HAVE YOU MET THE CASKET LADIES OF HOUSTON?

Esser Casket Company

I'm usually intrigued by the things I simply don't understand or can't imagine doing as a profession.  One is working with the remains of people who have passed on.  Even typing about it gives me the Willies.  But I found a group of dedicated women in Houston who are not afraid.  Death is as much a part of their lives as eating dinner for you or I. Those ladies have put in decades of work preparing our dearly departed for their final resting place.

Carol Shotwell, Debra Sept, and Delores Fuentes are all employees at Esser Casket Company in north Houston. The business is quietly hidden away from the hustle and bustle of the big city on Airline Drive in a small warehouse district. It's where each of the ladies performs a very specific job that makes the funeral related business work like a well oiled machine.

Delores Fuentes

For exactly 38 years Delores Fuentes has been on the sewing machine.  Her work is the intricate stitches and patterns that line the interior of various coffins.  A well done job by the seamstress could make some families smile in a trying time.

The long time employee of the regional operation says she loves what she does.  As I walked by Fuentes she didn't seem to notice me until I said my name and she recognized my voice.  Fuentes said, "I know you from channel 26."  But what she didn't realize was - I was more excited to see her.

It's extremely rare to meet someone who does exactly what Fuentes does on a daily basis for the last four decades.  She creates the sheering and binding for the coffins.

Fuentes' work area is flowing with bright colored cloths and threads to match.  The busy rumbling of her sewing machine rarely stops except when she pushes the brake to utter a few words.  She says, "they may be going to the Lord, but they can rest in peace real pretty."

Debra Sept

Just a few rooms over from Fuentes is Debra Sept's work area.  She likely has the job that would be considered high tech in an industry that's thousands of years old.  Sept is what you would consider an embroiderer in the casket making business.

When I ran into her she was designing a U.S. Marine seal for the interior of a casket.  Sept, who was very quiet and only gave me a brief glance, was busy on the computer.  With the stroke of a few buttons she created a design for her next project.  That prompted the high speed and automated embroidering machine to kick in gear.  Sept quietly watches every stitch while the device magically creates her designs.

Cathy Shotwell

The woman who spent nearly a hour showing me around Esser is Cathy Shotwell.  She would be the boss lady.  Her job is to showcase and sell those caskets to funeral homes around Houston.

Shotwell appears to be truly dedicated to her profession.  She says, "it takes a very special person to do this, those who can't leave."  Leaving is something the veteran of the business has never done.  She's been pushing caskets for the last 20 years.  It makes it easier on her because her husband is in the same business.  Mr. Shotwell is a traveling casket salesman.

Cathy says the only thing that saddens her at Esser is that they no longer manufacture the entire casket at the Houston store.  That stopped back in 2007.  But customization is king at the warehouse.  Shotwell says she's created red, purple, and even green caskets for families.  She doesn't ask questions, she just creates them with the help of long time and valuable staffers like Debra and Delores right there by her side.