funeral customs
2023 marked the 60th anniversary of Jessica Mitford’s book related to the customs of American funerals, “The American Way of Death“. If you are much younger than I am you probably don’t even remember it or have never heard of the book. It is my opinion that funeral directors and funeral homes…
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I recently saw an e-mail alert from the American Heart Association with an odd title. The title of this particular e-mail information item was “Caregiving a concern as U.S. Hispanic people age faster than other populations”. I eventually realized that the headline did not mean that Hispanic people “get older faster” but…
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“Humans are into rituals. Birth rituals, marriage rituals, naming rituals—each of these and more are integral to the lives of most people. One type of ritual, perhaps, is most common of all: death rituals.” That’s the first “tease” line for a very interesting podcast I listened to earlier this week. Here’s the next line, “On…
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Next Monday residents of the United States will celebrate President’s Day. Just so you know, when I was young, and until changed by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1971, this day was known as Washington’s Birthday holiday since 1879 and celebrated on President George Washington’s birthday, February 22. When I was young, many states…
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Americans have been influenced by the Brits for centuries. In the pre-Revolutionary day the colonists enjoyed the tea imported from the East India Tea Company of England until John Hancock’s merchant shop found a way to circumvent the tax on such by buying tea from a Dutch company. Those purchases led to the Boston Tea…
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I visited, as I often do, with a former Senior Level Executive this week just to catch up on what was happening in his world and visit about a story Funeral Director Daily had recently ran. We talked about a lot of things — including COVID-19, and because of it, we had not seen each…
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My father died 43 years ago. I was a teenager. He was 58 years old and a prominent business man in his small community. I have no photos of the large event that was his visitation and funeral. I’ve got a newspaper article and two images inside my head. . . one image is that…
Read MoreIn our afternoon update for today in the world of Death Care we bring you artcles that include StoneMor, Inc.’s decision to reject an offer from Axar Capital to purchase all of the outstanding shares of StoneMor and take the company private. Funeral Director Daily had earlier reported on this potential development in May in…
Read MoreThe old saying is that you “Can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. Well, I think after this week that I am living proof that statement definitely does not hold water. You see, this week I watched four webinars on what is happening in funeral service and the death care industry. That, in itself, for…
Read MoreAccording to this article from the Minneapolis Tribune but syndicated by the New York Times, “when Louise Rafkin posted a photo of her mother on Facebook the night of her death at age 98 in September with her golden retriever at her side, it rattled some family members and friends.” “The Facebook post was a…
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