Sonia Lewis displays the quilt inside a coffin at Lewis Funeral Home. - Photos by Paul Williams

Death is a familiar face in Kingston and St Andrew and it seems to have free rein, forever stalking the nation's capital. So it should come as no surprise that the business of taking care of the dead is thriving in the metropolis, more so in western Kingston.

Jones, Roman's, Madden's, Brathwaite's, Lewis and Brown's are some of the funeral homes located in western Kingston, in proximity to Kingston Public Hospital (KPH). On almost every corner, there is a final-care facility, with as many as four funeral homes operating on at least one street.

Even in this morbid business, there is keen competition for patronage.

Attractive package

"For most of the funerals, we offer buttons in the package. It's a package and we have to make it attractive ... So you sometimes put some little extras, both for the family and the dead," said Sonia Lewis, of Lewis Funeral Home.

"It's a very competitive industry right now, so you have to make it attractive at affordable costs."

Because, it can be a rat race out there to acquire the dead, between the established homes, the fledgling ones, and individuals who don't even have a morgue to start with. The grounds of the Kingston Public Hospital are a major battlefield as the homes haggle with the families and relatives of the deceased. That's where the agents come in. Daily, they vie with the established undertakers and the man who is just 'trying a thing'.

"I go on the road to market my company. I go to the hospital, mainly KPH, or some persons may want a house call. Some persons will trust you enough to do all the necessary things for them," said Ela Miller-Johnson, an agent who works for Lewis.

Sometimes frustrating

"It is sometimes frustrating because other persons (agents) might come in and say some derogatory things towards your funeral home ... . They make you feel so uncomfortable."

It can be a hostile environment with competitors engaging in heated verbal confrontations. Under-cutting is a major tactic, with costs being dropped at times to ridiculous lows.

"You have to be persistent, you have to be aggressive towards your work, to convince persons because some (operators) will go low below what the funeral really costs," she continued, adding that she nevertheless enjoys her job.

Oftentimes, though, it is the relatives of the deceased who spearhead the bargaining. With so many funeral homes located in the area, clients actually search for the best packages at the lowest costs, comparing parlour offerings and driving down prices.

'I can't do it for that'

But Lewis said when the bargain prices fall to rock-bottom levels, she doesn't take the bait.

"Because of some smaller undertakers, the overhead for them is actually nothing. We have to pay everything ... What they can offer you, I can't.

"So if anybody come in here and tell me what somebody else is offering them, I'll just say to them, honestly, I can't do it for that," Lewis said.

Despite all the jostling, there are times when the homes collaborate with one another, sharing services and/or facilities that are either inadequate or non-existent.

"From time to time, there are certain things that we don't offer that we can actually get from other funeral homes," Lewis explained. "Our packages vary, and then you offer things like T-shirts, buttons and so on, that we don't actually print ourselves ... We integrate."

In these hard times when businesses are folding, those taking care of the dead are alive and fighting the struggles in Kingston, providing employment opportunities in areas such as morgue maintenance, embalming, printing, make-up artistry, quilting, coffin assemblage, driving, administration, grooming and floral arrangement.

For some people, western Kingston may not rank high among places to live, but for others, it's a good place to make a living.

"Because of the situation of job losses now, the 'suitcase undertakers', a lot of them are over there (KPH) ... . They are there like flies (no pun intended)," she said.

paul.williams@gleanerjm.com