About Our Business
Undertakers were small town heroes — there when people needed them. Most of
the funeral homes were family owned and the owners were highly respected in the
community. When he was nine years old, Lee Ward of Independence, MO,
decided that he wanted to be an undertaker.
Lee worked as an embalmer and undertaker for 45 years following training at the
California College of Mortuary Services in Los Angeles. After graduating in 1967,
he returned to Missouri and for 22 years owned two small town funeral homes.
After selling the funeral homes, he worked for a larger one in the Kansas City
metropolitan area for 10 years, retiring in 2001.
During his years of working in the funeral service he started collecting antique
equipment and memorabilia that were no longer being used as industry standards
at his funeral homes. As word began to spread about his passion so his collection
continued to grow through help from individuals such as Jerry D. Brown who
recognized the importance of preserving the history of this art. Lee eventually
wants to open a public forum to share this passion with others; but, until then, his
home is a unique museum devoted to antique funeral and embalming equipment.
The collection includes Civil War era embalming instruments, photographs,
manuals and even coffins.
“Most of my collection comes from owners of small-town funeral homes, who are
selling to corporations, and they don’t want these items to be destroyed or put in
storage somewhere, only to be forgotten.” One such former owner is Jerry D.
Brown, who sold the Reppert-Brown Funeral Home in Buckner, MO, in 1999. The
business started in 1868 and is believed to be the oldest continuously operated
funeral home west of the Mississippi River. The funeral home was founded by
John C. Henthorn and the collection includes an 1895 embalming license.
However, the prize of Lee’s collection is a Civil War-era embalming surgeon’s kit. It
includes all the instruments, pumps, jars and equipment used by early embalming
pioneers. There was no embalming prior to the Civil War and was unheard of
except in medical schools. But, the deaths from the Civil War meant that parents
wanted their boys brought home so that they could find closure. So, a way to do
that had to be devised. Embalming was very dangerous because of the chemicals
they used. But, a development by Dr. Holmes provided a means whereby the
bodies could be preserved without exposing the funeral services providers to
additional health risks.
Lee says that early in the war, parents would go to the battlefields, search for their
loved ones, dig them up, and bring them home for burial. This was a gruesome
practice as no preservation was performed. The government eventually hired
private individuals to serve as embalming surgeons at a cost of about $50 — a lot
of money considering most troops made only about $14 per month.
After the Civil War, embalming was often performed in the home as a family event
that was part of the grieving process. Later, bodies were taken to the embalmer’s
work place in wicker carrying baskets and then brought back to the home for
services.
Lee encourages tour groups to view his collection, by appointment, and he gives
lectures. Click here for the request form.
the funeral homes were family owned and the owners were highly respected in the
community. When he was nine years old, Lee Ward of Independence, MO,
decided that he wanted to be an undertaker.
Lee worked as an embalmer and undertaker for 45 years following training at the
California College of Mortuary Services in Los Angeles. After graduating in 1967,
he returned to Missouri and for 22 years owned two small town funeral homes.
After selling the funeral homes, he worked for a larger one in the Kansas City
metropolitan area for 10 years, retiring in 2001.
During his years of working in the funeral service he started collecting antique
equipment and memorabilia that were no longer being used as industry standards
at his funeral homes. As word began to spread about his passion so his collection
continued to grow through help from individuals such as Jerry D. Brown who
recognized the importance of preserving the history of this art. Lee eventually
wants to open a public forum to share this passion with others; but, until then, his
home is a unique museum devoted to antique funeral and embalming equipment.
The collection includes Civil War era embalming instruments, photographs,
manuals and even coffins.
“Most of my collection comes from owners of small-town funeral homes, who are
selling to corporations, and they don’t want these items to be destroyed or put in
storage somewhere, only to be forgotten.” One such former owner is Jerry D.
Brown, who sold the Reppert-Brown Funeral Home in Buckner, MO, in 1999. The
business started in 1868 and is believed to be the oldest continuously operated
funeral home west of the Mississippi River. The funeral home was founded by
John C. Henthorn and the collection includes an 1895 embalming license.
However, the prize of Lee’s collection is a Civil War-era embalming surgeon’s kit. It
includes all the instruments, pumps, jars and equipment used by early embalming
pioneers. There was no embalming prior to the Civil War and was unheard of
except in medical schools. But, the deaths from the Civil War meant that parents
wanted their boys brought home so that they could find closure. So, a way to do
that had to be devised. Embalming was very dangerous because of the chemicals
they used. But, a development by Dr. Holmes provided a means whereby the
bodies could be preserved without exposing the funeral services providers to
additional health risks.
Lee says that early in the war, parents would go to the battlefields, search for their
loved ones, dig them up, and bring them home for burial. This was a gruesome
practice as no preservation was performed. The government eventually hired
private individuals to serve as embalming surgeons at a cost of about $50 — a lot
of money considering most troops made only about $14 per month.
After the Civil War, embalming was often performed in the home as a family event
that was part of the grieving process. Later, bodies were taken to the embalmer’s
work place in wicker carrying baskets and then brought back to the home for
services.
Lee encourages tour groups to view his collection, by appointment, and he gives
lectures. Click here for the request form.
About Us
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