Here’s some good news from our profession

July 11, 2023/Business, Cemetery/

I like it when I read about good things happening in the Death Care business. Sometimes, like this story, the good news grows out of bad deeds. . . but, in the end, it’s how our profession can step up and help that makes me feel good about what we do.

This story and news video from Local 4 – NBC, Hastings, Nebraska, starts out on a bad note when it tells of a monument company that is alleged to have accepted money for headstones that were never delivered. The story states that the investigation into that company is still continuing.

That alleged action, led many grief-stricken families into a situation where they now had paid for monuments for their loved ones that will in all probability not be delivered. The story continues to tell us of a local funeral director who says these families are heartbroken and he is moving forward to do something about it.

Dan Naranjo, owner of All Faiths Funeral Home located in Grand Island, Nebraska, said this according to the article, “First of all families are going through such a hardship grieving their loved one in the first place. Then you know part of that journey of grieving is to be able to honor your love one by ordering a monument with the right wording, sometimes with the right picture and so forth, and you just really want it to be special.”

And, now that it appears that those monuments will not be delivered, Naranjo is doing something about the situation. Naranjo has now started a fund called the “Monument Assistance Program” to help those people who will more than likely lose their down payments for monuments in this situation. Naranjo is hoping to raise $150,000 for this cause and to that end his All Faiths Funeral Home has already contributed $10,000 to the fund.

Funeral Director Daily take: Kudos to Dan Naranjo on his efforts. According to the article there is a ways to go to raise the $150,000 but I’m always encouraged when someone, especially from our profession, steps up to help people. In my book, it is a way to build up good-will with the consumers we serve.

It’s unfortunate how this situation apparently came to be. . . but the next best thing that can be done is stepping up to help those who find themselves in the predicament of losing their down payments. That’s what it appears that Naranjo is doing.

Here’s the website for All Faiths Funeral Home in Grand Island, Nebraska

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