Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science

The Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science has been providing training for students entering funeral service for over seventy-five years. When first established in 1939, the new training institute was known as the Pittsburgh School of Embalming. The co-founders included three educators, Dr. Otto S. Margolis and Professor John Rebol formerly affiliated with the Cleveland School of Embalming, and Dr. Emory S. James, Instructor in the Anatomy Department of the Ohio State Medical School in Columbus, Ohio. In completing final arrangements for the new school in Pittsburgh, Mr. John A. Freyvogel, Sr., a funeral director was most helpful. He was the Western Pennsylvania representative for the State Anatomical Board and his contacts in the business community as well as at the University of Pittsburgh were constructive in finding a location for the school, securing furniture and equipment, and in selecting additional faculty members. Mr. Freyvogel served as the first President of the Pittsburgh School of Embalming. The inaugural class of sixty students enrolled for a nine-month curriculum September 18, 1939 and graduated June 23, 1940. The excellent dedication and cooperation of the students, which still exists today, resulted in outstanding academic achievement as well as the completion of several traditional projects for the new school. These endeavors included the development of the logo or school seal, school motto, and the Alma Mater. The Motto, “Scientia, Sollertia, Servitium,” translated from Latin means, “Knowledge, Skills, Service,” which expresses in part the objectives of the Institute. The lyrics of the Alma Mater were written by a student, Geraldine K. Johnson from Berlin, Pennsylvania, and the music was composed by her uncle, Alfred H. Johnson, a member of the faculty.