‘FUNERAL DIVA’ GOES EXTRA MILE FOR THE BEREAVED
Shawn Johnson offers families ‘totally’ different perspective.
RIVIERA BEACH — As Shawn Johnson sat in a hospital waiting to give birth to her second child, she couldn’t stop thinking about a funeral.
Specifically, a large-scale funeral she was organizing in the coming days.
The 34-year-old owner and president of Shawn Johnson Funeral and Cremation Services said she called her staff every five minutes from the hospital room. She wanted to make sure everything was perfect.
“I’ve always had this thing of, ‘I’m Shawn Johnson,’ ” she said. “If a mistake occurred, they’re not going to say she did it. They’re going to say Shawn Johnson did it.”
Two weeks later, she started visiting the office again. Three weeks after that, she started bringing her newborn, Taraji, along.
Johnson is part of a small community of women in a similar line of work who call themselves Funeral Divas — with jackets, hats and bags to match the title.
Johnson was the November photo in the 2015 Mortician Moms calendar. She’s also been called the “Beyonce of Funerals.”
She said that by being vocal about herself, a black woman in a field dominated by men, she hopes other females interested in funeral service can feel comfortable pursuing it.
The National Funeral Directors Association said on its website that funeral service has been typically male-dominated, but more than 60 percent of current mortuary science students are women. Though Johnson is not a licensed funeral director, and doesn’t need a degree, her business has a licensed funeral director, Adrienne Leger. Leger said working for a woman has been empowering.
“It’s amazing because it is male-dominated, and she just brings a totally other perspective,” Leger said.
Johnson, who works out of an office along the Intracoastal Waterway in Riviera Beach, has been in funeral service since 2013.
She said women may hold back because they fear being called creepy if they like the work — but for her, it’s about connecting with families.
“To give them other things to focus on besides just their family member lying in the coffin, I can say it means more to me than any dollar amount,” Johnson said.
It pushes her to make each service personal. When the next of kin comes in, she tries to learn as much as she can about the deceased: favorite colors, hobbies, sports teams. She’ll even visit the deceased’s Facebook page to get a feel for who they were.
“You really only have five days to get to know that individual as well as the deceased,” she said. “And I try to do my best.”
It’s part of her work, but it takes a toll. On July 28, Johnson organized a service for Norriesha “NaNa” Hills, the 22-year-old mother shot to death July 16 in Riviera Beach. As she walked Hill’s two sons into the service to say their final goodbyes, she prayed the casket would be closed soon.
If not, Johnson said she would fall apart.
“I’d be lying to you if I said it did not get to me, but I try to tell myself to focus,” she said.
From the beginning, Johnson worked to make Hills’ service feel special. The casket was covered in photos of her and was purple, Hills’ favorite color.
Camelia Walker, Hills’ grandmother, said Johnson had also done the services for other family members.
“She’s there every step of the way, from the beginning until the end,” Walker said. “Her work speaks for itself.”
Johnson said she’s seen victims of gun violence in Riviera Beach and in other communities , such as Miami, that she has serviced. Because the community has supported her business, she wants to help, she said. One day, she hopes to open a summer camp or even a charter school for the area’s kids.
“We don’t stop our care at the cemetery,” she said. “We continue it throughout.”