Cremation

Texas crematory coming under fire

By Funeral Director Daily / January 2, 2024 /

    A permitted crematory under construction in the Dallas, Texas, suburb of Frisco is coming under scrutiny by neighbors who are not happy with it being located in a residential neighborhood.  However, according to this article “Frisco City officials insist that the crematorium’s approval predates the nearby neighborhood development, with plans available publicly since…

The value of “non-combustible” cremation remains

By Funeral Director Daily / December 11, 2023 /

An interesting situation concerning “non-combustible” cremation remains was brought to light by this front-page lead story article in an edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune last week.   The article is entitled, “Lakewood Cemetery alleged theft spotlights market for metal implants left after cremation”.  It goes on to explain that a former employee of the…

Is Pet Death Care in your future?

By Funeral Director Daily / October 10, 2023 /

  Morgan Stanley equity analyst Simeon Gutman recently made this comment in this white paper from Morgan Stanley, “Americans are increasingly attached to their pets, which is clearly shown in survey results, and thus pet spending is a priority.  Consumers are less willing to cut pet spending even when real personal disposable income declines.”  …

Pricing is relative, but one low-cost provider can beat us all up

By Funeral Director Daily / October 2, 2023 /

  Inflation has set in. . . I recently had to install a new air conditioning condenser to our existing HVAC combination unit.  An air conditioning condensor, like a funeral or cremation expense, is something you don’t buy everyday. . . . in fact, maybe less than once a decade.   And, when I called…

Private Equity claims another death care provider

By Funeral Director Daily / August 7, 2023 /

    While most of us have been anticipating some news on the acquisition front from Australia and the proposed takeover of InvoCare by TPG Capital or waiting for some news on the North American proposal of Park Lawn Corporation to acquire Carriage Services, news came late last week that Great Britain’s large direct cremation…

Permanent Memorialization: What does it mean in today’s world?

By Funeral Director Daily / August 2, 2023 /

  On the same day last week three different articles or press releases came to my inbox and those pieces of literature formed a mental Venn Diagram for me about cremation and memorialization.  The articles, taken together made me think about the continuing growth of cremation and what will be done with the cremated remains…

Is your message reaching the “Right” audience?

By Funeral Director Daily / August 1, 2023 /

    I think every funeral home owner and marketing directors of larger funeral home, crematory, and cemetery operations by now understands that social media has some say in how people perceive your business is operated and how it may take care of their family if and when necessary.   One big question, however, is…

Is time up for the Undertaker?

By Funeral Director Daily / June 2, 2023 /

    That headline, “Is time up for the Undertaker”, is the headline from this press release issued earlier in May on behalf of Great Britain’s direct cremation provider Pure Cremation.   Pure Cremation recently conducted what they call “The Big Future of Funerals Survey” and, according to their conclusions, it points to the fact…

Will Illinois bill set a precedent for the future of cremation remains

By Funeral Director Daily / May 19, 2023 /

    A reader of Funeral Director Daily recently sent me information on Illinois HB 1367 that is a bill under consideration in the state legislature of Illinois that the bill’s author states in this radio interview will (allow for a) “concept of how cremated remains are handled in the future”.   According to this…

Memorial spaceflight fails to reach orbit

By Funeral Director Daily / May 17, 2023 /

    In what was reminiscent of the 1986 Challenger explosion, you can see in this video embedded in this article, an explosion only seconds into launch that caused a suborbital rocket carrying the cremated remains of 120 humans destined for earth orbit, to disintegrate and fall to earth.  The rocket was launched by Up…