Back in early June of this year (2024) many of us were surprised by this announcement that public funeral home and cemetery operator Park Lawn Corporation (PLC) had agreed to be acquired and taken private by a group known as Veridian Holdings. Probably most consequential in that announcement was that one of the partners…
Like many I learned of the death of Minnesota funeral home owner and operator William L. McReavy, Sr. on Christmas Day. Here is Legacy.com’s announcement of that event. The Washburn-McReavy brand goes back to the year 1857 in Minnesota which happens to be one year before Minnesota became a state. Like many generational…
Prior to Christmas this past month I listened to my pastor preach on “Loneliness”, and loneliness specifically as it relates to the Holiday Season. You see, she pointed out, that while many of us are excited to see family and friends during the Holiday Season, there are a whole lot of people who become…
For the past 20 years or so since the advent of online news by the legacy television news broadcasters there has been a “blurring of the lines” between news and advertising. I happened to run across this apparent “ad-vertorial” for national online direct cremation company Tulip Cremation the other day and just wanted to…
This short article will be going out on the morning of Christmas Eve and in preparing it I think of a Christmas Eve that always comes to mind for me in correlation to working in the funeral business. It was probably in the 1990’s, I was probably in my late 30’s age-wise, and…
BUSINESS
The election is over, Congress has changed. If I ran NFDA here’s what I would do.
Now that the television advertising has stopped, I know that the United States recent election cycle is over. And, whether your favorites won or lost it is time, or it will be come…
Chptr wins NFDA Innovation Award, launches ChptrOne
Includes an NFDA Convention Highlight Let’s begin with an announcement that came from last week’s National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Here’s that announcement: Chptr, creator of the…
Another suburban Chicago funeral home sold
It was only ten days ago that Funeral Director Daily brought you this article about Park Lawn Corporation adding to its Illinois cluster by purchasing two funeral homes northwest of Chicago. We now…
FINANCE
Security National CEO on the 3rd Quarter 2026: “We had a rugged 3rd Quarter”
Security National Financial Corporation’s Chairman, President, and CEO Scott Quist made this comment in the opening remarks of the company’s 3rd Quarter Earnings Report earlier this week, “From the Income Statement point of…
Funeral homes in Kentucky, Indiana purchased by Landmark Funeral Group
We were notified in late October by this press release that Landmark Funeral Group had acquired the Funeral Excellence Group (FEG) that consisted of nine locations. All of the locations are located in…
Carriage Services 3Q26 Earnings Call: CEO explains comparable revenue drop
Carriage Services, one of three public funeral home and cemetery companies that are required to release finanical information to the public did so for their 3rd Quarter of 2026 last week. They also…
REGULATIONS
The election is over, Congress has changed. If I ran NFDA here’s what I would do.
Now that the television advertising has stopped, I know that the United States recent election cycle is over. And, whether your favorites won or lost it is time, or it will be come…
The Mid-term elections are a week away. Where do Death Care voters stand?
An NFDA Convention Discussion Topic The mid-term congressional and senatorial elections are right around the corner taking place one week from today. The direction and results of those elections will help America chart…
Can cemeteries be part of the “Battery Storage solution” and profit from it at the same time?
An NFDA Convention Discussion Issue One of the issues that we have in America right now is that utility companies need to “store electricity” to help meet peak demand periods. Here’s how a…
CEMETERY
Can cemeteries be part of the “Battery Storage solution” and profit from it at the same time?
An NFDA Convention Discussion Issue One of the issues that we have in America right now is that utility companies need to “store electricity” to help meet peak demand periods. Here’s how a…
The Start of Something Good
I learned of the advent of the upcoming first annual National Cremation Remembrance (or Placement) Day earlier this year from my friends at Crowne Vault. The company was one of the first to…
Will the dispersion of Natural Organic Reduction soil be an issue?
Back in August the Worcester (Maryland) County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) approved Natural Organic Reduction (NOR) firm Earth Burial’s request to spread NOR soil on a 14-acre property in the county. According to…
CREMATION
The Start of Something Good
I learned of the advent of the upcoming first annual National Cremation Remembrance (or Placement) Day earlier this year from my friends at Crowne Vault. The company was one of the first to…
Not a Good Look: “Dysfunctional Death Care System” becoming an issue in Chicago mayor’s race
In August of this past summer (2026) 56 decomposed bodies were found improperly stored in a funeral home in Chicago. It’s not the first time or the first place something like this has…
Will the dispersion of Natural Organic Reduction soil be an issue?
Back in August the Worcester (Maryland) County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) approved Natural Organic Reduction (NOR) firm Earth Burial’s request to spread NOR soil on a 14-acre property in the county. According to…
PRENEED
The election is over, Congress has changed. If I ran NFDA here’s what I would do.
Now that the television advertising has stopped, I know that the United States recent election cycle is over. And, whether your favorites won or lost it is time, or it will be come…
Wages, credit, inflation. . . . How are those factors coming together to influence revenue per case
“Revenue per Case” (RpC) is a very important metric in your funeral home to illustrate how much money comes into the your funeral home for every death call you care for. The goal,…
Preneed: Your funeral home’s reputation may be tied to your preneed provider
I came across an interesting article the other day that reminded me of the unease that I always had in selecting our funeral home’s preneed insurance partner. My unease had nothing to do…
PRODUCTS
Chptr wins NFDA Innovation Award, launches ChptrOne
Includes an NFDA Convention Highlight Let’s begin with an announcement that came from last week’s National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Here’s that announcement: Chptr, creator of the…
Can cemeteries be part of the “Battery Storage solution” and profit from it at the same time?
An NFDA Convention Discussion Issue One of the issues that we have in America right now is that utility companies need to “store electricity” to help meet peak demand periods. Here’s how a…
ASD named one of America’s Most Innovative Companies
Today’s Article includes an NFDA Convention Preview Who says Death Care is not “innovative”? Just this week I learned that ASD – Answering Service for Directors was named to Fortune‘s 2026…
