Dearly devoted

In 1998, Katie O’Leary prepared to leave behind college life for what most would consider a less lively destination – the funeral business.

After graduating from Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., with a degree in mortuary science, O’Leary knew her next stop would be her family’s funeral home in Springfield, Delaware County. She completed a one-year apprenticeship alongside professionals who prided themselves on arranging appropriate sendoffs for the deceased.

Three months into her apprenticeship at O’Leary’s Funeral Home, the job became personal. While visiting acquaintances in Florida, O’Leary’s friend, Mike, was killed in a car accident. He was 23.

His family held the funeral at the O’Learys’ parlor, stirring many emotions for the then-apprentice.

"It was sort of a sad way to start out in the funeral business," says O’Leary, of Sixth and Catharine streets.

That experience, combined with the death of her college roommate at Saint Joseph’s University in 1997, was "God’s way" of testing her commitment to the field, she believes.

O’Leary persevered and became a funeral director, all while helping others cope with grief as she did when her friends died.

After working for her family’s funeral parlor for seven years, O’Leary branched out on her own in the male-dominated industry.

This month, she purchased Leonetti Funeral Home Inc., 2223 S. Broad St., and is in the process of making minor renovations to the building, which soon will bear the name Leonetti-O’Leary Funeral Home.

Though she is receiving some help from her family, who assist her during funeral services, O’Leary is mostly independent in her new venture.

"My father opened his place when he was 30," says O’Leary, who is the same age. "I just want to follow in his footsteps."

COMING FROM A long line of funeral-parlor owners, it seemed inevitable O’Leary would follow suit. Her great-uncle, Thomas, opened his business, Reagan-O’Leary Funeral Home, in Southwest Philly. Her father, Joseph, and uncle, Billy, started O’Leary’s Funeral Home in 1977.

Growing up, O’Leary, the second oldest of six siblings, was seldom fazed by the frequent presence of a corpse in the house.

"My mom always told me that I would take a nap on the kneelers while she was doing the hair and makeup" on a cadaver, says O’Leary, who spoke from her cell phone while driving in a hearse.

Her father even offered some sound advice, although he never shared the details of his job. "He would say you should be more afraid of the living than the dead. The dead will never hurt you," O’Leary recalled.

During her teens, O’Leary toyed with the notion of becoming a nurse, but changed her mind while watching her mom beautifying bodies for burial.

"Being a nurse, I would be scared if I couldn’t save them, but here, I can really take care of them," she explains.

Though death is her business, O’Leary says some passages are tougher than others.

"It’s the tragedies, the children. They’re the ones that get you upset," she says.

After graduating from Saint Joe’s with a degree in business management, O’Leary enrolled at Lynn to take courses specific to her field.

She took a particular liking to a class titled restorative art in which she re-formed faces made from wax. The exercise was to restore the appearance of a person who died in an accident.

O’Leary admits she did not enjoy science-related courses, including microbiology and anatomy.

She became a funeral director at her family’s parlor after completing an apprenticeship there in 1999.

IN SPRINGFIELD, O’LEARY offered free funeral services to families burying a child and she plans to continue this policy at her South Philly location.

The O’Leary Funeral Home, which averages more than 10 services a week, conducted ceremonies for such pillars of the community as Cardinal John Krol, the former Archbishop of Philadelphia, says O’Leary. Krol died in 1996.

O’Leary ap-proached Joe Leonetti in January about purchasing his building. After a few discussions, he agreed to her proposal, she said. Leonetti, who began his business in 1942, still works at the funeral parlor, aiding O’Leary in her daily operations.

While O’Leary acknowledges males dominate her line of work due to "tradition," more women are gradually entering the field, she said.

"It adds a nice touch. Sometimes a woman would like to talk to another woman," she says. "They feel more comfortable telling me how they want their mother dressed or their makeup done."

O’Leary also offers suggestions on how to arrange the flowers at a funeral, but still uses her brothers, uncles and male cousins as pallbearers.

Her unpredictable experiences are reminiscent of HBO’s Six Feet Under, which follows a family that runs a funeral home. O’Leary does not watch the hit drama, but acknowledges the dramatic nature of the business.

"You never know what you’re going to walk into," she says. "All day, what you are doing is funeral-detail. You make sure the next job is prepared."

The family business is about to expand again soon. Two of O’Leary’s younger siblings – Colleen, 25, and Tommy, 22, – are taking classes in mortuary science in Manhattan.

O’Leary says she takes prides in her work, particularly in her dealings with mourners.

"It’s an honor to bury someone’s loved one. It’s one of the nicest compliments you can get if they think of you when somebody dies."