My friend Roger

By Funeral Director Daily June 30, 2020

I’ve talked about it on this medium many times, but it has affected us all to some extent during 2020.  What I am talking about is the coronavirus and what it has done to our daily lives. . . in this case the social distancing and rules about no large gatherings.  In my opinion, we…

News from the world of Death Care 6.29.2020

By Funeral Director Daily June 29, 2020

In today’s afternoon edition of Funeral Director Daily we bring you some of the best and worst of the funeral home and cemetery professions as well as an interesting article on the Burial Mounds of Tonga. N’West Iowa funeral homes noted for service.  nwestiowa.com (IA) Former Brownstown, Indiana, funeral home owner admits to stealing  more…

Are we failing our families?

By Funeral Director Daily June 29, 2020

This is a really difficult topic, but one that needs to be thought about.  This article, entitled “Lack of collective mourning shows way pandemic has altered grief“, appeared in Sunday’s Minneapolis Star Tribune.  It is thought provoking and gets to the essence of why modern funeral directors exist — to care for the living. It…

Pennsylvania church apparently moves graves without permission

By Funeral Director Daily June 26, 2020

I came across this article from the Echo Pilot of Greencastle, Pennsylvania, the other day.  To me, it is a somewhat disturbing article on a church cemetery, or what I’ll call an annex, with apparently only two burials in the annex.  The church also owns a main cemetery and apparently were moving two vaults from…

News funeral professionals can use from our profession

By Funeral Director Daily June 25, 2020

In today’s Funeral Director Daily “Afternoon Extra” we have information on a new product called “Reflect by OneDay” which is designed for the funeral industry.  The product collects digital memories from friends and family of a loved one’s life and and then bands them together into a crowdsourced video reflection of that person’s life. We…

BUSINESS

Funeral homes and cemeteries — Where’s the future potential?

By Funeral Director Daily | February 5, 2026

  I’ve been around the Death Care business my whole life. . . . and one thing I can tell you is that, like other businesses, “things” change.  For instance, Death Care clientele used to…

Indiana’s “Funeral Centric” bank sold — Sale price said to be $40 million

By Funeral Director Daily | February 4, 2026

    In a press release issued earlier in January 2026 out of Batesville, Indiana, ClearPoint Federal Bank & Trust made the following statement:   “ClearPoint Federal Bank & Trust, a federally chartered savings bank…

What’s your state’s Death Rate? – Above or Below the National Average?

By Funeral Director Daily | February 3, 2026

  According to provisional data released from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in January of this year the overall age-adjusted “Death Rate” in the United States for 2025 was about 722 deaths per 100,000…

FINANCE

Matthews 1Q Fiscal 2026: Streamlined company shows Memorialization Segment rise in revenue

By Funeral Director Daily | February 6, 2026

  When it is all said and done, corporate conglomerate Matthews International, with a heavy presence in Death Care, will probably be glad that they have left Fiscal Year 2025 behind and are charging into…

Indiana’s “Funeral Centric” bank sold — Sale price said to be $40 million

By Funeral Director Daily | February 4, 2026

    In a press release issued earlier in January 2026 out of Batesville, Indiana, ClearPoint Federal Bank & Trust made the following statement:   “ClearPoint Federal Bank & Trust, a federally chartered savings bank…

Service Corporation purchases two funeral homes in Ontario

By Funeral Director Daily | February 2, 2026

  We learned from this article written by Fort Erie Radio that Service Corporation International (SCI) recently purchased two funeral homes in the Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, community.  According to the article, the Williams Funeral…

REGULATIONS

What’s your state’s Death Rate? – Above or Below the National Average?

By Funeral Director Daily | February 3, 2026

  According to provisional data released from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in January of this year the overall age-adjusted “Death Rate” in the United States for 2025 was about 722 deaths per 100,000…

Offender to be dis-interred and removed from Fort Sam Houston National Military Cemetery

By Funeral Director Daily | January 30, 2026

  Texas Senator John Cornyn authored a bill that was passed by the Senate, the House, and signed into law by President Trump in late December 2025, that was included in the 2026 National Defense…

Veterans’ Affairs recently grants $77 million to state-operated veteran cemeteries

By Funeral Director Daily | January 22, 2026

    According to this recent article in Newsweek “The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded more than $77 million in new grants aimed at expanding and improving state-operated Veterans cemeteries.  The funding, announced…

CEMETERY

Funeral homes and cemeteries — Where’s the future potential?

By Funeral Director Daily | February 5, 2026

  I’ve been around the Death Care business my whole life. . . . and one thing I can tell you is that, like other businesses, “things” change.  For instance, Death Care clientele used to…

Offender to be dis-interred and removed from Fort Sam Houston National Military Cemetery

By Funeral Director Daily | January 30, 2026

  Texas Senator John Cornyn authored a bill that was passed by the Senate, the House, and signed into law by President Trump in late December 2025, that was included in the 2026 National Defense…

The “Humanity” of Death Care

By Funeral Director Daily | January 28, 2026

  Funeral Director Daily publishes lots of articles that deal with the business, or money side of Death Care.  That’s good. . .and readers seem to like it, however, I never want any of us…

CREMATION

Veterans’ Affairs recently grants $77 million to state-operated veteran cemeteries

By Funeral Director Daily | January 22, 2026

    According to this recent article in Newsweek “The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded more than $77 million in new grants aimed at expanding and improving state-operated Veterans cemeteries.  The funding, announced…

Washington crematories stymied by air quality regulations

By Funeral Director Daily | January 7, 2026

  Washington State cremation owners and operators find themselves in somewhat of a Catch-22 when it comes to new cremation equipment.  According to this article from the Seattle Times Pacific Northwest Magazine old cremation machines…

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…

PRENEED

Is a 10% credit card interest rate ceiling good news for funeral homes? . . . Maybe not

By Funeral Director Daily | January 20, 2026

  Today is January 20.  It is the day that President Trump wanted to institute one of his ideas for making life more “affordable”.  That idea is a 10% cap on interest rates on credit…

Can you the provide the opportunity for additional Preneed sales in the 1st Quarter of 2026?

By Funeral Director Daily | January 14, 2026

  “Strike when the iron is hot“.  That’s a 15th-century saying that came from the blacksmith trade and meant to suggest that the blacksmith should “bend the metal when it is hot and somewhat flexible”. …

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…

PRODUCTS

Is a 10% credit card interest rate ceiling good news for funeral homes? . . . Maybe not

By Funeral Director Daily | January 20, 2026

  Today is January 20.  It is the day that President Trump wanted to institute one of his ideas for making life more “affordable”.  That idea is a 10% cap on interest rates on credit…

Can you the provide the opportunity for additional Preneed sales in the 1st Quarter of 2026?

By Funeral Director Daily | January 14, 2026

  “Strike when the iron is hot“.  That’s a 15th-century saying that came from the blacksmith trade and meant to suggest that the blacksmith should “bend the metal when it is hot and somewhat flexible”. …

Creedy, Jefferson form advisory firm

By Funeral Director Daily | January 9, 2026

    Long-time Death Care executives and advisors Alan Creedy and Danny Jefferson have again joined together to form a new firm to help those in the business.  A press release issued earlier this week…