Serving others during some of life’s most difficult moments is a family tradition a Richmond resident looks to carry forward. Ashlee Willim-Kirkham recently earned her Missouri funeral director’s license, officially becoming the third generation of her family to serve the community through funeral service. Although she has spent the past eight years helping families at Thurman Funeral Home, her journey to the profession was anything but expected. Growing up, Kirkham saw firsthand the level of commitment required to care for grieving families and the sacrifices that often came with the profession. “Funeral service isn’t a typical 8-to-5 job — it’s 24 hours a day, 365 days a year — and growing up, our family lived that reality,” stated Kirkham. “I remember the long hours, the phone calls during dinner and holidays, birthdays and family plans sometimes being interrupted because another family needed my dad. That was simply life for us. Families came first.” Although those experiences…