“People aren’t meant to see these things. No one likes to think about death, so we are ignored.”
Meet Derrick Butler, a normal guy in his mid-twenties who enjoys video games, skateboarding, and grabbing beers with friends. He also happens to be a person who gets called to pick up the bodies of those who’ve passed. Some call them undertakers, body transporters — even weirdos or freaks — but the official job title is Removal Technician.
Butler has reported to the scene of murders, car accidents, hospice care, suicides, and death by natural causes. People of all ages, sizes, and walks of life eventually succumb to the hands of death, and it’s Butler’s job to take them from there.
He comes from a family of caregivers, his late mother a registered nurse and his father a retired police officer. During the illness that led to his mother’s death, Butler discussed his…
