Posts

Carriage Services Stock Upgraded

By Funeral Director Daily / February 27, 2017 /

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) a publicly traded funeral and cemetery services provider has been rated a Strong Buy by three brokerage analysts that cover the stock. The stock closed at $26.55 on Friday, but analysts are looking for a one year price estimate of $30.50. The company also noted that a dividend of $.05 per share…

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Kansas City Cemetery goes on National Historic Register

By Funeral Director Daily / February 27, 2017 /

Federal officials have awarded the designation of National Historical Landmark to the Wyandotte National Burial Ground in downtown Kansas City, Kansas. An estimated number up to about 600 of the Wyandotte Native Americans are buried there. Graves date back to 1843. Among the number buried there are Eliza Burton Conley, who in 1910 became the…

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Matthews Funeral Home Profiled in NewsOK

By Dave Westburg / February 25, 2017 /

News OK has a nice article on Matthews Funeral Home in Edmond, Oklahoma.  The firm is owned by Randy and Barbara Matthews.  Their sons Kyle and Kris Matthews are also involved in the business.  The company was started in 2000.  Matthews states that cremations now account for 45% of his cases.      

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Drug Overdoses increasing funeral caseloads

By Dave Westburg / February 25, 2017 /

SFgate has an article on the impact of rising opioid overdoth deaths on the funeral business.  Opioid overdoses have been rising especially for people ages 25 and up.  This chart says it all.  The number of overdose deaths is rising rapidly due to heroin overdoses and illicit opioids    

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Our Thoughts — Cemetery Vandalism Positives

By Funeral Director Daily / February 24, 2017 /

It is no secret that the American political system has pitted all kinds of people against each other. Repubicans vs. Democrats, Black vs. White, Men vs. Women, Lutherans vs. Catholics, and Muslims vs. Jewish. While we believe that this is a sad state of affairs, sometimes in the worst of events, the best of the…

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Pennsylvania Funeral Home Operates Without License

By Funeral Director Daily / February 24, 2017 /

The Pennsylvania Board of Funeral Directors has levied a fine on a state funeral establishment which has been operating a foul of state regulations for over six years. According to an article in the Delaware County Daily Times, the Catherine B. Laws Funeral Home in Chester has been without a funeral establishment license and without…

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Funeral Home Settles Pre-Need Case

By Funeral Director Daily / February 23, 2017 /

WVAH and the Charleston Gazette mail report that a Putnam County, West Virginia funeral home has reached a settlement in a case from 2015 in which the funeral home submitted death claims on preneed funeral plans for people who were not yet deceased. Homesteaders Life Insurance Company contends that the Gatens-Harding Funeral Home claimed over…

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Wisconsin Funeral Directors Dispute With Heritage Cremation Provider

By Dave Westburg / February 22, 2017 /

6 News reports that some Wisconsin Funeral Directors Association members have not been paid for cremations performed on behalf of Colorado based Heritage Cremation Provider.  The Minnesota department of Health is investigating Heritage as well after families accused Heritage of not picking up remains in a timely fashion. Our take: Heritage is not a local…

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New York’s only certified woman-owned funeral home.

By Dave Westburg / February 21, 2017 /

Your Clifton Park & Halfmoon has done a nice feature about Kathleen Lowes Sanvidge, the owner of Townley and Wheeler funeral home in Ballston Lake, New York.  Sandvidge has been certified as a Women Business Enterprise in New York.  Her firm is the only certified women-owned funeral home in New York State. Funeral Director’s take: Interesting…

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Funeral home legal risks

By Dave Westburg / February 21, 2017 /

We noticed a number of  items in the litigation section of the Service Corporation International 2016 Annual Report.    Our purpose in listing the claims is not to point fingers.  SCI has had several of the claims dismissed and we are in no position to evaluate the validity of the claims.   We’ve decided to…

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