Funeral Director Daily

A (Not So) Unique Path to Funeral Service

By Funeral Director Daily / June 6, 2017 /

So, I’m the odd type of guy that peruses obituaries and hones in on one or two a day to read of people I have never met.  I find it very fascinating and it is always interesting to see of the different and unique lives that have been lived.  Certainly, as a funeral director, it…

The What Is?? of Alkaline Hydrolysis

By Funeral Director Daily / June 2, 2017 /

About five or six years ago I was at the Minnesota Funeral Director’s Convention when I first heard about alkaline hydrolysis – the process of an acid bath like process to decomposs the body.  I was wandering around the exhibit floor and there was a small booth promoting a machine for such.  Being inquisitive, I…

Is Australia Ready for an FTC-like Itemization Rule??

By Funeral Director Daily / June 1, 2017 /

I can remember back in the late 1970s and into the early 1980s when itemized pricing was new and being forced upon funeral homes nationwide as part of a consumer protection Federal Trade Commission rulings on funeral service in the USA.  In my opinion, in the long run, the FTC rulings on itemization actually not…

Can Dual Careers Help Rural Funeral Homes

By Funeral Director Daily / May 31, 2017 /

The Marshall Independent of Marshall, Minnesota ran an interesting article the other day that featured Marshall native Alex Erickson and his story about returning to his hometown of Marshall after working in the metropolitan city of Minneapolis for a few years. We have known for sometime in rural America that the best way to grow…

Bugles Across America provides Much Appreciated Service

By Funeral Director Daily / May 30, 2017 /

I had expected that the post from yesterday concerning America’s Old Guard placing approximately 284,000 Memorial Day flags at Arlington National Cemetery would be all that Funeral Director Daily would do specifically for the Memorial Day holiday. However, this morning I was watching the national news on television and a short story of an organization…

God Bless our Troops – Yesterday and Today

By Funeral Director Daily / May 29, 2017 /

If you are anything like me today will cause goose-bumps on your arms as you witness a Memorial Day Parade in person or some type of celebration on television to honor those who have served our country. I never was fortunate to serve and as I get older I regret it more and more.  The…

A Future For Urban Cemeteries?

By Funeral Director Daily / May 26, 2017 /

Today, I read an article in the Seattle Times about Seattle’s Denny Park.  The article talks a little about the history of Denny Park and goes on to mention what it has been transformed into today in the other-wise dense South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle. The park has been transformed by over $2 million…

Circling the Wagons for Better Service

By Funeral Director Daily / May 25, 2017 /

The Beck family has served the Liberty Hill, Texas area for more than three decades.  The Beck family also operates funeral chapels in Cedar Park and Round Rock, Texas, and loves to provide personal service to those they serve.  The funeral homes are operated by family members, Blake Henderson and Jan Beck Cleveland. According to…

Here We Go Again

By Funeral Director Daily / May 24, 2017 /

As we move up on Memorial Day next Monday and want to honor those who have went before us, it seems that there is always something in our industry that casts a pall over the business of funeral directors and cemeterians.  I discovered a recent article in the Record-Courier of Ravenna, Kent and Portage Counties…

DCI Value Slightly Down, Yield Up

By Funeral Director Daily / May 23, 2017 /

We last visited the Death Care Index (DCI) following the March 3, 2017 market close.  At that time the value of one share of each of the six death care industry stocks that make up the index totaled together would have equaled $269.84 with an annual dividend of $5.66 for a 2.06% yield.  As of…