“Our funeral home operation is the one that has successfully succeeded all the generations since the civil war.” Says Jeffrey O’Keefe, current CEO of Bradford-O’Keefe and son to Jeremiah. “It is the one with that history of continuation through the family, and so that means a lot to me personally to be able to carry the business into the future.”
Mr. O’Keefe is proud to continue his family’s legacy, but prefers to do so with an honest integrity. While he certainly seems to enjoy and endorse the movie, he offers the simple suggestion that viewers look into the differences between the movie and the true-to-life story that really happened. Bradford-Okeefe offers a way to dive into this rich history with a convenient website, www.theburial.org.
“This event was twenty-seven years ago, so there’s a lot of people in the funeral industry now that don’t even know anything about all that.” Says O’Keefe. “For example, I’m a member of an independent funeral home association… I asked the executive director ‘Were you familiar with the Lowen case?’ And he said “Mr. O’keefe I was only fifteen years old at the time.’”
Mr. O’Keefe himself remembers the trial well, commenting that he spent his 39th birthday on the witness stand. Initially there was some concern over whether or not the movie might reopen some old wounds, some of the parties involved still being very much alive to watch it. Luckily, O’Keefe has met with little if any of such confrontation. Instead, he’s pleased to see that people simply love the film.
