OFDA was notified that Robert J. "Bob" Inman's died on April 14, 2016.
Robert J. Inman's entire career has been devoted to providing needed services to all facets of the "death care" business.
In 1956, he began his career as a trade embalmer serving funeral directors in a six-county area of northeast Ohio. In the ensuing years, he embalmed more than 20,000 bodies. His embalming company currently handles approximately 2,000 cases per year, making it one of the largest companies of its kind in the United States.
In 1962, Mr. Inman expanded his embalming business into the shipping market, handling the transporting of bodies out of the Cleveland market for out of town funeral directors. In 1976, he became Regional Director for CMAS, a national shipping company. In 1979, when CMAS closed, Mr. Inman started Inman Nationwide Shipping that ships human remains from point A to point B in the United States and Canada, and throughout the world, for funeral directors only. Today, Inman Nationwide Shipping, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is the largest shipping company of its type in America.
Much of the respect which Mr. Inman has earned from his colleagues across the country is a direct result of his technical expertise. These skills have been utilized many times. Particularly outstanding are those occasions such as the times when he handled the preparation and services for the President of Iceland, and for the President of Guinea, working for their respective governments.
Bob Inman recognized the growth potential of cremation and, in 1971, established a highly successful crematorium. Today, his Cremation Service, Inc. is one of the largest volume crematories in the state of Ohio.
In recognition of his achievements, he has appeared before some of the world's most prestigious bodies to share with them some of the wealth of knowledge that he has acquired.
In 1969, Mr. Inman founded the National Association of Mortuary Shippers, serving as its first president.
He has played vital roles in virtually every facet of the industry, achieving membership in the most respected industry associations.
Nor has Mr. Inman's technical expertise gone unnoticed. In 1971, he began doing Embalming and Restorative Arts Seminars representing the Champion Company. Over the last 19 years, he has crisscrossed the country doing embalming and restorative art demonstrations in 25 states, for thousands of funeral directors and embalmers. In 1986 he was privileged to conduct a series of Embalming Seminars for the New Zealand Embalmers Association.
He was also privileged to speak before the Harvard Medical School and to make presentations before the National Medical Examiners Conference.
A strong industry supporter, Mr. Inman has maintained a number of memberships in key professional organizations. He is a member of the National Funeral Directors Association, the Ohio Funeral Directors Association, FIAT/IFDA., a past president of the Ohio Embalmers Association, a past president of the Cleveland Embalmers Association. He is a member of the American Cemetery Association, the American Cemetery Mortuary Conference, and a past president of the Cremation Association of North America.
He was privileged to be elected to membership in the Georgia Academy of Embalming. In 1982, he was one of three Americans elected to the British Institute of Embalmers of Birmingham, England. He became an organizer and past president of the North American Division of the British Embalmers. September 25, 2003, Robert J. Inman was given the Degree of Fellowship of the British Institute of Embalmers, the highest degree given to a member. He is one of four Americans to receive this honor.
He served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science for twenty-five years. Mr. Inman has been a member of the Cleveland Rotary Club with perfect attendance for the past 33 years. He became a Paul Harris Fellow in 1988.
Bob is a 1950 graduate of Cleveland College of Mortuary Science -- and a 1957 graduate of Western Reserve University, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a major in Psychology. He is a veteran of the Army Medical Corps, serving during the Korean War in Japan.
A memorial service will be held In is hometown of Cleveland, Ohio at a later date.