Confessions of a retired funeral director

By Funeral Director Daily July 20, 2023

      I had an incident in church on Sunday that both the party I was involved with and myself laughed about at the time.  However, when I returned home I thought about the situation and wondered to myself, “Is it just me in this stage of life or is humanity, in general, losing…

What’s fueling Matthews International’s growth

By Funeral Director Daily July 19, 2023

        Most of us in the Death Care business recognize Matthews International as a trusted supplier in the monument, cemetery, cremation, and casket business.  However, this recent article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gives us some insight into what has been fueling the company’s rise in stock price and potential future growth prospects.…

What keeps ’em coming back. . .do you have the data?

By Funeral Director Daily July 18, 2023

    The funeral home business is well known for its retention of retaining families served over the generations of deaths.  Most of us call this “Heritage” business and any great funeral home will find a way to keep the families they have served happy so they don’t look any where else the next time…

Tomorrow night is Peer Support Night

By Funeral Director Daily July 17, 2023

      One of Funeral Director Daily’s sponsors, the Cremation Association of North America (CANA), will again be helping to host the Peer Support Network online meeting tomorrow night, July 18, at 8 pm Eastern, 7 pm Central time.   Here’s what CANA says about this month’s meeting in a recent press release on…

It’s legal to sell body parts. . . .Congress introduces “Body Broker” bill to give some respect to the process

By Funeral Director Daily July 17, 2023

    The following quote came out of a National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) e-mail on June 26, 2023, that announced the introduction of the “Consensual Donation and Research Integrity Act” bill into Congress, “In almost every state, it is legal for anyone, even if they do not have training, to sell the human remains…

BUSINESS

Christopher Walken stars in the latest “funeral home” inspired film

By Funeral Director Daily | October 8, 2026

  The movie Back in Black starring Christopher Walken recently celebrated its world premiere in September at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).  The movie stars Walken as Clyde Mortimer in what some reviews call…

Dignity Plc Funeral Services owner: “The legal services strategy has continued to exceed expectations”

By Funeral Director Daily | October 7, 2026

  I’ve had a lot of experience during my time as a Board member and Chairman of Senior Living companies extending “service lines” in order to build business.  And, I think part of the future…

Acquisitions: The price that is paid is all about “The Present Value of Future Cash-Flow”

By Funeral Director Daily | September 30, 2026

  Acquisitions are big in Death Care. . . .and we are being told that with so many retiring funeral home owners. . . about to become bigger.  If that is the case, we will…

FINANCE

Park Lawn Corp purchases business assets of historic Texas funeral home. . . .Strategy may start a trend of facility closures

By Funeral Director Daily | October 6, 2026

    This recent article from the Waco (TX) Tribune-Herald will give you full information on the recent purchase of the business assets of the historic Connally-Compton Funeral Home in Waco, Texas, by the Park…

Acquisitions: The price that is paid is all about “The Present Value of Future Cash-Flow”

By Funeral Director Daily | September 30, 2026

  Acquisitions are big in Death Care. . . .and we are being told that with so many retiring funeral home owners. . . about to become bigger.  If that is the case, we will…

Propel Funeral Partners FY 2026 Annual Report: Pretty much “Statis Quo”

By Funeral Director Daily | September 25, 2026

  Propel Funeral Partners, the largest public Death Care company and 2nd largest Death Care company in Australia and New Zealand, presented their Fiscal Year 2026 Annual Report at the end of August.  The report…

REGULATIONS

Not a Good Look: “Dysfunctional Death Care System” becoming an issue in Chicago mayor’s race

By Funeral Director Daily | October 9, 2026

    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…

Preneed: Your funeral home’s reputation may be tied to your preneed provider

By Funeral Director Daily | October 2, 2026

    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…

Will the dispersion of Natural Organic Reduction soil be an issue?

By Funeral Director Daily | October 1, 2026

  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…

CEMETERY

Will the dispersion of Natural Organic Reduction soil be an issue?

By Funeral Director Daily | October 1, 2026

  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…

Recollections of 9/11. . . 25 years later

By Funeral Director Daily | September 11, 2026

    So today, September 11, 2026, marks the 25th anniversary of the 2001 terror attacks on America.  For those of us who are baby boomers, that day is seared in our memory as are…

Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock visit cemetery movie screening

By Funeral Director Daily | August 26, 2026

  It’s interesting to me that when I look at the financial results of the public companies in Death Care and also try to understand the continual business potential of Death Care, I seem to…

CREMATION

Not a Good Look: “Dysfunctional Death Care System” becoming an issue in Chicago mayor’s race

By Funeral Director Daily | October 9, 2026

    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?

By Funeral Director Daily | October 1, 2026

  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…

The devastating effects of Direct Cremation on traditional funeral homes

By Funeral Director Daily | September 23, 2026

  My career in the Death Care business spans from 1980 when I attained my funeral director’s license until today where I keep my eye on what is happening in the business so that I…

PRENEED

Preneed: Your funeral home’s reputation may be tied to your preneed provider

By Funeral Director Daily | October 2, 2026

    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…

The shifting preneed trend and the need to make preneed a priority

By Funeral Director Daily | September 16, 2026

  I recently read a blog post on the Funeral Directors Life (FDL) blog written by Todd Carlson, Executive Vice-President and Chief Sales officer at Funeral Directors Life.  The article was titled “Three preneed trends…

Death Literacy: “Concerns over the rapid rise of Direct Cremations”

By Funeral Director Daily | September 4, 2026

  “Death Literacy” is something you may be hearing more about in the days to come.  This article from SABR-A Care Collective mentions that “Raising death literacy aims to equip people with the skills not…

PRODUCTS

Dignity Plc Funeral Services owner: “The legal services strategy has continued to exceed expectations”

By Funeral Director Daily | October 7, 2026

  I’ve had a lot of experience during my time as a Board member and Chairman of Senior Living companies extending “service lines” in order to build business.  And, I think part of the future…

Will the dispersion of Natural Organic Reduction soil be an issue?

By Funeral Director Daily | October 1, 2026

  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…

“Drowning in information, starved for knowledge”

By Funeral Director Daily | September 17, 2026

  Back in 1982 when John Naisbitt’s bestselling book, Megatrends, was flying off the shelves (it was before Amazon so it wasn’t being ordered by mail) the book commented that Americans were “drowning in information…