My name is Julia and I began my career by mowing grass in a beautiful cemetery in South Salem in 1994. I had an instant connection with the staff in the cemetery office, as well as the owner and his wife. After working a couple seasons, I started filing and answering phones in the cemetery office while still working outside as a seasonal cemetery worker. In 1999, the boss started building a funeral home on the property. I remember being so excited to move up and learn everything! …. and I did. I began doing cremations, working in the mausoleum by selling crypts and niches, and doing all the filing and paperwork associated with that. I also started selling graves outside in the cemetery, and headstones as well. At this point, I was doing a little of everything. Once the funeral home was completed in 2000, I was working full-time year-round as the main receptionist in the office while still doing cremations and mausoleum work on the weekends. Finally, in 2004, I went to mortuary school where I became a licensed funeral director and embalmer. I was so blessed to live upstairs in the funeral home in Portland while attending college. That was such a great experience! Even though I had already been in the business for about 10 years, I was more than excited and determined to be fully licensed! I lived at the funeral home and completed college (all A’s in embalming classes!) in 2006. Then I met the love of my life, my amazing husband Jason. We married on a Sunday in 2007, and on the following Wednesday, I took my International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Board test and my Oregon State Law test and passed them both! Fast forward to today, while I’m pretty much retired from the embalming side of directing, I still want to help families any way I can by either taking care of your loved one personally, or simply helping you decide your best direction for yourself and your family.