2024 RIFDA Officers

(Left to Right) Allan R. Bellows, II, Immediate Past President,
Nicole E. Heywood, President-Elect, Maria A. King, President,
Anthony J. Nardolillo, Vice President and John P. Gallogly, Treasurer.

2024 RIFDA Board of Governors

Front Row (left to right) Matthew J. Burns, Amanda L. Johnson,
Seyward L. Guthrie, Kenneth A.R. Hughes
Back Row (left to right) Joshua J. Cabral, Gail M. O’Loughlin, Brian D. Bernardo and Adam G. Smith

2024 RIFDA Officers and Board of Governors

Front row (left to right) Board Members: Matthew J. Burns, Amanda L. Johnson,
Seyward L. Guthrie, Kenneth A.R. Hughes, Adam G. Smith
Back row (left to right) Board Member Joshua J. Cabral, Allan R. Bellows, Immediate Past President, Nicole E. Heywood, President-Elect, Board Member Gail M. O’Loughlin, Maria A. King, President,
Board Member Brian D. Bernardo, Anthony J. Nardolillo, Vice President and John P. Gallogly, Treasurer

Who are our members?

Membership in RIFDA is available to any Funeral Director or Embalmer. Currently we represent over 100 funeral professionals in the State of Rhode Island.

The Rhode Island Funeral Directors Association was founded in 1932. The main office is located in East Greenwich. Post Office Box 1223 East Greenwich, Rhode Island 02818.

What do our members receive?

  • Communications: Including a newsletter six times a year, industry information and compliance materials, and a fax broadcasting system to alert members of issues needing immediate action.
  • Education: Rhode Island is continuing education state. Annual OSHA training is provided to our members as well as seminar opportunities that provide continuing education credits for any member that needs them for credit in the State of Rhode Island or other states as well as for those with certification of Certified Funeral Service Professionals.
  • Government Affairs Program: Involves active lobbying and grassroots networking with members at the local level and liaison activities with the regulatory agencies.
  • Preplanning: Preplanning with Preferred Funeral Trust, Inc. is an option for all our members and is a leader in pre-need trust fund management with 100% compliance with all state laws and regulations offering complete security for both consumers and funeral directors.
  • Website Presence: We provide a listing on the association’s website in a consumer searchable database.

For membership information, contact RIFDA at (401) 885-3760 or e-mail rifda1@aol.com

Careers

Academic Requirements

In general, an individual must complete a course of collegiate-level study in funeral service:

  1. consisting of at least 60 semester credits or 90 quarter credits and
  2. in an institution(s) approved by the RI Department of Health or approved by a recognized accrediting agency.

The course of study shall consist of the following curriculum:

Area of study

Hours

Examples of courses (illustrative only)

Mortuary Arts & Sciences

22 semester credits

Embalming, Restorative Art, & related Academic Disciplines or 33 quarter credits Anatomy, Chemistry,
Microbiology, Pathology, Personal & Public Health Biology Practicum

Funeral Service Education

22 Semester credits

Funeral Service Orientation, & Related Academic Disciplines or 33 Quarter credits Funeral Counseling, Funeral
Directing, Funeral Home Management, Funeral Merchandising, Funeral Home Accounting, Business and Mortuary Law, Practicum

Electives (institutional requirements)

16 semester credits or 24 quarter credits