Demystifying Death

UAHT professor and funeral director Brad Sheppard creates viral videos on his TikTok account, @FunFuneralFacts
By Baylor McLelland

Death is something everyone has to deal with and no one wants to think about. Brad Sheppard, a local licensed funeral director, embalmer, and college professor, has made it his mission to make the death less mysterious, in part by providing insight through viral social media. 

First working as a mortician in Northwest Arkansas after college, Brad joined the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana nine years ago as a professor and the funeral service program director, teaching the next generation of morticians, whom he finds have “much shorter attention spans,” he said. In light of this, he started uploading content to TikTok, a platform his students were already familiar with, under the handle @FunFuneralFacts.

“It was a way to teach one thing in a short amount of time,” he explained. “Why not put something out [where students are already accessing content]?” Now, two years and nearly 200,000 followers later, Brad’s account has reached millions worldwide, teaching viewers about the post-death process and answering follower questions.

“Who would’ve thought that the general public would like it, too?” he laughed.

In his time online, Brad has answered hundreds of questions, often getting inspiration for videos in the process. 

“People ask the strangest things, and funeral directors have heard it all,” he said. Through his answers, he gets to shine a light on the processes behind getting the body ready for services, such as embalming, which combines chemistry, microbiology, and sanitation. 

While Brad brings levity and fun to his profession, the job isn’t without its hardship.

“You become familiar with death, but at the same time, it’s never easy,” he said. “When a young person passes, you have a job to do, but you’re still human, and things like that still affect you.”

During his time as a mortician, Brad took care of the post-death experience for the bodies, but he also aimed to take care of the families, connecting families with grief counselors and checking up on them himself.

 In his online videos, Brad finds a necessary balance, making death “not so uncomfortable” but never making fun of the deceased or their loved ones. 

Brad said that his career has given him a specific outlook on how he lives his own life and how he helps others.

“Funerals are celebrations—you’re there to celebrate someone’s life,” he said. “Of course it’s sad, but that’s part of it. I always say that funerals aren’t for the deceased; they’re for the living.”

Helping the living is Brad’s true passion—not just through formal death care but also through education, both in the classroom and on TikTok.

“You may be scared of death, but education is one of the best ways to process that,” he said. “I hope it brings people comfort.”