What Being a Mortician to Homicide Victims Taught Me About Grief
Shamari Jackson, a St. Louis native, began studying mortuary science after her boyfriend was fatally shot.
She now works as a mortician at Baucom’s Life Celebration and Cremation Services, a Black-owned funeral home in St. Louis County, using her work as a form of therapy.
Her experience has included caring for the bodies of friends, classmates, and strangers, including three young men from The Marshall Project’s “Remember Me” series: Mario Fox, Tyrin Williams, and Courtney Williams.
“Remember Me” is an ongoing memorial to the over 1,000 unsolved homicides in St. Louis over the last decade.
This effort aims to remember the victims as they were in life and meet families in their grief, as featured on Louis Public Radio.
Author’s summary: Mortician Shamari Jackson shares her story of grief and therapy.