|
Meet Your Board Member
Q&A with ICFA Board Member John Llewellyn, CCE
President and CEO
Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries
Glendale, California
Forest Lawn President John Llewellyn, CCE, welcomes His Holiness the Dalai Lama, right, and Lama Gyatso to the cemetery in June. The Dalai Lama was there to bless a three-dimensional mandala, a Tibetan sculpture intended to promote nonviolence.
What is the scope of your position with Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks?
I've been president and CEO since my father stepped down in 1988.
Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries operates five cemetery/mortuary combinations in Southern California. In total, we have about 1,250 acres of dedicated cemetery land. Our first location, located in Glendale, started in 1906.
Thousands of people come to Forest Lawn each year to view our outstanding art collection and attend free community programs. We are proud of our extensive collection of original statuary, paintings, stained glass and mosaics.
How long have you been involved with cemeteries?
In a sense, I suppose you could say I'm genetically a cemeterian. My great-uncle, Dr. Hubert Eaton, came to Forest Lawn in 1912 to institute a "system" of selling cemetery property to people when a death hadn't occurred. In addition to being a pioneer in preneed, Eaton conceptualized the memorial park plan for cemeteries and in 1933 opened the first mortuary on dedicated cemetery land.
My father, a past president of the ICFA, went to work for Forest Lawn in 1938 and remained close to the organization until he passed away last year.
Linda, my wife, also comes from a cemetery family. Her father, Bob Garrison, and grandfather, Stacy Leech, are past presidents of the ICFA.
Why did you choose to work in the cemetery and funeral service industries?
When I went to college, I thought I wanted to go to law school. However, I became interested in business management and had my first management job with Pacific Telephone. After working for Allstate Insurance Company while I was getting my MBA, I finally gave in to family pressure to join Forest Lawn in 1972. I've been here ever since and haven't looked back.
Why do so many people visit Forest Lawn?
At Forest Lawn, we truly are committed to being a place for the living. Let me give you a few examples.
Each year we have tens of thousands of school kids attend our free Living History presentations. At these events, actors portray notable figures such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Abraham Lincoln and Montezuma. They talk about the times they lived in and give the students a chance to ask questions. It makes history come alive and is a wonderful learning experience.
This year the J. Paul Getty Museum borrowed a pair of our stained glass windows to use as the focal point of an exhibit of stained glass from around the world. The Getty Museum staff described the windows, made in the 13th century, as "the finest examples of German Renaissance stained glass ... in North America." After exhibition at the Getty Museum, the exhibit moved to the St. Louis Art Museum, where it was on display until January.
A Shi-Tro Mandala was constructed at Forest Lawn-Glendale last year. This is a traditional form of Tibetan sculpture intended to promote the path of nonviolence. His Holiness the Dalai Lama came to Forest Lawn in June to bless this work as one of few three-dimensional mandalas in the world and the first built in America. I was honored to be able to welcome His Holiness to Forest Lawn and show him the highlights of the Forest Lawn Museum.
What would you tell someone considering a career in the cemetery or funeral service industry?
One of the wonderful things about running a cemetery is the wide variety of challenges and experiences one encounters. On the funeral service side, there is a genuine feeling of being able to help people at a very tough time in their lives.
There are all the same financial challenges that an "ordinary" business faces, as well as the even greater challenge of always keeping a long-term perspective on the impact of decisions. I was involved with real estate development for a number of years, so I appreciate the difference between a developer building something, selling it and going away and a cemetery building interment property, selling it and taking care of it forever.
Most of all, I appreciate working with the type of people who are attracted to the industry. Forest Lawn and the ICFA attract people who have a very caring side, are committed to service and have a better perspective on life.
What led you to write the book "A Cemetery Should Be Forever"?
ICFA Past President Andy Conroy was the inspiration for that project. A number of years ago, Andy and I were talking about the value of having diversity in the membership of our boards of directors. That led to a discussion about the challenge of educating new members of boards of directors about how cemeteries operate. When I commented that it was too bad there wasn't a book on cemetery management, Andy told me that I should write it. I took up the challenge. After several years of work on the project, the book was published last year.
Who did you expect to read the book?
The subtitle of "A Cemetery Should Be Forever" is "The challenge to managers and directors," so I guess that signals who I was thinking about when I wrote it.
I didn't think it would be of much interest to experienced cemetery managers, but I did hope it might be a tool for them to use to explain the long-term challenges they face.
Actually, the book's readers include cemetery and funeral home managers, regulators, legislators and consumers. It's even been used in several college courses. Some European industry publications gave it positive reviews despite the book being, as one review said, "an American view of cemeteries."
It has been especially gratifying to have a number of ICFA past presidents tell me they thought the book was right on target in terms of explaining the challenges of running a cemetery and the importance of thinking about the future. In part, it is a book about the importance of endowment care funds.
Why have you served on the ICFA board?
I'm currently on the ICFA board as one of three appointments made by the past presidents. For most of my cemetery career, I've been involved with the ICFA. It's been a personal priority to devote time to the association because I place a high value on it as a focal point for representing our industries' position in Washington, D.C., serving as a resource for state associations and fielding questions from around the country.
Having a strong association is important to all cemeteries and the people who run them. It has been gratifying to watch the ICFA evolve over time and adapt to changes in the cemetery and funeral industries. We're fortunate to have a great staff at the ICFA as well as current leadership that is committed to the success of the organization.
What is the biggest challenge facing the industry, and how can the ICFA address it?
Any problem with a funeral home or cemetery always has made headlines. The ICFA needs to continue to be the leading advocate of sound, ethical, consumer- oriented business practices. We have a great story to tell as an industry about what we do and how we do it. The ICFA plays an important role in presenting the positive aspects of the industries to regulators, legislators and the press.
From time to time, I'm shocked by the abuse of some cemeteries. When I read about poor or illegal practices, I'm recommitted to being a voice for sound, responsible and ethical management of cemeteries. The ICFA has a long history of actively promoting ethical practices. Promoting high ethical standards is right at the top of the ICFA Mission Statement.
I believe that those of us entrusted with the care of cemeteries have a fiduciary responsibility for the future of those properties. We need to be committed to doing everything we can to ensure that our cemeteries will be well maintained long into the future -- a cemetery should be forever.
What other industry organizations are you involved in?
I'm on the board of directors of the Interment Association of California, the California Mortuary Alliance and the Western Cemetery Alliance.
What are your outside interests?
I keep busy with a number of community organizations. I think I've served as a director or chairman of some two dozen organizations, both for-profit and not-for-profit.
Outside of those activities, Linda and I try to spend time skiing every year as well as get in a trip to Hawaii. We're currently in the middle of a construction project at our home that is taking a lot of our time.
How would you summarize your thoughts about cemeteries?
Cemeteries are not just a place to reflect on the past. They remind us to keep the present in perspective. As we seek meaning in our lives, cemeteries are an appropriate place for contemplation. They can reinforce religious beliefs, stimulate a sense of the spiritual or be a place to discover new visions of the meaning of life. To be all these things, a cemetery should be forever.
back to top
Copyright ICFA 2001
|
