Cremation
Energy transfer is not a new science. Yet I was surprised when I read this recent article published in The World – Public Radio that was titled “How cremations are helping to heat homes in Denmark“. One of my first thoughts is always about entrepreneurship and the idea that funeral homes with…
I’m a big fan of “permanent memorialization” for the simple fact that that memorialization of that type continues to give creedence to a “life that was lived”. I’ve seen the graves and permanent memorialization sites of President John F. Kennedy in Arlington National Cemetery, Paul Revere in the Granary Burying Ground of Boston, President…
There is no doubt that when one thinks of the idea of an embalmer around the time of the Civil War (1860’s in the U.S.) or one known as an “undertaker” in the same time period that the profession has changed greatly. And, the business of what a funeral director does or what a…
I’ve watched the growth of direct cremation provider and preneed cremation business Pure Cremation from a start-up to, in my opinion, the most profitable investment in Death Care over the past decade. According to the Sun Life “Cost of Dying Report” in Great Britain, direct cremation has grown from a 2-3% market share in…
One of the positive things of living during the winter months in a Florida golf community is that I get to meet and play golf with lots of new people with greatly differing backgrounds from my own. Just last Friday I got paired up with two new friends — one a retired police…
According to this recent article in Newsweek “The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded more than $77 million in new grants aimed at expanding and improving state-operated Veterans cemeteries. The funding, announced by the VA in December, supports projects at 20 existing state Veterans cemeteries and includes an establishment grant for Alaska’s…
Washington State cremation owners and operators find themselves in somewhat of a Catch-22 when it comes to new cremation equipment. According to this article from the Seattle Times Pacific Northwest Magazine old cremation machines have been grandfathered in but operate less efficiently as compared to the new cremation machines available. However, because of…
American monument dealers have become accustomed to dealing with the rising cremation rates in the country and the dwindling sales opportunities for cemetery monuments that fact brings. But now, according to this recent article from CNBC titled “An industry focused on death faces an existential crisis”, family-owned monument dealers have seen United States…
I grew up in the very homogeneous community of Alexandria, Minnesota. From this Wikipedia article you can see that the city at the time of my growing up had a population of a little over 6,000. Today, according to the same Wikipedia article the community’s “metropolitan area” – those that live, work, and/or attend…
Alex Fasciano, an analyst for CFRA Research suggests that quick service restaurant player KFC’s (formerly Kentucky Fried Chicken) strategy is “. .centered on driving growth through brand relevance, marketing innovation, (and) operational excellence. . . .” It turns out that the iconic brand was losing customer count and sales to other competitors in…
