Thursday night into Friday morning brought Minnesota’s first snowfall of the 2021-2022 winter season. It was light, but created slippery conditions outside that forced me onto an indoor treadmill run on Friday morning. My 2 1/2 mile daily run is punctuated by the fact that I have a lot of stamina. . . just not…
Last March a public service announcement (PSA) created by the International Cemetery, Cremation, and Funeral Association (ICCFA) Education Foundation began airing. In early November the association announced that the PSA campaign has been one of the best in media history by, according to Nielsen TV research, being broadcast 7,955 times and viewed by an approximate…
The numbers 11-11-11 have always been significant when I think of November 11. Yesterday was that day that we now refer to as Veteran’s Day in America or is referred to as Remembrance Day in Canada. Those numbers, 11-11-11, refer to the day and time that the cease fire that ended World War I in…
Back in about 1990 I made funeral arrangements for a 55-year old who died of a sudden heart attack. His widowed wife eventually talked to me about an idea for our funeral home which was based on the premise of what we now call “Aftercare”. At that time our funeral home did not have a…
Service Corporation International (SCI), the largest provider of funeral services in North America, recently released their 3rd Quarter 2021 results and following that company executives answered questions from stock analysts about the company and death care in general. You can read a complete transcript of that commentary here. If you are not interested in reading…
BUSINESS
Death Literacy: “Concerns over the rapid rise of Direct Cremations”
“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…
Keeping your brand relevant with the new consumers
I’ve came to believe that, at least in part, the reason why consumers select a certain funeral home has changed. From my point of view, in days gone by almost almost all funeral home…
“Size” has its own set of issues
Great Britain’s Pure Cremation, quite possibly the most successful start-up in the history of Death Care, continues to grow their direct cremation business. And, that growth in itself seems to cause some problems. …
FINANCE
Death Care Index (DCI) once again trails major indexes
Over the years I’ve seen many family funeral homes explode in value as they built more market share, acquired more facilities, and simply built a culture of enhancing revenues while at the same…
Matthews International names new President/CEO
It didn’t take long for Death Care conglomerate Matthews International to name a new President and CEO following this August 4, 2026, press release indicating that current President/CEO Josepah Bartolacci would be retiring after more…
A.S. Turner & Sons has a busy summer — adds a funeral home and terramation service line
A.S. Turner & Sons has served the population of Decatur, Georgia, and the greater Atlanta area for more than 120 years. Funeral Director Daily recently mentioned the firm in this article about The Natural…
REGULATIONS
Oklahoma family business gets initial court win to move forward in casket sales case
According to this recent article from the Institute for Justice the District Court of Oklahoma County has ruled that Casket of Honors owners Candice Mentink and Todd Collard may proceed with their case against…
Empty grave case still perplexing, legal issues pending
Back in December 2025, Funeral Director Daily, in this article, informed you of the case of the empty grave of CBC Canada Royal Glider Pilot Gordon Patrick. If you read the article you…
Colorado city tackles cemetery issue
The Lafayette (Colorado) City Council reached an agreement on what action to take to help those who have purchased lots in the Lafayette Cemetery and may not be able to use them due to…
CEMETERY
Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock visit cemetery movie screening
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…
Everstory Partners aims for more of the “Upper K”
Not every consumer is looking for the $999 direct cremation service. And, the good operators in the Death Care space know that. There are plenty of ways to buy a burger in many different…
Empty grave case still perplexing, legal issues pending
Back in December 2025, Funeral Director Daily, in this article, informed you of the case of the empty grave of CBC Canada Royal Glider Pilot Gordon Patrick. If you read the article you…
CREMATION
Death Literacy: “Concerns over the rapid rise of Direct Cremations”
“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…
“Size” has its own set of issues
Great Britain’s Pure Cremation, quite possibly the most successful start-up in the history of Death Care, continues to grow their direct cremation business. And, that growth in itself seems to cause some problems. …
Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock visit cemetery movie screening
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…
PRENEED
Death Literacy: “Concerns over the rapid rise of Direct Cremations”
“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…
Pure Cremation exec: Is the “At-Need choice” death market contracting?
The number of deaths in the United States is expected to grow 26.3% from 2019 (the last year prior to the pandemic) until 2040 by certain estimates. Estimates for the number of deaths in…
Anthem Partners announces strategic partnership with Family Shield Credit
In a press release from earlier this week funeral home operator Anthem Partners announced that they have formed a partnership with Family Shield Credit in order to provide families with “flexible, budget-friendly payment options while…
PRODUCTS
Oklahoma family business gets initial court win to move forward in casket sales case
According to this recent article from the Institute for Justice the District Court of Oklahoma County has ruled that Casket of Honors owners Candice Mentink and Todd Collard may proceed with their case against…
Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock visit cemetery movie screening
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…
A.S. Turner & Sons has a busy summer — adds a funeral home and terramation service line
A.S. Turner & Sons has served the population of Decatur, Georgia, and the greater Atlanta area for more than 120 years. Funeral Director Daily recently mentioned the firm in this article about The Natural…
