Dear Ms. Hunt,
I am writing regarding my experience this past weekend at the funeral of a loved one at Ferguson Funeral Home. I am deeply disappointed and, quite frankly, offended by the way a member of my family was treated during an already extremely difficult and emotional time.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time I have personally witnessed this behavior from you. This is the second occasion where I have seen you speak to grieving family members and guests in a manner that I found rude, dismissive, and unnecessarily abrasive.
I understand that funeral services have schedules. I understand that things need to be done in a timely manner. I also understand that you have responsibilities to fulfill. What I do not understand is why those responsibilities require you to speak to grieving people without basic courtesy, compassion, or respect.
On Friday, a family member who had traveled from out of town was being addressed in a manner that I felt was completely inappropriate under the circumstances. When I explained that we were family and that this was a moment for the family, the response made us feel as though we were somehow an inconvenience rather than people who had come to mourn and support someone we loved.
There is a time to move people along. There is a time to enforce schedules. And there is certainly a time to conduct business. But there is also a time to recognize that the people standing in front of you are hurting.
I was devastated by the interaction. Rather than allow the situation to escalate or cause a scene during our loved one's funeral, we chose to leave. That decision should never have been necessary.
Before leaving, I was also informed that the older woman you were accompanying was the owner. If that is the case, I am bringing this directly to the attention of the owner as a courtesy to Eddie Jean Ferguson, because I believe she deserves to know how her business is being represented to families during some of the most difficult moments of their lives.
Ms. Hunt, you present yourself as a Chief Executive Officer and community leader. With that title comes a certain level of responsibility and expectation. Leadership is not simply about reputation, position, or how one is perceived within the community. Leadership is also about how you treat people when they are vulnerable, grieving, frustrated, or otherwise having one of the worst days of their lives.
You are in the funeral business. That means you have chosen a profession where emotions naturally run high and where families are often experiencing unimaginable pain. Compassion should not be an optional part of the job--it should be at the very heart of it.
Friday was not a situation where someone was being disrespectful to you or intentionally causing a problem. We were grieving. We were family. We were trying to navigate an extremely difficult day. There was absolutely no reason for the interaction to be handled with the attitude and tone that was used.
This is also why I am writing instead of simply walking away. I believe people should be given the opportunity to recognize when their behavior has negatively affected others. Sometimes people in positions of authority become so focused on maintaining a certain image or reputation that they lose sight of the people standing directly in front of them.
So, consider this a courtesy reminder:
It costs nothing to be kind.
A little patience. A little compassion. A respectful tone. A simple understanding that the person in front of you may be experiencing something you cannot see. Those things cost nothing, yet they can make an enormous difference to a grieving family.
I sincerely hope that you will take this complaint seriously and reflect on how you interact with families and guests in the future. Because regardless of your title, position, or reputation in the community, the way you treat people is ultimately what people will remember.
And unfortunately, after two separate experiences, what I will remember is feeling that you were more concerned with maintaining control and protecting a certain image than with showing compassion to people who were there to say goodbye to someone they loved.
I am writing this as a courtesy to Eddie Jean Ferguson and the Ferguson family, because I would want to know if someone representing my business was leaving families with this kind of impression.
Please understand that this letter is not about creating drama. It is about accountability, professionalism, and basic human decency.
Kindness matters--especially when someone is grieving.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Meredith read more
