By Cyrus Guccione
Mail

Messinger Fountain Hills Mortuary welcomes its newest member to the staff, Funeral Director and Embalmer Cipriana Krier.

Krier comes to Fountain Hills with leadership experience under her belt, working at two different funeral homes in the Valley before joining Messinger.
Krier received her Mortuary Science degree in 2019 from Chandler/Gilbert Community College, graduating in the top 10% of her class. She completed the state licensing boards for funeral directors and embalmers and fulfilled a year-long internship at Thompson Funeral Chapel in Goodyear.

While working as a funeral director during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Krier went through what she described as a “baptism by fire,” alongside many others who worked in the death care industry during the arduous months of COVID-19 lock downs, travel restrictions and lack of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Krier joined Messinger Mortuary in February of this year and is enjoying getting to know members of the community, including the current staff members at Messinger Fountain Hills Mortuary.

“It’s just a really nice group of people and family, the kind of environment where everybody jumps in and helps wherever they need to,” Krier said. “It sounds crazy but we laugh a lot here just because we all have the same kind of goofy sense of humor…it’s really nice to find a place when everybody around meshes really nicely.”

Previously working at a much larger and busier mortuary in the Valley, Krier said Fountain Hills is an enjoyable place to work and be part of a tight-knit community.

Manager and Funeral Director Allan Ruby, who has been with Messinger for more than eight years, is happy that Krier is part of his dedicated staff.
“It’s been a delight that she’s part of the team here,” Ruby said.
As a funeral director and embalmer, Krier helps families plan their loved ones’ funerals and prepares the bodies of the deceased for funeral services, burials and cremations. Cremations are completed at Messinger’s Paradise Memorial Crematory which is on the property of Paradise Memorial Gardens in Scottsdale.

This process can be very difficult for grieving families, Krier said, especially for those who aren’t familiar with the funeral or cremation process. It’s why, Krier said, funeral directors like Ruby and herself promote thoughtfulness and compassionate toward the needs of every family that comes through their doors.

“The funeral home in any community I think should be a place like a church or a hospital or just some place where you can go and say, ‘Hey, I need help with this,’ because this is one of those moments in life that, until you’ve been through it, you don’t know what to expect,” Krier said. “Paul Messinger (who, with his wife Cora opened the first funeral home in Old Town Scottsdale in 1959) is so about helping your community, and I think we really try to do that for everyone.”

Krier is married with three children and two cats. She and her family live in Gilbert.

Messinger Fountain Hills Mortuary is located at 12065 N. Saguaro Blvd. For questions or more information, visit messingermortuary.com or call 480-837-5588.