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closeIf you have in your head the image of a funeral director as a somber old man dressed in black who never cracks a smile, then you have never encountered Bruce Goddard.
Goddard, a fourth-generation funeral director originally from Reynolds, now lives in Warner Robins and travels all over the United States speaking to groups about his experiences.
His speaking engagements started about 14 years ago when he was asked to address the Taylor County Ministerial Association’s Christmas banquet.
Goddard said he puzzled over what to say at the holidays to a group of preachers and then decided he would talk about some of the funny things that had happened to him as a funeral director over the years.
From that first night, the audience was hooked. Goddard ties in his faith to his speaking and calls it “View from a Hearse,” which is also the title of a book he released in 2005.
“I like to get people to laugh and to think about life, their priorities and what is really important,” he said.
Attendance at a funeral is one example. “No matter how good you are, how much you did for others and how much money you gave away, how many people come to your funeral will be dependent on the weather,” he observes.
Goddard contends laughter is really like medicine — which is one of the reasons he continued his speaking engagements immediately after 9/11.
“I couldn’t decide what to do, if I should speak, if I should be funny,” he recalled. “And then it hit me.”
What hit Goddard was Proverbs 17:22: “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.”
While amusing his audience, Goddard tries to relay the life lessons that he says God has placed in his path.
“Growing up in a small town, where everybody’s family knows you, you will find that you really can learn something from everybody. I really appreciated those lessons as I got older,” he said.
The lessons Goddard learned in Reynolds are applicable to everybody, he says.
“People are going to have troubles. Whether you are educated or not, whether you live in a small town or a big city,” he said. “Trouble is part of life. The important thing is how you deal with it.”
Goddard and his “view from a hearse” will be presented by the First United Methodist Church, located at 205 N. Davis Drive, on May 5. Tickets are $12.50 and include dinner, which will be served at 6 p.m. For tickets or more information, call 923-3737.
To learn more about Bruce Goddard or to read his daily blog, visit www.brucegoddard.com
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