It’s been an eventful couple of years for David Bradley.

Bradley and his wife, Samantha, purchased the Kosec Funeral Home and Crematory in Port Townsend in 2023, renaming it Bradley-Kosec Funeral Home and Crematory. 

The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners agreed to create an independent coroner’s office in 2024, naming Bradley the new coroner.

And the members of the Washington State Funeral Directors Association (WSFDA) voted on July 31 to select Bradley to serve on the WSFDA Board of Directors.

“We are excited to have David serve on our Board,” WSFDA President Travis Locke said. “He represents the next generation of Funeral Directors, and has the problem-solving ability required of a board member. Our board is a working board. David has a very strong work ethic."

WSFDA is the oldest funeral profession association in Washington, and exists to provide continuing education to its members and others in the profession, as well as to provide education and information to the public, while encouraging “best practices in the industry.”

Bradley grew up on the Olympic Peninsula, graduating from Chimacum High School in 2007.

He started his internship in Port Angeles, finished in Bremerton and graduated from Lake Washington Institute of Technology, becoming a licensed funeral director in 2018.

Jamin Mohler, a two-term past president of WSFDA, contacted Bradley to let him know he was interested in nominating him to the board.

For Bradley, serving on the board is an opportunity to become even more involved in a profession that’s a passionate vocation for him.

“I love the funeral industry,” Bradley said. “I love what I do. There’s not a day that I don’t love going to work. I love being able to walk hand-in-hand with the families we serve, to help celebrate their loved ones. It’s an honor to do so.”

Bradley attributes the firm's success to listening attentively to their clients, and responding to their wants and needs in what he deemed an ethical fashion. One example is that his funeral home doesn’t charge for deceased individuals younger than 18 years old.

The Bradley-Kosec Funeral Home and Crematory has expanded its service into Kitsap and Clallam counties, and has even served a number of families from Seattle. Bradley said he always keeps in mind that he’s dealing with people “on the worst days of their lives.”

Being responsive to such needs means keeping track of trends in how people say their final farewells to their loved ones. One significant shifts in the funeral industry has been toward cremation.

“More recent generations are more mobile and cost-conscious,” Bradley said. “While previous generations placed more value in having graves that could be visited, the generations that have followed are more inclined to spend that money while they’re still alive."

He added that, "Washingtonians have really led the way in cremations, and it makes sense when you consider that your ashes can be scattered at beautiful locations such as the Olympic Mountains or the Strait of Juan de Fuca.”

Bradley cited industry statistics showing that the national cremation rate has gone from roughly 50% in 2015 to more than 60% now, while the creation rates are about 80% for Washington state and 90% for Jefferson County.

“There’s a shortage of funeral homes with crematories,” Bradley said. “We only use our crematory for the families we serve. There are too many issues of liability involved in accepting remains from outside establishments. We’re very strict in our policies and procedures. We maintain a rigorous record of custody of the decedent and their personal effect at all times.”

The Bradley-Kosec Funeral Home has also partnered with the Return Home human composting service, after ensuring that the organization’s standards met their own.

As part of the WSFDA board, Bradley has already gotten in the habit of conducting long-distance conversations with his fellow board members about once a week, trying to anticipate the future needs of their shared profession, while seeking to preserve what they see as important standards.

“Human composting has been a controversial change to how people are interred,” Bradley said. “A number of funeral directors were not initially in favor of it, but there are ways in which both professions can serve families together. While they can provide a means of returning one’s loved ones to the earth, we’re there to plan the events devoted to those people’s lives, right down to filing the death certificate, submitting the obituary and scheduling the service.”

Bradley elaborated that the WSFDA has offered its input on laws affecting the funeral industry, such as how long funeral homes are required to hold onto abandoned remains without any loved ones coming forward to claim them, before interring them appropriately.

If Bradley is able to advance further within the WSFDA board, which he would welcome, he’d be able to spend a few weeks of each year traveling to other WSFDA districts throughout the state, to benefit from the firsthand perspective of his professional peers on the issues they face.

Bradley assured his clients in Jefferson County that this will not detract from the time and attention he sets aside for them, even if it means that he has less time for himself.

“I’m never really off,” Bradley said. “I tell our families that I’m always available, whether they need to call me at 2 p.m. or 2 a.m.”

Bradley’s hiring practices reflect that he expects the same commitment from his employees.

“Over the past year and a half, I’ve interviewed something like 50 people, but I’ve only offered jobs to maybe 10, at the most,” Bradley said. “We don’t just hire anybody. There’s actually a broader shortage of funeral directors. Beyond meeting the basic criteria, there’s long hours and meeting people’s needs attentively and compassionately.”

Bradley estimated there are currently 192 funeral homes in 118 cities in Washington state.

The demand for such services has inspired the Bradley-Kosec Funeral Home to add a removal vehicle to its existing fleet of roughly half a dozen vehicles, while also adding about 200 feet to its facilities, to better accommodate growth.