What the Funeral Industry Can Learn From George Foreman

Boxer, Entrepreneur, Minister, Author, Family Man - George Foreman’s many endeavors leave many impressions.

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It was January 12, 2006 when Michael Scott burned his foot while making bacon on his George Foreman grill.

This is the memory I conjured when, on March 21, 2025, the top headlines in Apple News informed me that George Foreman had died.

By all accounts, George Foreman lived an exceptional life, gaining notoriety through his boxing career. His obituary tells the story of a legend in the ring—an Olympic gold medalist, a two-time heavyweight champion (once as the oldest world heavyweight champion), and a competitor in the iconic "Rumble in the Jungle" against Muhammad Ali in 1974. But Foreman’s legacy extends far beyond the boxing world.

For sports fans, he was a powerhouse in the ring. For millions of college students and home cooks, he was the friendly face of the "Lean Mean Grilling Machine." For Houston residents in the 1980s, he was a preacher at The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And for his twelve children, he was Dad.

His story spans from Olympic glory to bestselling grills, from the boxing ring to the pulpit. He was more than just one thing to one group of people—he was a different kind of legend to different audiences.

I’m not a boxing fan. I wasn’t alive when George Foreman won the Olympic Gold or knocked out Michael Moorer in his heavyweight title match at the age of 46. Embarrassingly, I didn’t even know he was a boxer until March 21, 2025. And I never owned a Foreman Grill.

But I will forever remember George Foreman because of his tie to one of my favorite plot lines in my favorite TV show The Office. A show that put a smile on my face through tough times. One that I fell asleep to almost every night during the COVID-19 lockdown. It’s silly, and such a microscopic piece of the legacy George Foreman leaves behind, but it’s the one that lives in my memory rent-free.

Life today is much more complex and far-reaching than it ever has been: people are remembered in different ways, by different people, through different lenses. Seeing the different perspectives can help unite people through the grieving process and give those closest to the deceased another opportunity to see how their loved one left their mark.

The death care industry faces an evolving landscape with the rise of technology and shifting cultural attitudes toward death. At the same time, society is producing more unique, multifaceted individuals who will be remembered for different reasons by different people.

Funeral homes that can embrace this reality and find ways to help facilitate the collective sharing of perspectives and memories can offer grieving families, friends, and communities a deeper, meaningful way to commemorate their loved ones. Whether through digital storytelling, shared memory platforms, or personalized services, the future of funerals lies in honoring the full legacy of a person—not just the roles they played in life, but the unexpected, personal imprints they left on others.

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How will you remember George Foreman? And how can funeral homes help families preserve diverse memories and celebrate and honor the legacy of their loved ones? Drop a comment or send us a message below.