Funeral Director Daily’s Most Read Articles in the past 30 days
Everybody’s reading Funeral Director Daily!!
As we have become accustomed to do, we are providing our Most Highly Read articles over the past 30 days. Below are the articles from Funeral Director Daily that were top-read from May 15 to June 15, 2021:
- Park Lawn’s CEO Brad Green comments on the labor market, acquisitions, preneed, and revenue per case
- College research shows distinction between preneed and at-need funeral purchases
- Is SCI’s value in their “float”?
- Perceived lack of death care transparency leads to winning start-up competition.
- Casket company creating a niche
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Posted in Afternoon Edition
Comment is on Loewen article
I cannot figure out how I missed your paper all these years albeit semi-retired for over ten. I distinctly remember my first and only time in Alexandria circa late 1980’s mid winter. I had been doing independent consulting in various categories at that time with Aurora Casket doing consulting, sales training, national sales etc for Aurora at the time. On that trip I had come from Kansas City visiting the Newcomers, and the purpose of visiting in Alexandria was with a small group of local funeral directors on merchandising, cost analysis, pricing and related profitability. I do especially remember it was overnight and the temp was 30 below. Fortunately, the operator at the airport had a heated hanger. I was in my own twin Piper. I needed a 6 a.m. departure back to home base in Michigan. Minnesota was always an enjoyable visit. I had met several funeral directors who were products of the special Mortuary Science program U. of Minnesota had. At that time Ohio was the only staterequiring a four year degree to qualify as a licensee, a program that never quite caught on elsewhere.
I have read with great interest your account of the O’Keefe–Loewen event of 1995. I was fortunate enough to have Jerry O’Keefe as a friend and client for several years late ’80’s/90’s. Some of that was through an Aurora affiliation and later independently as a management client. I testified as a plaintiff witness during that 2-3 week plus trial in the summer of 1995. Jerry had several local attorneys and at the last minute –2-3 weeks–brought in Willie Gary as in-charge. My testimony was originally to be Restraint of Trade, Monopolies, etc and I had worked only with the local attorney. I was a nervous mess because I had no previous knowledge or training in the Restraint of Trade/Monopoly protocol.
At the very last moment I met Willy and he and I discussed business values—and that was what he and I discussed in a three hour testimony stint—the value of Jerry’s significantly large business and his possible loss due to the careless and damaging way Loewen had refused to honor agreements with firms Loewen had purchased in Mississippi. The testimony took almost the entire morning, with adjournment at lunch time. I was solemnly advised by the Judge to make myself available for cross-examination by the Loewen battery of attorneys that had come to Mississsippi from Vancouver for the trial.
For reasons that remain unknown to this day, the Defense punted and declined to cross-examine even though the obvious affect on value was going to be a significant factor in establishing damage to value.
Jerry O’Keefe was a very interesting guy. A tall and true Southern Gentleman, very soft-spoken. Jerry was a Navy World War Two Navy Ace in the Pacific and his number of downed Jap aircraft and strafing runs are a fascinating story in and of itself. That trial was both terrifying (in advance of testimony) and fascinating especially with the $500,000,ooo verdict in favor of O’Keefe and –within six months—completely upheld by the Mississippi Supreme Court. (that announcement took place during the 1995 NFDA national convention while in session in Orlando)—a Funeral Service news event in and of itself.