Boston Globe Magazine 8 - 5 - 07: Marsha Wise, MA
Lyn Prendergast and Louis Misantone run the FINE Mortuary College off Route 1 in Norwood. The college has opened its one-room funeral museum to the public. (LISA BUL/The Patriot Ledger)

MARSHA WISE "PRE BABY BOOMER" | | | ROXBURY

* OLD JOB Director of community programs for a battered women's shelter in Rhode Island

* NEW JOB Instructor at FINE Mortuary College in Norwood

* WHY THE CHANGE? A good experience working with Roxbury funeral director Rebecca Ridley after the death of her father got Wise's mind churning. "I had never met a female funeral director before," she says. "I was impressed by her professionalism." As they became friendly, Wise realized that her advocacy work for victims of domestic abuse was similar to Ridley's work. "You accompany a person on an intimate journey at a difficult time, guiding them," she says. Wise also thought she had the right mix of traits: "I can keep a level head at a tough time, talk slowly and reassuringly, and I'm respectful of people in crisis." Although Wise felt challenged and fulfilled in her last job, the constant heartbreak wore her down, and at times there was imminent danger. So Wise planned to become a funeral director - but before she graduated from mortuary school, the college offered her a job.

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