I’ll admit that I’m not the most tech savvy person when it comes to knowing how the internet and artificial intelligence might benefit my funeral home. But, I’m also a business person who is looking for every advantage possible when it comes to finding customers and building market share for my business. So,…
Are Americans “reconnecting” with death? That is a strange question which will have different meanings for different people. And, if we are “reconnecting” with death, what might that mean for those of us who make our livings in the world of funerals, cremations, cemetery work, and memorialization? . . . . . Might it…
Matthews International reported their 2nd Quarter 2026 (January thru March period) last Thursday evening after the markets closed. Here’s what their CEO Joseph Bartolacci had to say in prepared remarks in the press release which you can access here: “We are pleased with our operating results for the fiscal 2026 second quarter. While our…
The stock markets closed on Thursday, April 30, and it continued with an upward climb for Death Care stocks. April 30 marked the calendar as one-third of the way through 2026 and with it showed an additional increase in the Death Care Index (DCI) over the March 31 number. The Funeral Director Daily…
Service Corporation International (SCI), the continent’s largest Death Care provider, reported their 1st Quarter of 2026 financial results late Wednesday. You can access a copy of the press release on that report here. Here’s what Tom Ryan, the company’s Chairman and CEO commented in a prepared statement included in the press release:…
BUSINESS
Pure Cremation exec: Is the “At-Need choice” death market contracting?
The number of deaths in the United States is expected to grow 26.3% from 2019 (the last year prior to the pandemic) until 2040 by certain estimates. Estimates for the number of deaths in…
Anthem Partners announces strategic partnership with Family Shield Credit
In a press release from earlier this week funeral home operator Anthem Partners announced that they have formed a partnership with Family Shield Credit in order to provide families with “flexible, budget-friendly payment options while…
Parting Stone enforces patent protection
It’s just the way it works. If you are a company or other entity that seeks patents to protect your intellectual property you have to be able to fight off others who may…
FINANCE
Park Lawn adds another Oklahoma funeral home to their group
History will tell us that the oil boom in Oklahoma began in 1897 when a massive discovery of oil was discovered near Bartlesville. Since December 2025 the folks at Park Lawn Corporation seem…
Pinnacle Funeral Service makes another acquisition
We learned earlier this week that Pinnacle Funeral Service had acquired Gent Funeral Home & Cremation Services of Alton, Illinois. You can learn more about the acquisition from this article on the Pinnacle Funeral…
Will a “Hawkish” Federal Reserve put more interest costs on your business?
My routine is pretty normal during the work week. I get up before 6 am, put the coffee on, do my devotions, and then enjoy the coffee for a few minutes while watching the…
REGULATIONS
Parting Stone enforces patent protection
It’s just the way it works. If you are a company or other entity that seeks patents to protect your intellectual property you have to be able to fight off others who may…
Recompose: On the “Grow”
I started publishing Funeral Director Daily about the same time that entrepreneur Katrina Spade was involved in a pilot research project with Washington State University on the possibility and merits of composting human remains. …
The potential Venezuela Death Care crisis
As you are well aware of two large-scale earthquakes occured in Venezuela last week. As I write this article on Saturday morning June 27, the official death toll in the country is listed at…
CEMETERY
Everstory Partners adds New Jersey cemetery to its group
Everstory Partners the cemetery heavy company that operates more than 460 cemeteries, funeral homes, and crematories in the United States and Puerto Rico announced last week that they had acquired the Franklin Memorial…
Cemetery sued over private casket-lowering policy
When I was a practicing funeral director I was well aware of safety concerns at the cemetery when the casket was lowered into the vault and grave. Our good friends from Wilbert Vault were…
Cuba’s crisis with death
Cuba, the island country only 90 miles off the Florida coast has a crisis with death and Death Care. If you look at the Wikipedia page for Cuba you will notice that the population…
CREMATION
Pure Cremation exec: Is the “At-Need choice” death market contracting?
The number of deaths in the United States is expected to grow 26.3% from 2019 (the last year prior to the pandemic) until 2040 by certain estimates. Estimates for the number of deaths in…
Parting Stone enforces patent protection
It’s just the way it works. If you are a company or other entity that seeks patents to protect your intellectual property you have to be able to fight off others who may…
Pizza Hut, Batesville, and CANA
Pizza Hut, Batesville, and CANA? A reader sent me an article earlier this week that brings these three topics into a Venn diagram sort of picture for me. First of all, the…
PRENEED
Pure Cremation exec: Is the “At-Need choice” death market contracting?
The number of deaths in the United States is expected to grow 26.3% from 2019 (the last year prior to the pandemic) until 2040 by certain estimates. Estimates for the number of deaths in…
Anthem Partners announces strategic partnership with Family Shield Credit
In a press release from earlier this week funeral home operator Anthem Partners announced that they have formed a partnership with Family Shield Credit in order to provide families with “flexible, budget-friendly payment options while…
Connecticut budget includes money for victims of allegedly stolen pre-arrangements
Earlier this month, as you can read in this article from NBC Connecticut, the legislature of Connecticut passed their state budget which included the “Act Concerning Unlawful Funeral Service Practices”. The state appropriated…
PRODUCTS
Anthem Partners announces strategic partnership with Family Shield Credit
In a press release from earlier this week funeral home operator Anthem Partners announced that they have formed a partnership with Family Shield Credit in order to provide families with “flexible, budget-friendly payment options while…
Parting Stone enforces patent protection
It’s just the way it works. If you are a company or other entity that seeks patents to protect your intellectual property you have to be able to fight off others who may…
Recompose: On the “Grow”
I started publishing Funeral Director Daily about the same time that entrepreneur Katrina Spade was involved in a pilot research project with Washington State University on the possibility and merits of composting human remains. …
