EXEMPLARY Service Awards Cooper Funeral Home | Tecumseh, OK “We had scheduled our mom’s funeral with Cooper’s and then my father passed away the J. Cooper receives the Exemplary morning of her funeral. Service Award My sister and I were stressed out and heartbroken. We wanted to have a military funeral for both our father and mother, but we couldn’t have one for her, so we were upset. Cooper’s told us not to fret and they would take care of things. Cooper set out all the things we had brought and mom’s life was there for everyone to see. After a short service, my family hummed “Taps” for my mom. It was beautiful. For our father’s funeral, Cooper’s made sure the VFW and dad’s casket were draped with the flag. There was a 6 gun salute for dad. The serviceman folded, creased and presented the flag to me. Then unexpectedly, they had mom’s flag and creased it and presented it to my sister. We cried tears of joy. No one else we have spoken with that used other funeral homes has been given this kind of service.”
Freitag Funeral Home|Bridgeton, NJ “When my mother passed away last year, we were initially contacted by a funeral director at Freitag who met with us regarding Mom’s pre-arrangements in a most compassionate and accommodating manner. Ken Freitag (owner/manager), who had been away, came directly from the airport to offer his condolences and support to our family. The services were first class. In particular, their preparation of Mom’s appearance, their attention to detail concerning the prayer cards, the video tribute, transportation, and the personal attention that was given to our family. Linnemann Funeral Homes|Mt. Erlanger, KY “While we were in the hospital with our stillborn, we had no idea what to do. A family member called Linnemann Funeral Home, and they gave us the funeral director’s personal cell phone number. She was amazing and always available when we needed her. During our initial meeting, we were introduced to the entire staff. Everybody was supportive, caring and very helpful. During such a difficult time, everyone was willing to help. Our son August passed on a Thursday, and we didn’t bury him until 9 days later. They were so respectful of giving us time. Also, they gave great ideas and even lent us their own book to make the ceremony more “ours.” During 9 months of pregnancy, we prepared for everything except death. The Linnemann family graciously paid for our baby’s casket and took such great care of us.
AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE Scholarships
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he association was very excited to present two scholarship awards this year through OGR’s Awards of Excellence Scholarship Program, which provides assistance to students about to graduate from mortuary school and enter the funeral profession. Applicants must be enrolled in an accredited mortuary degree program, scheduled to graduate in the current calendar year, and have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. The 2014 Gold Award of Excellence was awarded to Ashley Baldauf-Kreil. Ashley attends Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science and will receive a $3,500 scholarship to help complete her studies. Ashley was honored to be able to attend the conference and receive her award in the company of her peers.
The 2014 Silver Award of Excellence was awarded to Jorida Mihali-Allison. Jorida attends Wayne St. University and will receive a $2,000 scholarship to help complete her studies. “I would like to sincerely thank the OGR staff and scholarship committee for awarding me the Silver Award of Excellence. It is such an honor to be recognized for this award.”