Gerard Sison has a job like no other. It’s a hosting job that requires him to stand in front of an audience, introduce the different speakers, and make sure that the program goes smoothly. But he is not your average host. He is a funeral celebrant; the only certified one in the country by the Worsham College of Mortuary Science in the United States. Where death seems to cast a sad pall on just about everyone, Gerard reaffirms life – the traces of one’s life in the hearts and minds of those left behind.
An alumnus of the Ateneo with a Bachelor of Science degree in Management, Sison is an articulate and eloquent speaker. All throughout the interview, he was candid and very relaxed; gently gesturing as he speaks about the highs and lows of working in the “dying” business. His background in theatre enables him to work comfortably with audiences. He started singing at weddings as a sideline until finally realizing that he does better as a funeral singer.
“Not everyone can sing in funerals. You cannot sing boisterously. You have to touch their soul.” says Sison before he burst into a sample of his singing. True enough his cool and harmonic voice puts his audience into a serene state—where for a moment or so, calmness prevails. Eventually he ventured into hosting or becoming a funeral celebrant, with the encouragement of Raffy Jose, the owner of Arlington Memorial.
He went for special training in the US where he attended ten fake funerals, one after the other. Participants were assigned to stage a mock program under realistic conditions that by the time the last fake funeral was performed, all of the participants were trying to hold back their tears. “I realized that a funeral was very intense, very personal. Experiencing the ten fake funerals yourself is something that you can’t quantify with just words or pictures. You have to be present to be in the moment.”
As a funeral celebrant, Sison is in charge of the whole program. “I get the final say when the casket should be closed or when the ceremony will end. I speak on behalf of the family because at that moment I become a member of their family.” He also does eulogies for the departed but unlike the usual extemporaneous remarks that one hears on such occasions, Sison takes special effort to make his different.
“I make it personal for the bereaved. People often neglect to put their thoughts in writing. Normally, a member of the family just goes in front to deliver a eulogy and it’s usually from that person’s point of view. Ours on the other hand, is well researched and well rounded,” he said. His presence is also a big help for some families who are not expressive and who don’t know how to express their grief. He stressed that, “Our emphasis (at Arlington) is to make the funeral and the wake all about the deceased.”
To date Sison has celebrated thousands of wakes and funerals. Each on their own is a totally different experience. There are some funny ones, some sad ones, and some hysterical ones. “There are some families who are ready to say goodbye because their loved one has been sick for quite sometime. However there are also families who still get shocked over the death of their ninety year old Grandfather. What I hate the most is when people want to stop the family members from getting hysterical. It is raw emotion and who am I to deprive that person the right to express his/her grief?” he mentioned. “I help bring out the emotion. That’s the point of the whole thing, if you have anguish or sorrow, the funeral is the time to let it all out rather than afterward,” he said.
One thing that strikes one when talking to Sison was how expressive his voice is and that it conveys a message of compassion to others; not just to those bereaved, not just to the hurting, but to all his listeners in general, me included. He had a way of making one feel that he is there for them, as they brave the uncertainties that lie ahead. He has become popular in his field, having hosted some of the high-profile funerals of the country such as that of Pete Roa, Dona Mary Ejercito, and the most recent being Trina Etong, the deceased wife of broadcaster Ted Failon. “Pete’s memorial was an interesting one because the mood was light and festive; people were singing songs for him instead of crying over his passing,” he added.
When asked about the most fulfilling part of his job, Sison simply said “Without meaning to, I stumbled in a job that offers generous help to people. That helps bring a soul closer to God, if not to Heaven itself. You really feel it, that a soul is at peace. And knowing that I was a part of it is just the best feeling of all.”
Pain and loss is universal to everyone but the likes of Sison is there to remind us all that we should dwell on how a person had lived and not his passing-- that we should celebrate life even in death.
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