Michael
W. Kubasak
Biography
Mike has been in funeral service his entire life. Born and raised in Chicago,
Illinois, where his father and mother owned a funeral home, he moved to Burbank,
California in 1955 where his parents started The Valley Funeral Home. Mike and
his brother became owners in 1972 and grew the business to become a successful
independent funeral home, serving 300 families a year. In 1997, Mike sold his
funeral home to Service Corporation International and served as a vice-president
in the Pacific Region until 2004. Today, Mike is President of Kubasak
Associates, Inc., a management and personal development company.
Mike is a licensed funeral director and embalmer, graduating from the
California College of Mortuary Science and he attended Arizona State University.
He is a member of the National Funeral Directors Association, having served as a
national spokesperson; a member of the International Cemetery, Cremation and
Funeral Association; National Hospice Association; a member of the Board of
Advisors for Cypress College Department of Mortuary Science.
Under Mike’s leadership, his funeral home was awarded the profession’s
highest form of recognition, the Pursuit of Excellence "Eagle" Award from the
National Funeral Directors Association. He is the author of the best-selling
book, Cremation and the Funeral Director – Successfully Meeting the Challenge,
and his newest book, just published in September 2007,
Traversing the Minefield – Best Practice:
Reducing Risk in Funeral-Cremation Service. Mike is a frequent provider
of seminars, workshops and keynote addresses to national and regional audiences;
a consultant to funeral homes, crematories and allied manufacturers and
suppliers, and specializes in helping funeral directors deal with change,
leadership, innovation, marketplace differentiation, liability exposure and risk
management, new product and service development, and creating value for the
consumer. He is known as the "funeral director’s coach."
Mike and his wife of 38 years have two daughters. He enjoys snow skiing,
bicycle racing, adventure travel, reading, and writing.
