Topics / BUSINESS : Funeral Home Fills Need by Catering to Asians

Kneeling in the parking lot of Universal Chung Wah Funeral Home in Alhambra, grieving family members held smoldering sticks of incense and murmured prayers for their mother, who had died in a car accident.

“They’re praying (by the street) for the god to help their mother have peace in another world,” said Henry Kwong, the funeral home’s manager.

In the Buddhist pantheon, he explained, there are gods for the street, for the home, for every facet of life. And those gods must be honored properly, even in death.

Not every funeral home director would know of the custom. Fewer still would provide incense, have a Buddhist altar on hand, or rent viewing rooms for weeks while family members decide on a lucky day for the funeral. Although other mortuaries have begun to incorporate some of these traditions in Asian funerals, Kwong said his is the first in the San Gabriel Valley to cater exclusively to Asians. After operating another funeral home in Chinatown for 11 years, Kwong opened Universal Chung Wah in Alhambra in August, responding to what he says is a growing demand.

“We just expanded because the San Gabriel Valley has such an overwhelming Asian population,” he said.

The Chinatown site averages one funeral a day, Kwong said, and Universal Chung Wah is expected to exceed that, drawing customers from surrounding cities.

The family mourning their mother traveled from Cerritos to find a mortuary they were sure would follow tradition. A monk chanted as they prayed. An altar was loaded with vegetarian food, candy and fruit, as well as other items the mother would need in the afterlife, right down to denture cleaner and cold cream. Paper bank notes that read “hell money” were on hand--mourners burn them to help loved ones pay their way through the afterlife.

It’s crucial, Kwong said, to know the difference between a Buddhist service like this one and Christian, Taoist or Confucian rites. But there are also variations among mainland China, Taiwan, Vietnam or Cambodia, and even among provinces within a country.

“It’s not easy for anyone to open a funeral home,” Kwong said. “Especially an Asian funeral home.”