Chas Faulkner, 19, is likely nation’s youngest Funeral Service Licensee

The Faulkner family, which has operated funeral homes in this area for generations, recently welcomed a member of the newest generation to its staff. He is Chas Faulkner, 19, believed to be the youngest Funeral Service Licensee in Virginia, and possibly even in the nation.

Charles William Faulkner IV, known to all as Chas, received an associate degree of Applied Science in Funeral Service last spring from Tidewater Community College in Virginia Beach. During the summer he successfully completed state and national board exams and internship requirements and was officially declared a Funeral Service Licensee in August.

Chas’s accomplishment has not been without family encouragement and guidance. He is currently working with his grandfather, Charles William “Billy” Faulkner Jr., and great-uncle Gregg Faulkner, owners of Faulkner Funeral Homes and Cremation Services with chapels in Saluda, Tappahannock and Mathews.

Jay McIntyre, president of the Virginia Funeral Directors Association, and Robert C. Smith III, executive director of the American Board of Funeral Service Education, each indicated their organizations don’t track the ages of members but they agree it is highly unlikely there is a younger Funeral Service Licensee working in the profession.

In an email, Smith said since the minimum educational requirement for licensure is an associate degree in almost every state, “it would indeed be rare for someone to have completed those requirements by age 19.”

McIntyre said he is “about 99% sure there is not another 19-year-old Funeral Service Licensee in Virginia.”

Chas got a jump on his post-secondary education by receiving what he described as “better preparation than I realized” at Chesapeake Academy in Irvington. He finished the eighth grade at Chesapeake in 2016 and received his high school diploma just three years later at Northumberland High School.

“All my life I have been surrounded by people in this profession, and I’ve seen how they really help families during one of the saddest times of their lives. I just decided I wanted to be a part of that,” Chas said.