Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Family united in giving dignified send-offs
An idea suggested by a friend turned into a calling for the Solomons
HOW often does a business idea, suggested by a friend, survive for more than two decades?
This is exactly what happened to Peter Solomon and according to him, it’s the “best decision” he ever made. Solomon was employed by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) for 26 years when a friend suggested they start a funeral business.
Today, the Solomon family runs Fern Funeral Home in Retreat and has been doing so for the last 22 years. Father, mother and two sons are all involved in the business and they say they cannot imagine doing anything else.
“My friend suggested we start a funeral home. We had no idea about funerals but we went for it,” said Solomon.
He told the Weekend Argus he tried his hand at stove repairs and the spaza shop business before the funeral business.
“We really are a one-stop shop. You can get your burial policy here, we do funerals and cremations and can even put up tombstones,” said Solomon.
Sons, Aleric and Sheldon have been part of the business since their school days. “I remember telling my teachers I was sick when I needed to leave school so that I could go and help remove a body,” recalled Aleric.
For the family, first reactions, when people hear about their chosen profession range from: “How can you work with the dead?”, “Don’t touch me,” “Do you eat at work?” and “How can you eat at a mortuary?” but the Solomon family take it all in their stride.
“Initially, I did not tell many people about my job. I didn’t want to be uncool. Most of my teachers and friends knew about the business and I have officiated at many funerals where I knew the families and the deceased person. I have to admit, I was very nervous at first, especially when it came to the door of the fridge where we keep the bodies,” said Sheldon.
The boys say they took to their dad’s new business venture like ducks to water and have long given up on their dreams of becoming a traffic officer (Aleric) and a doctor (Sheldon).
Twenty-two years later, the family believes that their job was a calling. Mom, Charmaine, was a machinist at a factory and now manages the admin work at the office and is also involved in the funeral arrangements, but she jokingly said she stays far away from the “bodies”.
In their 22 years as undertakers, the Solomons have had their fair share of odd requests, which range from a coffin decorated in rastafarian colours to one with a shiny blue top and a completely black bottom, but most memorable was the request for a deceased to be buried with a dead and stuffed skunk on his head.
“We deal with different cultures and race groups, so we have seen it all,” joked Aleric.
At present, the family hires the services of a professional embalmer, but the boys are set to undergo training in this very specialised field which is not for the faint-hearted.
Embalming is the process a body has to undergo if it needs to be preserved for travelling or a delayed funeral.
“We use the services of a man in his sixties, but soon the boys are also going to receive training so that we can do this ourselves,” said Peter.
Fern offers funerals that range from R7500 for the most basic, R12000 for a middle of the road funeral and R30 000plus for a top-of-the-range send-off.
Extras include limos and the latest addition to their fleet is the Chrysler winged hearse, which is sure to impress anyone.