. After the Reagan funeral, the Ford family followed. Eventually, Anna Nicole Smith’s lawyer called. And before he knew it, Boetticher had planned funerals for Lady Bird Johnson, Senators Ted Kennedy and Lloyd Benson, Admiral James Stockdale, entertainers Merv Griffin and Farrah Fawcett, as well as Eunice Kennedy Shriver and NBC’s Tim Russert.
Herzig could not help but take notice of those achievements and how perfectly they coincided with his Famous Endings funeral collection. He called Boetticher right after the Reagan funeral and asked if he would be willing to do a lecture. He said that he was persuaded to visit Tuscarawas County because of “all the beautiful people here,” as Herzig had explained to him on the phone.
“I was really excited [that he decided to come] because he doesn’t do a lot of lectures,” explained Herzig. “I was really fortunate.”
Boetticher explained that he truly has a passion for his job. “Being a part of history and being able to serve our nation in burying a former president is my walk on the moon,” he said. “I’m representing the funeral service, and the passion is making sure we get it right. People all over the world watch this, so we want to make sure our nation is represented well.”
Another Evening to Remember is planned Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010, at 7 p.m., at the Dover funeral home location. Celebrities highlighted will be Lucille Ball, Tim Russert, Frank Sinatra, and Evel Knievel.