New Foundation Partners Group CEO John Smith didn’t waste any time in forming a group of former owners to learn more about the Death Care business. Smith, with lots of management experience but none in the Death Care realm was hired by Foundation Partners Group (FPG) earlier in 2025. Here’s a Funeral Director…
I’m writing this article on Tuesday morning ahead of President Trump’s address to Congress and at a time when certain investors seem to have lost some faith in the markets as the Dow Jones Industrial Average is currently down over 700 points on the day. The world can change between last Tuesday and…
Many of us have gotten accustomed to watching the television series “Yellowstone” in recent years. While that series takes place in Montana, a county in Wyoming that borders Idaho and Montana contains 40% of Yellowstone National Park’s total area. Teton County of Wyoming, also “had the highest average incomes per capita of any county in…
I recently read the Carriage Services Earnings Call transcript from last week which pertained to the company’s 4th Quarter of 2024 as well as their financial year end for 2024. It’s interesting that as I read the transcript, which you can access here from Seeking Alpha, several well-meaning cliches came to my mind. .…
New products come to market all the time. The issues for companies with new products include how to make potential consumers aware of them and how to distribute the product to those consumers. The Loop Biotech “Living Cocoon” is a new poduct for green burials. According to an article in Funeral Service Times…
BUSINESS
Can your funeral home afford to increase prices amid rising costs?
I operated my funeral home from 1980 to 2013 and in that time period we increased prices every year. I always looked for an average of about 3% but was able to increase…
Indiana Court: “Death Doula” does not need a funeral director license
According to this issue of the Indianapolis Star an Indiana court of appeals ruled in late August that the State of Indiana “violated the First Amendment rights of a Fort Wayne “death…
CANA’s Peer Support Meeting tomorrow night will focus on “Stress”
Dwight Thompson, a seasoned social worker, psychotherapist, and former funeral director with more than 20 years of experience in mental health and grief care will highlight the monthly interactive Peer Support meeting for…
FINANCE
Your funeral home’s cash-flow: Investment vs. Enjoyment
I read a lot of different articles. Recently I read an article about investing that contrasted “Dividend Investing” and “Growth Investing”. The article was very interesting but it also made me think about…
Carriage Services jumps back into acquisitions with Central Florida purchase
It’s been pretty easy to recognize that the management team that replaced founder and long-time CEO Melvin Payne at Carriage Services has been building the foundations of the business in order to begin once…
Death Care Index flat Year-to-Date. . . .Carriage Services shows share price growth
There is no doubt that while many investors (and President Trump) have waited for the Federal Reserve to set lower interest rates going forward and negotiated tariff rates lots of other investors have…
REGULATIONS
Indiana Court: “Death Doula” does not need a funeral director license
According to this issue of the Indianapolis Star an Indiana court of appeals ruled in late August that the State of Indiana “violated the First Amendment rights of a Fort Wayne “death…
Funeral Directors are heroes
The beginning of a recent article on the ASD Blog, authored by Jessica Farren, had a quote without, to my knowledge, an author’s acknowledgement. I will post it here with no acknowledgement…
Airlines, cemeteries dealing with “Wide-bodies”
Just last week according to this article from Newsweek “Southwest Airlines announced that it was ending a policy that allowed plus-size travelers to book an extra seat without extra costs. Under the new…
CEMETERY
Airlines, cemeteries dealing with “Wide-bodies”
Just last week according to this article from Newsweek “Southwest Airlines announced that it was ending a policy that allowed plus-size travelers to book an extra seat without extra costs. Under the new…
Cemetery put in trustee’s hands
Last month a judge in Indiana removed the obligation of taking care of a non-profit cemetery away from the cemetery corporation and placed it in the hands of the government. . . in this…
Interment eligibility case playing out at Punchbowl National Cemetery of the Pacific
There is an interesting case, which you can read about and see a news video of here, blowing through the tradewinds of Hawaii at this time concerning the eligibility of burial in a…
CREMATION
Are we nearing the “Cremation Peak”?
There are some interesting survey results out that question if the United States will soon reach the “Peak Percentage” of cremation rates as the disposition of choice. Last year at this time…
Dilemma: The affluent consumer and traditional Death Care
On Tuesday morning I had to alter my running schedule because of rain showers. So, I took to our indoor treadmill to get my daily exercise and had a nice run while watching the…
Pension funds investment in Cremation is an interesting development
Pension funds and endowments have the responsibility of shepherding for safety, growth, and income their assets into a multitude of investments. I’ve learned that most of those types of investors invest in bonds…
PRENEED
What is the “Data point” for Preneed?
It’s s question that I have a hard time answering or getting an answer to. The question being, “What is the number of preneed policies a funeral home needs to write to move…
Report: Record number of preneeds sold in 1st half of 2025
It’s the end of summer in Minnesota and lots of our friends get ready to embark on the journey to warmer climates soon. So, it is a good time to say good-bye to…
Pennsylvania funeral home acquires “down and out” operator
There’s always a risk when a funeral home firm acquires another location. There’s even more risk when a funeral home acquires a location that has had its license suspended by a state board…
PRODUCTS
Dilemma: The affluent consumer and traditional Death Care
On Tuesday morning I had to alter my running schedule because of rain showers. So, I took to our indoor treadmill to get my daily exercise and had a nice run while watching the…
Airlines, cemeteries dealing with “Wide-bodies”
Just last week according to this article from Newsweek “Southwest Airlines announced that it was ending a policy that allowed plus-size travelers to book an extra seat without extra costs. Under the new…
Tukios offers new enhancements for funeral home websites
One of the leaders in funeral technology solutions, Tukios, informed us last week that they have brought to market new enhancements for websites that will allow funeral homes to streamline event planning, registration,…
