It’s 8 a.m., and the principal of your family office doesn’t come down for breakfast or show up at work. The worst has happened; they died unexpectedly.
What do you do?
That’s the first question that William Villanova, president of Frank E. Campbell, the New York City funeral home favored for a century by celebrities and the ultrawealthy, asks when he meets with people from a family office. And after he asks them, there is often a long, uncomfortable pause. They don’t know the answer. Or the family office says it would call him.
As much as he appreciates that vote of confidence and welcomes being among the first to be called after someone dies, Villanova tries to instill other priorities.
“What's also important for us is that person who passed away, protecting that family, protecting the integrity of the process, the legacy. We also need to know who that person represents in that family,” Villanova told Modus. “Is there a business? Will that death impact the business? Will that death impact the market? What does that death represent?”
Family offices often have answers to those questions and want help navigating all that comes with them, which Frank E. Campbell has much experience doing.
Frank Ellis Campbell started the funeral home at the end of the 19th century, and in 1926, arranged the service for actor Rudolph Valentino, a pop culture figure at the time. It’s attracted stars and other powerful figures since. Services for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, John Lennon, Arthur Ashe, Mario Cuomo and many others have taken place there.
Services cost tens of thousands of dollars and beyond. The clientele sometimes spends extravagantly on mausoleums, caskets, flowers and more. Increasingly, families are interested in better or more elaborate digital legacies, which the funeral home’s more than 30 employees help them with.
Villanova once tested a helmet that fully covered a wearer’s head and had a screen displaying a deceased person’s face. The funeral home decided not to offer it to families. “It needs a lot to get to where we need it to be,” he said. But it is using holograms, usually so that someone can give a eulogy remotely at an in-person service.
Some families require special security measures and privacy arrangements. In addition to coordinating with law enforcement agencies, the funeral home routinely helps families prepare for unwelcome guests and paparazzi. On the 81st Street side of the building, a canopy with sides extends to the street, creating a tunnel for guests to arrive, if they choose.
Doing about 400 services a year, Villanova says he’s seen it all. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he consulted for HBO’s “Succession” when the service for the billionaire protagonist, Logan Roy, was held at Frank E. Campbell. (Villanova also appeared in the show as the funeral director.)
How much families plan and how far in advance vary. Some family offices oversee extensive and specific plans made well before any expected death. Others have general plans and might call Frank E. Campbell every year to update small things, like the guest list for a service. For some families, the only plan they have is to call when the time comes.
But what all those families have in common is a plan, and Villanova advises everyone to make one of some kind. If principals and family members haven’t asked those questions for themselves, their stewards should, he said.
“They have to have enough commercial courage to stand up at a meeting and speak to one of the family members and say, ‘Do we have a plan in place for your dad? Do we have a plan in place for your mom? Well, don't you think we should do that?’ We suggest that to families as well. Just have the conversation,” Villanova said.
“Nothing [bad] is going to happen. Trust me. I've never, never heard of any negative impact of having a conversation about funeral service. It is peace of mind. If I can boil that down to that one thing: have the conversation.”
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