Brown spent 13 years working at area funeral homes before taking a job in 2022 as director of music for the Dominican Sisters of Springfield.
“It’s rare to find a full-time job in music; there aren’t very many of those. It was a good fit, because it allowed me to devote more time to my own business,” Brown said, noting that the funeral industry was very demanding and required being frequently on-call.
Brown had already launched his DJ service, Music by Cory Brown, in 2017 to provide music for weddings, private parties and corporate events. After leaving the funeral industry, he realized he could still put those experience and skills to good use.
“As I’ve been away from funeral services, I’ve tried to think of ways I can stay involved – I kept my funeral director’s license,” he said. “I see this as my way that I can still do something without being associated with a funeral home.”
Memorial Tributes by Cory Brown helps families that are utilizing cremation services but still want to hold a memorial service for their loved one.
“Families still use the funeral home or cremation provider of their choice, but I can help them plan the memorial tribute event and save the family thousands of dollars,” Brown said.
While some families may try to hold an event on their own, Brown said that churches don’t always have the staff to take care of a funeral service and it can be difficult without any sort of guidance.
“Funeral services can be confusing for people who haven’t been through it,” he said. “When people go to plan these on their own, a lot of things can come up that they didn’t expect. And sometimes families need some guidance on bringing the memorialization into it – it really helps make that memorial tribute special. This way, families can still get the quality service without the big price tag.”
