WNBA Superstar: From the hardcourt to the prep room

By Funeral Director Daily August 16, 2022

It isn’t very often when you hear of a bona-fide superstar in their athletic field that just can’t seem to wait for the next chapter of their life to start.  However, that is where WNBA superstar Sylvia Fowles finds herself as she has counted down the last weeks and days of her 15-year WNBA career. …

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Thank you — lots of people are reading Funeral Director Daily. . . Here’s our top read articles for the past 30 days

By Funeral Director Daily August 15, 2022

Just a short note before I give you the Top Read articles for the past 30 days.  I want to Thank You for reading Funeral Director Daily.  Last week we topped the 30-day running total of 15,000 page views for the first time ever.  As of today, I’m writing this on Saturday, August 13, we…

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It’s a common theme — Park Lawn reports higher sales, lower margins in 2Q 2022 report

By Funeral Director Daily August 15, 2022

Park Lawn Corporation (PLC) reported their financial results for the 2nd Quarter of 2022 (April thru June) last week and their report was like many others we have seen  — higher revenues, lower margins.  You can see the press release here. For the quarter PLC reported Net Revenue of $75.9 million as compared to last…

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Quarterly report at Hillenbrand reinforces recent results

By Funeral Director Daily August 12, 2022

Hillenbrand Industries, the parent company of Batesville Casket, reported its 3rd Quarter results earlier in the week.  The 3rd Quarter for Hillenbrand encompasses the April thru June time period. It’s interesting to note that the Batesville segment of the business carried through with what we have been seen in the death care profession with other…

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“Managing thru it”

By Funeral Director Daily August 11, 2022

I was proof reading an article for Funeral Director Daily the other day and an odd thought hit me.  I operated and managed our family owned funeral home for over 33 years and every day I went to work I did what had to be done and made many decisions.  From time to time I…

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BUSINESS

A review of 2025 from a “Change/Trend” perspective

By Funeral Director Daily | December 29, 2025

    Tomorrow Funeral Director Daily will unveil its “2025 Business Story of the Year” where I will tell you what I believe is an interesting trend in the Business and Finance of the Death…

“It is the Night of our Dear Savior’s Birth”

By Funeral Director Daily | December 25, 2025

      O, Holy night! The stars are brightly shining It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth O night divine, O night when Christ was born O night, O Holy night, O night…

This Christmas: “Count Your Blessings”

By Funeral Director Daily | December 24, 2025

    We all worry — probably too much.  We worry about finances, we worry about weather, we worry about our children.  Trust me, I think everybody worries a lot — like I said, probably…

FINANCE

The Question: “How does the economy look for 2026?” , The Answer: “Depends on who you ask?”

By Funeral Director Daily | December 26, 2025

  The overall economy and, more importantly, the way consumers and Death Care clientele feel about their individual situations has some effect on purchases of Death Care products and services– both Pre-Need and At-Need.  It’s…

Everstory Partner’s Cedar Hill Funeral Home completes renovations

By Funeral Director Daily | December 23, 2025

  Everstory Partners, who may be the nation’s 2nd largest Death Care provider by serving over 65,000 families per year, recently announced completed renovations at their Cedar Hill Funeral Home just outside Washington, DC.  This…

Pinnacle Funeral Service makes Green Bay acquisition

By Funeral Director Daily | December 18, 2025

  We learned earlier this week that Pinnacle Funeral Service, a funeral home owner and operator based in St. Petersburg, Florida, has acquired the Malcore Funeral Home & Crematory as well as Simply Cremation in…

REGULATIONS

New York audit of state funeral industry finds “Red flags”

By Funeral Director Daily | December 19, 2025

    A recent report (November 2025) from the State of New York Department of Health with the results of an audit “which covered April 2019 through November 2023, concluded that the state Department of…

Missing body causing problems between family and cemetery

By Funeral Director Daily | December 3, 2025

    According to details in this article from CBC Canada Royal Air Force glider pilot veteran Gordon Patrick was buried at the Green Acres Cemetery outside of Winnipeg, Manitoba, following his death in 1973. …

Subject of iconic “Homecoming” photo died on Veterans Day

By Funeral Director Daily | November 28, 2025

  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…

CEMETERY

Cremations, and now tariffs creating headwinds for monument dealers

By Funeral Director Daily | December 16, 2025

  American monument dealers have become accustomed to dealing with the rising cremation rates in the country and the dwindling sales opportunities for cemetery monuments that fact brings.   But now, according to this recent…

The Green Funeral movement is alive in New York City

By Funeral Director Daily | December 11, 2025

  Amy Cunningham is a friend of mine.  She was a writer/editor who has become a funeral director and she has teased me that I was a funeral director who has became a writer/editor with…

Opinion: The Jewish Faith and Cremation

By Funeral Director Daily | December 10, 2025

  I grew up in the very homogeneous community of Alexandria, Minnesota.  From this Wikipedia article you can see that the city at the time of my growing up had a population of a little…

CREMATION

Cremations, and now tariffs creating headwinds for monument dealers

By Funeral Director Daily | December 16, 2025

  American monument dealers have become accustomed to dealing with the rising cremation rates in the country and the dwindling sales opportunities for cemetery monuments that fact brings.   But now, according to this recent…

Opinion: The Jewish Faith and Cremation

By Funeral Director Daily | December 10, 2025

  I grew up in the very homogeneous community of Alexandria, Minnesota.  From this Wikipedia article you can see that the city at the time of my growing up had a population of a little…

Does KFC have a template for Death Care?

By Funeral Director Daily | November 24, 2025

  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. .…

PRENEED

More Americans take on debt to cover funerals

By Funeral Director Daily | December 12, 2025

  I came across this recent article from USA Today titled “Americans are going into debt over death.  Here are affordability tips.”  Reading that article led me to a survey and results from Debt.com and…

Preneed companies emerge as funeral home lending sources

By Funeral Director Daily | October 3, 2025

    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

By Funeral Director Daily | October 1, 2025

  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…

PRODUCTS

Cremations, and now tariffs creating headwinds for monument dealers

By Funeral Director Daily | December 16, 2025

  American monument dealers have become accustomed to dealing with the rising cremation rates in the country and the dwindling sales opportunities for cemetery monuments that fact brings.   But now, according to this recent…

The Green Funeral movement is alive in New York City

By Funeral Director Daily | December 11, 2025

  Amy Cunningham is a friend of mine.  She was a writer/editor who has become a funeral director and she has teased me that I was a funeral director who has became a writer/editor with…

More breakthrough technologies from OneRoom available

By Funeral Director Daily | December 5, 2025

  The streaming, recording, and re-watching of Death Care memorial events is becoming more and more a staple of what consumers are now expecting from their Death Care event professional.  And much like any new…