Business
Writing this blog I hear from all kinds of people. Lately I’ve heard from funeral home owners/employers who tell me it is difficult to find qualified funeral directors to work for them in this day and age. I also hear from employed funeral directors who are down on the profession, or simply their current owner,…
Read MoreI recently read an article from the Watertown (South Dakota) Public Opinion newspaper and it reminded me of how we marketed our funeral home in the days prior to internet and digital marketing. We always looked for anywhere where we would have a chance to visit with people — especially on a one-on-one basis —…
Read MoreNext 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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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…
Read MoreIn 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”…
Read MoreThere 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…
Read MoreIf 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…
Read MoreI’ve been out of active funeral directing for the past eight years. And, I won’t apologize for it, but I’m a traditionalist when it comes to funeral service. That means I still believe in the value of the public acknowledgement of death, the tradition of a service or celebration of life, and the idea of…
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I recently finished Bill O’Reilly’s book “Killing the Mob”. It is one of about a dozen books in a series by O’Reilly all with the “Killing” titles. I’ve learned that “Killing” is just the title series and the books are really about the history of people, movements, and time periods. Of the books I’ve read…
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