by patti martin bartsche next generation...after graduating from high school, torres enrolled in...

“It’s been a series of experiencesand events in life that have led me tothis point,” the 41-year-old Phoenixresident said. “Everything happensfor a reason ... I truly believe that. Idon’t think I would be the funeralprofessional I am, the person I am, ifI had taken a different path.”

As a young girl growing up in Ari-zona, becoming a funeral director wasnot a career Torres ever considered.

While still in high school, Torresattended cosmetology school, andby 18 had started her own salonbusiness.

Torres later enrolled at ArizonaState University, graduating with adegree in recreation managementwith an emphasis in tourism andevent planning.

Then she got married.“I was a military wife for 10 years,

and during that time I struggled tofind work in recreation management,”Torres said. “Each town we moved to,locals were hesitant to hire military be-cause we moved around so much.”

While she had trouble findingwork in her profession, Torres no-ticed that every military town thecouple lived in had a funeral home.

“I would often joke with my nowex-husband that I bet they wouldhire me,” she laughed. “Of course,he thought I was crazy at the time.”

But those casually made jokesover the years started to get Torresthinking.

“When I was growing up – and Inever realized it then – I was differ-ent than the other kids,” Torressaid. “As a young child, my momwould send me to my aunt’s ranchin the summer. I would always finddead animals and I’d be so curiousabout how they died. There was al-ways a curiosity.”

As a preteen, Torres began todraw dark images like skulls. “I re-member my mom asking me why areyou drawing things like that and notkittens and flowers,” Torres re-called. “I really couldn’t explain it;it was just natural to me ... it was

just very interesting to me.”And then at 21, Torres’ grand-

mother died.With her background in cosmetol-

ogy, her family asked if she would bewilling to do her grandmother’s hairand makeup. Her grandmother, Tor-res added, had a distinct way ofdoing her hair and makeup, “and myfamily wanted to make sure mygrandmother looked like herself.”

“I remember it clearly,” Torres re-called. “We went into the funeralhome and it was the typical story ...my grandmother was laid out on atable and the room was dark anddimly lit.”

Torres didn’t question the trashbags her grandmother was laid outon, but rather got her supplies andwent to work. “I remember lookingup and seeing my family standing 8to 10 feet away, with their armscrossed and looking very uncomfort-able,” Torres said. “But to me, itwas just Grandma, and it was verynatural for me.”

This article originally appeared in the July 2018 issue of American Funeral Director, published by Kates-Boylston Publications,and is being shared with permission. Visit www.americanfuneraldirector.com to subscribe.

Monica Torres’ road may have been a long and winding one, but thefuneral director, embalmer, reconstruction specialist and founder of NXTGeneration Mortuary Support is now exactly where she is supposed to be.

P R E P A R I N G F O R T H E

Next Generation

ProfileBy Patti Martin Bartsche

Pg. 76 Monica Torres (Bartsche).qxp_AFD May BOOK 6/29/18 3:05 PM Page 76

Monica Torres is shapingthe next generation offuneral service with thecompany she founded,NXT Generation MortuarySupport. (Photo credit:Patrick Madigan, Man inthe Moon Studios)


She hadn’t had any experienceworking with a deceased person be-fore, but for Torres, it was an over-whelmingly positive experience.“What I remember most was that itwas a very healing experience ... a waythat I could honor my grandmother.”The experience working with her

grandmother soon had Torres think-ing back to the death of her grandfa-ther six years earlier. “When I sawhim in the hospital, he was dying andlooked like a skeleton ... he justdidn’t look like himself,” she re-called. “For his funeral, though, theembalmer restored him so well ... helooked like himself.”After graduating from high school,

Torres enrolled in ASU, lived athome, worked her spa businessaround her schoolwork, met her nowex-husband and fell in love.Torres, who was planning to at-

tend law school after graduation, in-stead got married and followed herpilot husband across the country forthe next 10 years.Somewhere along the line, though,

her joke about working in a funeralhome became something Torres seri-ously began to consider. “At the timeof his last deployment we started

talking seriously about becoming a licensed funeral director,” Torres recalled. In 2008, she enrolled in Mesa

Community College, graduating twoyears later with a degree in mortuaryscience.Following graduation, Torres start-

ed her internship at Hansen Mortu-aries in Phoenix. A progressive firmwith strong leadership, Hansen’s sentTorres to Hollywood, California, totrain and take the instructor coursewith Dinair Airbrush Cosmetic Co.As a licensed cosmetologist, Torreswanted to learn more about the artof desairology, which involves caringfor the hair, skin and nails of a de-ceased individual in a funeral homepreparation room.Inspired by what she had learned,

Torres returned home and created aguided text and desairology course ti-tled “Airbrush Artistry for CosmeticUse in the Prep Room and Restora-tive Art.” Accredited by the ArizonaState Board of Funeral Directors andEmbalmers, the course is still in useas an innovative training tool in de-sairology for embalmers and mortu-ary science students.Torres, who was licensed as an em-

balmer in 2011 (and a funeral direc-tor a year later), traces her belief inthe importance of embalming to herown life experiences, including thedeaths of her grandmother andgrandfather. “I realized deep downhow important a well-presented bodyis, and how important it is for a fam-ily to see their loved one one lasttime,” she said.Although she was only 9 months

old when her father, Raoul “Bully”Torres, died in a mining accident, andtoo young to remember the accidentor the funeral, Torres grew up hearingthe story about her father’s funeral.

“He was very disfigured in the acci-dent,” Torres explained. “The funeraldirector, Sam Baca, who served myfamily, went out on a limb to providean open-casket viewing. Because of thework he did, and because of thecourage of my family, the entire townof Silver City, New Mexico, was ableto say goodbye.”

Starting OverBy early 2014, Torres once again

found herself at a crossroad.“My divorce became final in Decem-

ber (2013), and I lost my best friend,my home, and my job within one


Monica Torres, at the head of the table, meets with members of the Ohio Embalmers Association. (Photo credit: David Hicks)



month,” she recalled. “I was in a timeof uncertainty and was struggling tofind my way.”In what she can only describe as

fate, Torres had previously purchasedthe book “Finding Your Strength inDifficult Times” by David Viscott for25 cents at a yard sale.“The morning I lost my job at a

mortuary in Tempe, Arizona, I decid-ed to open my own business,” Torressaid. “At that time, I had made a listof different names and was trying todecide on one. That day my daily in-spiration title in the book (‘FindingStrength’) was called the ‘The NextStep,” Torres said. “The inspira-tional read was exactly what I need-ed, and I realized that I needed to bebrave enough to take the next step tofulfill my dreams and create a newopportunity for myself.”Part of taking that next step, Tor-

res said, was settling on a name forher startup company.“Thus, that NXT step I was taking

in my life and my career would be re-flected in the name of my business.Like so many modern funeral profes-sionals, I am a first-generation funer-al director, and I see myself as theNXT generation of funeral service,”she said. “As part of the GenerationX, I feel we are the bridge betweenour past and our future. I wanted thename of my business to reflect thatcrossover. With those two ideas inmind, I settled on NXT GenerationMortuary Support.”With NXT Generation Mortuary

Support, Torres wanted to be able tooffer services that she knew indepen-dent funeral homes were strugglingto provide for themselves.“I wanted to offer services that

would be better outsourced,” she explained. “I am resourceful by nature – I believe in recycling andhelping keep our earth lovely – so itjust seemed natural for me to offerresourceful services that could pro-vide staffing solutions for funeralhomes needing an extra hand.”In addition, Torres added, “I

wanted to be able offer services that Ihad experience in like desairology, aswell as new and cutting-edge serviceslike service dog rental.”

Bringing the Past and PresentTogetherIn establishing her new business, it

was important that Torres also createa company motto that would morefully explain what she wanted to do.

Bridging our past with our futureperfectly described what Torreswanted to accomplish.

“My company slogan is not onlya reminder to my clients, but also tomyself and my staff that I value ourpast and those professionals whopaved the way for us, but that I alsofind great value in the future of fu-neral service and where the millenni-als are taking us,” Torres said. “Asa Gen Xer, I definitely see myself asa bridge between our past and ourfuture.”Two years after founding NXT

Generation Mortuary Support, Torres changed paths again.

Early on, the Catholic Diocese inPhoenix became a NXT Generationclient. After working with the diocesefor three months as a contract tradeembalmer, Torres was offered a full-time position as manager for HolyCross Catholic Cemetery and FuneralHome. Six months later, she was pro-moted to general manager.Torres knew that when she accept-

ed the full-time position that thingswould have to change.

“I basically put my business onhold,” she said, adding that the man-agement experience she knew shewould receive was critical. “It is im-portant to me that I learn and grow.The job has offered me new perspec-tives and experiences, allowing me tobetter understand funeral home own-ers and the challenges they face.”Torres also went back to school in

2017, receiving advanced training in

Monica Torres doodled a number of ideas for her new company’s name beforedeciding on NXT Generation. (Photo courtesy of Monica Torres)


postmortem reconstructive demi-surgery at the Fountain NationalAcademy of Professional EmbalmingSkills in Springfield, Missouri.

“I’ve been very lucky to have themost amazingly talented mentorsthat are truly ambassadors in ourfield, most notably Rachel Brown inPhoenix, and Vernie Fountain,” Torres said. “Both have supportedme, encouraged me to be creativeand push the envelope when it comesto reconstruction and embalming.”

On the Move AgainEarlier this year, Torres decided to

return full time to NXT Generation.“The time was right,” she said.

“Funeral service is changing, and Iwant to be part of the solution.”

“NXT Gen is here to offer supportservices for our industry, whether itis continued education and trainingopportunities or filling the gaps forstaff solutions and program develop-ment,” Torres said. “NXT Gen is anew type of trade specialty withinour industry. Trade service isn’t justembalming and shipping anymore.”

Torres is passionate about her cho-sen profession, and believes funeralservice needs to face its future eyeswide open.

And that includes cremation.In this cremation-centric world,

Torres pointed out, less attention isbeing paid to embalming.

“But it goes beyond just the em-balming,” she added. “The body it-self has been forgotten about andkeepsakes, receptions and merchan-dise has become the focus,” she said.

“The worst part is that the consumeris not to blame. We have done this toourselves by not offering services thatare relevant and that revolve aroundthe dead human body.”

Torres is quick to add that she be-lieves that a family viewing –whether there has been an embalm-ing or not – is critical.

“After attending the FountainAcademy, I was able to fully graspthe importance of viewing and howthat powerful experience helps us tofind peace within our hearts,” shesaid. “I personally feel it is the singlemost important service we offer tofamilies. Without the dead humanbody, our industry would not exist.If there’s anything I can drive home... it is this fact.”

That’s why, Torres said, all ofNXT Generation’s accredited coursesrevolve around the future of embalm-ing and a more progressive approachto preparing bodies for viewing.

“I saw a need for technical trainingand created the courses to help oth-ers who wanted to challenge them-selves in the prep room,” she said. “Iwanted to bring the art of desairolo-gy out into the open within our in-dustry and make courses availablefor others in our field.”

It’s what physically reminds familiesand friends of who we were in life,”she explained. “Many women definethemselves by the way they wear theirhair and makeup, or if they choose,not to wear makeup at all. For men,it is equally important. The way theywear their facial hair or whether ornot they manicure their hands or

what side they part their hair on.These are the things that we mustrecreate to provide a resemblance thefamily loves and remembers.”

More than ever, with the transgen-dered population coming into thelight, “it is important as embalmersthat we understand the impact theart of desairology has on our indus-try and how people identify them-selves,” Torres said. “Desairology isthe key to recapturing life’s beauty inthe face of death. It is not somethingthat can be overlooked ... or rushed.”

While Torres believes the majorityof funeral professionals understandthe importance of families seeingtheir loved one a last time, creating apathway for family understandingcan be challenging.

“We need to start getting comfort-able with being uncomfortable andtalking to families about embalmingand final viewing options,” Torressaid.

Options, she added, like the familyassisted dress experience, a servicethat NXT Generation offers funeralhomes, as well as a course Torresteaches.

“I saw how families reacted to pri-vate ID views. I felt that our generalstandard of care for unembalmedbodies was substandard,” Torressaid. “I put myself in the families’place and immediately felt there wasan opportunity to provide an alterna-tive service that would not only re-cover revenue that was being lostthrough direct cremation, but I saw agolden opportunity to help guidefamilies through a more meaningful


Monica Torres in action (from left) conducting a desairology webinar, mixing embalming fluid, helping family membersdress a loved one during a family-assisted dress. (Photos courtesy of Monica Torres)


This article originally appeared in the July 2018issue of American Funeral Director, published by

experience. For many families thatprivate 15-minute identification is the funeral.”

Making Her Mark While Torres recognizes that funeral

service has been slowly changing, shebelieves the time has come for the nextgeneration of funeral service profes-sionals to make their mark in time andevolve with the industry.

Asked what three things funeral directors should start doing right now,and Torres is quick to respond.

“Standing up for fair pay, gettingprepared for issues revolving aroundthe opioid crisis and issues related totransgendered persons, and becomingcomfortable with being uncomfortableand talking to families about embalm-ing and final viewing options,” shesaid. “That should be the startingpoint.”

Changes should also be introducedin mortuary schools’ curriculums tobetter reflect topics that are relevant tobusiness today, Torres said.

Classes that she believes need to beconsidered include safety and bestpractices for lifting and manipulatinghuman remains; managing stress andmaintaining mental health for funeraldirectors and embalmers addressingsexual harassment; updating legalclasses to reflect current issues such asgay marriages, transgendered personsand cremation law; desairology cours-es; and reconstruction courses withmodern programs for donation andhard cases.

“Change can be hard, and it can beuncomfortable, but change is impor-tant – and necessary,” Torres said.

“I want our industry to evolve andcontinue to be respected,” she said. “Iwant to look back years from now andfeel like I was a part of shaping some-thing wonderful in American funeralservice history. Someone has to bebrave and take risks if we are going tohelp shape the future of funeral service;it is, after all, within our own power asfuneral directors and embalmers. Thefuture is what we make of it.”

Looking ForwardHer road may have been long

and winding, but Torres would nothave wanted it any other way.

“Working in death care changesa person in many ways; i t hastaught me how important living inthe moment really is,” Torres said.“I’ve worked very hard to get tothis point in my career. I feel goodabout where I am at in my personaland professional life. I feel like I’mat a point where I am finally ableto make an impact.”

Of course, Torres added, thereare also hopes and dreams she’dlove to fulfill, including creating anopportunity that would allow herto travel to funeral homes acrossthe U.S. to offer support services.

Short term, though, Torres willcontinue to work meeting familiesand keeping an active role in theprep room and focus on new tech-nical courses.

“Some of the courses I am work-ing on now are preparation of un-embalmed remains and raising theindustry standard,” Torres said.“I’m also working on a controver-sial new course based in the artand science of embalming and re-construction.”

The new course will include pro-gressive embalming techniques forthe modern consumer that includespostmortem breast augmentation,tummy tucks for posted cases, andcosmetic facial rejuvenation.

Long term, Torres said, she’sworking on finding a path towardhaving the opportunity to serve atthe port mortuary at Dover AirForce Base, Delaware.

“My mother has always been aninfluential presence in my life,” Torres said. “She’s always been astrong advocate in getting an edu-cation because no one can take thatpiece of paper away from you.That’s been driven home through-out my life and reminds me thatthe sky’s the limit. If you wantsomething, you just need to find away to go out and get it.”

And that, Torres said, is exactlywhat she plans to do. •

Monica Torres was awardedthe Fountain National Academyof Professional EmbalmingSkills Distinguished Profes-sional Service Medallion for hercontributions to funeralservice. (Photo courtesy ofMonica Torres)


by patti martin bartsche next generation...after graduating from high school, torres enrolled in...

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