CARIBOU – A local funeral director who has worked in New York City five times since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks recalls the appreciation heaped onto volunteers who have assisted in the yearlong effort in the city.

James Mockler of Mockler Funeral Home has spent 10 weeks in New York City since last year to assist in the recovery of bodies and dealing with families of the deceased.

“It was difficult being there,” Mockler said recently. “But, on the other hand, we were helping families and that’s what we are trained for. That’s what we do each day of the year.

“Being a funeral director makes us see tragic things often,” he said. “Situations like there was in New York now makes us appreciate life a bit more.”

Mockler, 43, has been a funeral director 21 years and also is a firefighter and emergency medical technician in Caribou. He said he has felt a brotherhood with many who worked and died in New York.

He is a member of the United States Public Service Mortuary Team and has been trained to work in situations where numerous deaths are involved, such as airplane crashes and the tragedy in New York City. He also is a former president of the Maine Funeral Directors Association. His family has operated funeral homes in Caribou for the last 85 years.

The experience changed his life, he said.

“It makes you appreciate family,” he said. “You just seem to watch them more closely.”

Like hundreds of others who volunteered in New York City, Mockler admitted that the enormity of it all was outside of what they trained for.

He also said that New Yorkers went beyond themselves to make the volunteers’ time there easier. Mockler’s first trip to the city to help out marked his second visit – ever – to the city.

“One thing that will always stick with me is how the people appreciated us, and they showed it upon many occasions,” he said.

“People, many members of local churches, more or less adopted us, and took turns bringing us home-cooked meals every night. Their kids visited with us and that made it easier to be there.

“I met some wonderful people there and some amazing things happened to me,” Mockler said.

“It was also easier for me because my wife and family supported me in the endeavor.

“They understand: It’s something I needed to do,” he said.