For more than 40 years, Jack Hogan, the facility manager of Fogarty Funeral Home, has been working in the funeral services field and was recently named the president of the National Funeral Directors Association.
While he was growing up, Hogan's father was a funeral director, also having worked at Fogarty, which is located in Flushing, before eventually buying the business in 1946. Hogan, who lives in Flushing with wife Mary, went on to following in his father's footsteps and became licensed by New York State in 1963.
“It was something I always wanted to be,” Hogan said.
Throughout Hogan's college years, he worked at Fogarty's as a receptionist and also performed his funeral director residency there. As the facility manager, Hogan's duties include making sure they are in compliance with legal regulations, maintaining quality service and dealing with families.
Hogan said that Fogarty Funeral Home's motto is “to always attempt to exceed expectations.” An important aspect of their work is to add personal touches to make the experience memorable for a person's surviving family and friends.
“The real reward for funeral directors is that you can significantly make a difference in people's lives because you're dealing with them at probably one of the worst times in [their] lives,” Hogan said.
Almost as soon as Hogan became licensed, he became a member of the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), which represents 11,000 funeral homes throughout the country. Previously, he has served as its secretary and treasurer, among other positions. During a convention and expo held from October 15 to 18 in Philadelphia, Hogan was installed as NFDA's president.
“It's a great honor and a great responsibility,” he said.
In his new position, Hogan will oversee board meetings and will travel around the country getting feedback from funeral directors on how to improve areas such as professionalism, among other duties. Hogan said that his main goals are to increase membership as well as diversify it more.
Along with his work with NFDA, Hogan takes part in many other organizations related to his field and ones that assist the community. In the past, he served as president of the Metropolitan Funeral Directors Association and the New York State Funeral Directors Association, and remains active with both. He also is president of the Flushing Chamber of Commerce and the Flushing Lions Club.
“I feel that if you're a profession or business in a community you really should give back and try to make that community as good as it can be,” said Hogan, a father of five and grandfather of eight.
Besides continuing his current work, Hogan said that, in the future, he hopes to become more involved with volunteer services.
