Franklin business owner honored by funeral association

A Franklin business owner who spent a career in the business of death will now have his name live on forever.

Frederick Miller was presented with a hall of fame award from the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association this month. The ICCFA is composed of more than 8,900 cemeteries, funeral homes and related businesses.

Miller is president of Franklin-based Memorial Business Systems, a deathcare software company. He was presented the award during the ICCFA 2015 Convention & Exposition in San Antonio, which was held April 8-11.

The hall of fame award has been awarded 34 times since it was created in 1965.

While serving as president of the American Cemetery Association, Miller helped develop a strategic plan and mission statement for the ACA. The new vision led to the creation of the ICCFA.

“Miller served as chairman of the ICCFA Memorialization Committee that helped disseminate the positive ‘Celebration of Life’ approach to funerals and burials, trying to minimize the negative connotation of ‘deathcare,’ ” according to a news release. “The Memorialization Committee morphed into the Personalization Committee that brought together cemeterians and suppliers to promote a new and broader look at personalized products and services to stimulate interest in memorialization.”

After graduating from Penn State University with a bachelor’s degree, Miller earned his Ph.D. from Rice University. Before becoming CEO of Pensacola Memorial Gardens, Miller spent 19 years working for DuPont Co. in the chemical engineering field.

Reach Collin Czarnecki at 615-852-1130 and on Twitter @CollinReports.