A press release from Batesville last week announced additional resources being put into the “Living Memorial” program by Batesville. The company announced it “is doubling down on its mission of helping families honor the lives of those they love® with an enhancement to its Living Memorial® tree planting program that gives families the…
I recently read about two different funeral homes that were acquired by individual funeral directors. More on those specific funeral homes in a minute. When I read the newspaper articles about each it was interesting to note that one funeral home would be keeping its name, at least for some time, and…
Today is the 15th of August. As we do on the 15th of every month we list the articles that were most read by Funeral Director Daily readers over the past 30 days. We noticed that this month’s Top 5 are very business oriented. Here they are: Private Equity claims another…
For my entire life I’ve enjoyed watching what is happening around me and then trying to figure out why it is happening. It’s kind of an odd hobby but it has proven to be a really good hobby to help one keep ahead of his competitors in business. What I’ve deduced…
It is the time of the 3rd Tuesday of the month when the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) sponsors it participatory “Peer Support Meeting” for funeral professionals. It will take place tomorrow evening (Tuesday, August 15, at 8 pm Eastern time, 7 pm Central time). To register and/or for more information on this…
BUSINESS
Matthews International reports Fiscal Year ’25 and 4th Quarter ’25 results
Matthews International is a company that in 2025 received over 50% of its revenue from what they call their “Memorialization” segment. That segment consists of Aurora Casket, Matthews cremation products, and a complete…
Happy Thanksgiving — Enjoy, food, family, and football!!!
This year for my evening devotions I am using a book of daily notes by Billy Graham titled, “Wisdom for Each Day“. It was in the back of my mind to write something for…
62 Years ago this week. . . . the story of the Kennedy casket
Imagine it is lunch time at the funeral home you work at when you get a call from the hospital two miles away that you need to immediately bring the best casket you have…
FINANCE
Security National Financial’s 3rd Quarter: Cemeteries/Mortuaries are the bright spot
Security National Financial Corporation, the Utah-based public company with parts of its operation in the Death Care segment, reported their 3rd Quarter 2025 financials last week. When the President of the company,…
Wealth generation, private equity, funeral homes — Will this period last forever?
The Wall Street Journal in this recent article (you may find a paywall here) estimates that over the past 5 years Americans have gained a total of $63 trillion in personal wealth. And, this…
Seeking Alpha author says “Carriage Services is coming back to life”
Seeking Alpha author Daniel Jones made the following comment in this opinion article titled “Carriage Services is coming back to life” published last week about the company: “. . . I believe…
REGULATIONS
Subject of iconic “Homecoming” photo died on Veterans Day
This is Thanksgiving weekend — a time to reflect and give thanks for the lives we are living. Those of you who are old enough will remember back in 1973 a time when our…
Happy Thanksgiving — Enjoy, food, family, and football!!!
This year for my evening devotions I am using a book of daily notes by Billy Graham titled, “Wisdom for Each Day“. It was in the back of my mind to write something for…
Turning golf courses into cemeteries. . .here’s a city that wants to do just that
Golf courses, in this day and age, are incredibly expensive to build. It’s not only the land acquisition costs but you have the costs involved in shaping the fairways and the greens, building a…
CEMETERY
62 Years ago this week. . . . the story of the Kennedy casket
Imagine it is lunch time at the funeral home you work at when you get a call from the hospital two miles away that you need to immediately bring the best casket you have…
Turning golf courses into cemeteries. . .here’s a city that wants to do just that
Golf courses, in this day and age, are incredibly expensive to build. It’s not only the land acquisition costs but you have the costs involved in shaping the fairways and the greens, building a…
Socialism in NYC and Death Care
The election of Democrat Socialist Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of the city that many refer to as the “World’s Financial Center” has brought about questions on what might change. Most of those questions deal…
CREMATION
Does KFC have a template for Death Care?
Alex Fasciano, an analyst for CFRA Research suggests that quick service restaurant player KFC’s (formerly Kentucky Fried Chicken) strategy is “. .centered on driving growth through brand relevance, marketing innovation, (and) operational excellence. .…
Cremation Air: A new service to help funeral homes
Funeral Director Daily learned last week that one of the best known names in Death Care was branching out to continue to help funeral directors. The Czachor family, founders of the leading funeral home…
Socialism in NYC and Death Care
The election of Democrat Socialist Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of the city that many refer to as the “World’s Financial Center” has brought about questions on what might change. Most of those questions deal…
PRENEED
Preneed companies emerge as funeral home lending sources
Morgan Stanley, a global financial services firm that provides a wide range of products and services, including investment banking, wealth management, consumer banking, and brokerage services, recently made this comment in an article, “Life…
Co-op Funeralcare increases “Funeral Plan” sales over 17% despite cyberattack
An April cyberattack which you can read about here probably cost the parent company of Great Britain’s largest funeral home operator, Co-op Funeralcare, about a US$ 107 million profit swing but didn’t seem to…
Acquiring client families — “Any Which Way You Can”
As so often happens in my world I’ve had some real life and/or businesses experiences or discussions in the last week or ten days that has made me think about Death Care. And,…
PRODUCTS
Matthews International reports Fiscal Year ’25 and 4th Quarter ’25 results
Matthews International is a company that in 2025 received over 50% of its revenue from what they call their “Memorialization” segment. That segment consists of Aurora Casket, Matthews cremation products, and a complete…
Transformation continues — You can’t afford to be left behind
Simply as a member of a community I was again reminded this past week that transformation, and especially technology transformation, continues to happen at a rapid pace in the Death Care profession. Last week…
Cremation Air: A new service to help funeral homes
Funeral Director Daily learned last week that one of the best known names in Death Care was branching out to continue to help funeral directors. The Czachor family, founders of the leading funeral home…
