Business
In the early days of the pandemic I was called by a reporter at the Business newspaper, Barron’s, for my opinion on, among other things, what was being termed the “pull-forward” effect of pandemic deaths. The theory at that time was that it appeared that most of those dying from Covid deaths were elderly and…
Read MoreFate determined that this was meant to be an article for Funeral Director Daily. I’m very familiar with the “Journey to Serve” program launched by the Funeral Service Foundation and the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) Educational Foundation, in part, through the work of my friend Jim Price. The other day I noticed…
Read MoreI recently saw an article in The Hustle that compared the cost of three family outings in 1960 to the cost of those three family outings in 2022 — a period 62 years later. And, just because I like to compare those types of things with all things “funeral”, I searched out prices that puts…
Read MoreEarth Funeral, which calls itself a “soil transformation provider” announced earlier this month in this press release that they will be expanding services to the state of Oregon. According to the press release, Oregon began allowing soil transformation (Natural Organic Reduction or NOR) on July 1, 2022. That makes Oregon the 3rd state, joining Washington…
Read MoreThere was much ado last year about Great Britain’s largest provider of funerals and cremations, Dignity plc, and their upcoming change in strategy. While not apprised of the entire situation, I do know that the company was coming under scrutiny from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as well as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA),…
Read MoreThere is no doubt that the pandemic ushered in a new “work from home” mentality for many American workers. Death care may be a little different in that embalming and cremation cannot be done in a “work from home” environment. However, many aspects of the death care world, such as arrangers, preneed advising, and many…
Read MoreMy summer exercise program consists of running 2 1/2 miles on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and bike riding 5-6 miles, depending on the route on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. I’ve told the readers of this column before that my usual Saturday morning ride brings me from my house on the south side of of our…
Read MoreOver the holiday weekend Fox Business published the article referred to in our headline here. It’s an article that is actually positive to the funeral industry but does tell of the fact that eventually, as costs rise, funeral costs to consumers will have to rise also. The article points out that even though the United…
Read More