LHS grad now works for largest funeral provider in the world

Sam Scott, a1999 LHS graduate spoke recently to two high school classes at The Cross Christian School in Lebanon on a topic that he himself stated could be characterized as a ‘weird subject’, that is, his career in the funeral business. He shared with students in the freshman and sophomore classes of the school that at age 15, he was asked by a Lebanon funeral home director to come cut grass at his business. He did so while in high school and one day when he was 17 and they were short of help, he was asked to come inside and help lift a man’s body. He said from that day forward he had no fear of working around the people and the various tasks associated with the funeral business. He credited a great deal of that to his mother, Nancy Scott who had taken him to a relative’s funeral when he was a small child and walked him up to the open casket, and explained that death was in fact, a part of life. Coming from a strong family of faith is also a major part of Sam’s life today in his work as well as always, a part of his day-to-day life. After high school, Scott went to mortuary college in Dallas and today is the director of four funeral homes in Texas as well as the president of the Texas Funeral Directors’ Association, which represents 400 funeral homes across the state. He spends much of his time in Dallas as well as in the state capital of Austin, working on legislative issues. He lives in Dallas with his wife, Olga and their 13 year old son, Landon. Olga is the program and student coordinator for the NE Texas Community College Mortuary program. Back in Lebanon, on this day, however, he was all about an engaging presentation before these high school students. He not only spoke about the details of the five different types of funeral arrangements or types of disposition of a human being upon a person’s death as well as the five stages of grief. Scott helped guide the students through those five funeral dispositions—burial, cremation, entombment (mausoleum), burial at sea, and a body donated to scientific study. He also spoke of the five stages of grief, better known by many which include denial, anger, bargaining (with God), depression and acceptance. He spoke briefly about the importance of faith in terms of grappling with death and how whether a person is of the Protestant, Catholic, or Jewish faith, Muslim or other beliefs or no faith of any kind, all of those play a major role in how the remaining family members will deal with the death of someone they love. He explained how a major role of the funeral director is to help guide a family through the many difficult decisions as to what type of funeral arrangements they wish to make for their loved one. He also shared that his goal was to make certain that he helps them make choices that will glorify God and this person’s life and that later, when they look back, they will have no regrets as to how they honored their father or mother or grandparent. Sam Scott encouraged the students’ questions and brought all of the day’s issues down to a personal level for each of them by asking, what do you plan to do upon leaving high school. For a few, they had no answer at all, while others knew they were very interested in becoming a pastor, a veterinarian, a journalist or a scientist intent on a specific area of study. Sam went on to encourage them all to be particularly aware that what they are doing right now, the choices they make, even the jobs they take as teens, like cutting grass, can greatly affect their lives in the years to come. Most of all, he said, whatever you do from here on, make certain you do it or learn to do it the very best you possibly can; in other words, become an expert at whatever you do so that you can share it with others and secondly, always be kind. Sounds simple but it will take you a long way. That philosophy has taken Sam Scott a long way, all the way to Texas to become an expert in his own field, obviously well-respected by his peers. Sam Scott comes from a well-known family of faith here in Lebanon. He is the son of Steve and Nancy Scott, who coincidentally was his teacher in school more than a few years ago and is the teacher of the two classes he taught today. He is also the grandson of the late Ray and Doris Scott and Russell and Dorothy O’Dell. Due to miscommunication, the incorrect article about Lebanon High School graduate Sam Scott ran in last Saturday’s Record. This updated article is about his recent speech at The Cross Christian School.