I served as a “front line” funeral director for over 33 years. I did my share of night calls, prep room work, arrangements, and funeral duty. One thing that I take from that experience is that “I always felt, by the way I worked with a client family, like I could make a…
Our funeral home experts from the podcast “Two Guys and a Question” are back with what I thought was a really thought provoking commentary. It seems like all we hear about now is “artificial intelligence” and in the death care field how that is going to lead to digital and online arrangements. …
Security National Financial Corporation (SNFC) issued their report on their results for the 1st Quarter of 2023 last week and in doing so credited their “balanced nature of their businesses” for the performance. We follow SNFC because of their involvement in what they term their “Memorial Segment” — a portion of their…
It was announced last week by InvoCare, Australia’s largest death care provider, that San Francisco based private equity firm TPG Capital had sweetened their offer to acquire the company. As you may recall, TPG Capital made an unsolicited offer on March 7 to the InvoCare board to acquire the company for a total…
The Cremation Association of North America (CANA) has announced that the final cohort of the 2023 class for their Certified Cremation Specialist training may begin filing applications on June 1. The program is an online program that spans 17 weeks and comprises eight courses. According to the registration form that you can see…
BUSINESS
Do Death Care consumers trade down in a weak economic environment?
Has the death care community ever studied if, when faced with economic difficulties, the purchase of death care such as funerals, caskets, cremations, and other services reflect those economic times or do…
Matthews International continues to lead Death Care Index companies in 2023
All three major indexes of the U.S. stock market, the Nasdaq Composite, the S&P 500, and the Dow Jones Industrials grew by 1% or more on Friday. That convinced me that, over the…
Pandemic’s death benefit payments come to an end. . .average award about $6,275
President Donald Trump declared a nationwide pandemic public health emergency on January 31, 2020. That public health emergency has now expired as of midnight on May 11, 2023. . . . a period…
FINANCE
Matthews International continues to lead Death Care Index companies in 2023
All three major indexes of the U.S. stock market, the Nasdaq Composite, the S&P 500, and the Dow Jones Industrials grew by 1% or more on Friday. That convinced me that, over the…
Security National Financial Corporation: Balance leads to 1Q 2023 profitability
Security National Financial Corporation (SNFC) issued their report on their results for the 1st Quarter of 2023 last week and in doing so credited their “balanced nature of their businesses” for the performance.…
TPG Capital back in the game for InvoCare
It was announced last week by InvoCare, Australia’s largest death care provider, that San Francisco based private equity firm TPG Capital had sweetened their offer to acquire the company. As you may recall,…
REGULATIONS
A Renaissance for cemeteries?
I was out at our hometown non-denominational cemetery, Kinkead Cemetery, on Memorial Day. It’s the large cemetery on the north end of our community where I ride my bike through on Summer Saturday…
Memorial Day 2023 — May God Bless their memories
I bring you this Memorial Day thought and tell you that it is a slight reprise from an Easter message of thanks that Funeral Director Daily produced during the days of the pandemic…
Pandemic’s death benefit payments come to an end. . .average award about $6,275
President Donald Trump declared a nationwide pandemic public health emergency on January 31, 2020. That public health emergency has now expired as of midnight on May 11, 2023. . . . a period…
CEMETERY
A Renaissance for cemeteries?
I was out at our hometown non-denominational cemetery, Kinkead Cemetery, on Memorial Day. It’s the large cemetery on the north end of our community where I ride my bike through on Summer Saturday…
Memorial Day 2023 — May God Bless their memories
I bring you this Memorial Day thought and tell you that it is a slight reprise from an Easter message of thanks that Funeral Director Daily produced during the days of the pandemic…
Will Illinois bill set a precedent for the future of cremation remains
A reader of Funeral Director Daily recently sent me information on Illinois HB 1367 that is a bill under consideration in the state legislature of Illinois that the bill’s author states in this…
CREMATION
Will Illinois bill set a precedent for the future of cremation remains
A reader of Funeral Director Daily recently sent me information on Illinois HB 1367 that is a bill under consideration in the state legislature of Illinois that the bill’s author states in this…
Memorial spaceflight fails to reach orbit
In what was reminiscent of the 1986 Challenger explosion, you can see in this video embedded in this article, an explosion only seconds into launch that caused a suborbital rocket carrying the cremated…
Grief without the grave
There are approximately 3 million deaths in the United States each year. As of 2023, about 40% of those deaths are interred as “Traditional Earth Burials”. That leaves about 1.8 million deaths that…
PRENEED
Do Death Care consumers trade down in a weak economic environment?
Has the death care community ever studied if, when faced with economic difficulties, the purchase of death care such as funerals, caskets, cremations, and other services reflect those economic times or do…
Carriage Services announces national preneed partnerships
It was less than three weeks ago, on May 4, when listeners of Carriage Services earnings call got an idea that something was going to be decided in the way that the company…
Selling Death Care in a “Limitless” world
Last week I spoke in front of a small audience of funeral directors and commented on what I see happening in the Death Care world. One of the things that I have noticed…
PRODUCTS
Do Death Care consumers trade down in a weak economic environment?
Has the death care community ever studied if, when faced with economic difficulties, the purchase of death care such as funerals, caskets, cremations, and other services reflect those economic times or do…
Matthews International continues to lead Death Care Index companies in 2023
All three major indexes of the U.S. stock market, the Nasdaq Composite, the S&P 500, and the Dow Jones Industrials grew by 1% or more on Friday. That convinced me that, over the…
Memorial spaceflight fails to reach orbit
In what was reminiscent of the 1986 Challenger explosion, you can see in this video embedded in this article, an explosion only seconds into launch that caused a suborbital rocket carrying the cremated…
