Funeral Director Daily

The Lincoln funeral train. . . Did that ceremony lead to American funeral homes?

By Funeral Director Daily / February 17, 2022 /

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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Service Corp Operating Income jumps, company acquires 30 properties in 4Q 2021

By Funeral Director Daily / February 16, 2022 /

Funeral service company Service Corporation International (SCI), the largest owner of funeral homes in North America announced their 4th Quarter 2021 and 2021 Year-end results earlier this week.  You can see a press release of the entire announcement here. Here’s how SCI’s CEO Thomas Ryan summed up the 4th Quarter of 2021 for the company,…

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News you can Use

By Funeral Director Daily / February 15, 2022 /

We’ve let a few things pile up on our desk and it was well time that we cleaned them out and let you know what is else in going on in Death Care and how you can stay involved and learn even more.  Here’s some information on topics of interest including the Cremation Association of…

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Messenger acquires Bass-Mollett Publishers

By Funeral Director Daily / February 15, 2022 /

We expected 2022 to be a year of mergers and acquisitions in the funeral home business.  However, we are also quickly learning that the marriages of companies will not be confined to those in the funeral home business, but in death care suppliers as well.  Last month we reported on Wilbert’s acquisition of Memorial Monument…

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Funeral costs drop in research poll for first time since 2004 inception

By Funeral Director Daily / February 14, 2022 /

Since I started this blog in 2017 and continuously look for interesting topics for the readers, I’ve come to anticipate the annual research paper from Sun Life entitled the Sun Life Cost of Dying Report.  While it comes out of Great Britain it is a great resource for me and what I have come to…

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Life insurers see huge claims, how’s your Preneed company?

By Funeral Director Daily / February 11, 2022 /

I’m a licensed health and life insurance agent.  I received my license and started a Preneed Funeral insurance agency back when Minnesota first allowed funeral directors to do so in the 1990’s.  It was a boon to our business as we could now write Preneed policies and receive a commission on them.  Our funeral home…

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The case for raising full-service charges

By Funeral Director Daily / February 10, 2022 /

In the last couple of issues of NFDA’s Memorial Business Journal, author and editor Edward Defort, has introduced us to funeral director, owner, and entrepreneur David Hernandez.  Hernandez has funeral service operations in New Jersey, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.  And, he’s a man after my own heart because he understands that a successful funeral “business”…

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Is there something to learn from other industries

By Funeral Director Daily / February 9, 2022 /

There is no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic has greatly influenced and impacted the death care industry over the past two years.  In general, there has been more deaths and less public services of such deaths.  One might argue, especially in larger markets, that the increased number of deaths has more than made up in…

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Batesville casket sales, margins both drop

By Funeral Director Daily / February 8, 2022 /

  Hillenbrand Industries, parent company of Batesville Casket, reported their Fiscal Year 2022 1st Quarter last week. The First Quarter of their fiscal year represents the months of October, November, and December 2021.  You can read the entire report on the company’s 1Q 2022 here. While Hillenbrand Industries is a conglomerate of companies, they still…

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New Hampshire “Sustainable Funeral” group working to change state’s embalming law

By Funeral Director Daily / February 7, 2022 /

If you follow the trends in death care you will notice that not only increased cremation continues to happen, but so does interest in alkaline hydrolysis, recomposition, and other “green burial” practices.  According to this article, in New Hampshire 18-year old Anya Nicoll and state legislator Jerry Knirk are working towards changing a 1971 state…

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