At the close of business Monday, May 7, Park Lawn Corporation announced that it had completed its announced purchase of Signature Funeral and Cemetery Investments, LLC (the Signature Group) for approximately US$123 million. You can read the press release from Stockhouse here. According to Park Lawn CEO Andrew Clark, “With the acquisition of Signature Group,…
When looking at today’s column I noticed that there was a lot of small tid-bits in the news about funeral service and I decided to give you readers the option of reading what you wanted to instead of having me dictate one article to you. Here are four articles that I have commented on briefly…
In a release from A.M. Best that you can read here the company has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) and the Long-Term Credit Ratings (ICR) of the life and health subsidiaries of Assurant, Inc. The FSR rating was affirmed at A- (Excellent) and the ICR rating was a-. The company’s outlook was listed as…
Adams County Coroner James Keller has came up with a controversial policy concerning the payments for indigent services in his county. You can read about the situation from NBCChicago.com here. The story relates how Coroner Keller has the family sign over the rights for the deceased to his office. He then cremates the deceased and…
Colorado lawmakers are expected to vote today on a bill that will make owning a mortuary or crematory and also owning a body broker business at the same time illegal. You may have been following the happenings at Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors of Montrose, Colorado, this past winter that has prompted this action. According to…
BUSINESS
Make sure your obituary postings get seen
It’s imperative in today’s information age where all kinds of information is available to the public that the obituaries your funeral home disseminates get seen by the appropriate audience. It’s no different than what…
Harvard business professor: Time to pay funeral expenses of organ donors
According to this recent article authored by Alex Chan of the Harvard Business School and Kurt Sweat of The School of Public Health at the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center “In the U.S.,…
Future Funeral Directors: Education, License Portability, Hiring Practices all in flux
I spent six years as a board member of the University of Minnesota, which comprises the 8th largest campus by enrollment in the United States counting over 55,000 students. During that tenure I spent two…
FINANCE
Everstory Partners publishes “Year in Review”
Recently private company Everstory Partners, who may be the 2nd largest Death Care services company in North America ranked on revenue, published an impressive “Year in Review” document that you can access here.…
Park Lawn Corporation makes leadership changes
Last evening funeral service publication Connecting Directors reported that Park Lawn Corporation made leadership changes earlier in the week that included the replacement of Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Hay and Chief Operating Officer…
Bitget on SCI: “. . a focus on compounding value through operational excellence and strategic acquisitions, not rapid volume growth.”
Every so often I come across an investment article that not only gives an opinion on a certain company in Death Care but also mentions the Death Care business in general and intimates on…
REGULATIONS
Harvard business professor: Time to pay funeral expenses of organ donors
According to this recent article authored by Alex Chan of the Harvard Business School and Kurt Sweat of The School of Public Health at the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center “In the U.S.,…
Heating homes with cremation emissions: An ethical question?
Energy transfer is not a new science. Yet I was surprised when I read this recent article published in The World – Public Radio that was titled “How cremations are helping to heat…
Future Funeral Directors: Education, License Portability, Hiring Practices all in flux
I spent six years as a board member of the University of Minnesota, which comprises the 8th largest campus by enrollment in the United States counting over 55,000 students. During that tenure I spent two…
CEMETERY
This might give a new meaning to “Permanent Memorialization”
I’m a big fan of “permanent memorialization” for the simple fact that that memorialization of that type continues to give creedence to a “life that was lived”. I’ve seen the graves and permanent memorialization…
SCI: Strategy changed in early 2000’s to target 8-12% Earnings Growth
Service Corporation International (SCI) recently participated at the J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference and were represened there by Senior Vice-President and Treasurer Aaron Foley. Seeking Alpha provided a transcript of Foley’s comments and answers…
There has to be another side to this story
Late last week Fox 6 TV of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, broke a story pertaining to Death Care that I found to be incredulous. Here’s the headline, “Milwaukee County funeral home debt; officials move to collect…
CREMATION
Heating homes with cremation emissions: An ethical question?
Energy transfer is not a new science. Yet I was surprised when I read this recent article published in The World – Public Radio that was titled “How cremations are helping to heat…
This might give a new meaning to “Permanent Memorialization”
I’m a big fan of “permanent memorialization” for the simple fact that that memorialization of that type continues to give creedence to a “life that was lived”. I’ve seen the graves and permanent memorialization…
We’ve truly “Turned the Corner”
There is no doubt that when one thinks of the idea of an embalmer around the time of the Civil War (1860’s in the U.S.) or one known as an “undertaker” in the same…
PRENEED
Propel Funeral Partners First-Half FY2026 continues upward trends
When you look at the First-Half of the 2026 Fiscal Year for Propel Funeral Partners you will not notice anything “earth shattering”. From my point of view, when that is the case with an…
Funeral planning: There seems to be a gap between “Perception and Action”
Funeral planning is an interesting topic on an individual basis. In my opinion, regardless of your age, self-mortality is a thought all human beings have at more than one point in their lives. …
Homesteaders celebrates 120 years, $5 Billion in force
In a press release received the other day, Homesteaders Life Company, a national leader in Preneed Death Care funding announced that 2026 marks the 120th year for the company. The company issued its first…
PRODUCTS
Make sure your obituary postings get seen
It’s imperative in today’s information age where all kinds of information is available to the public that the obituaries your funeral home disseminates get seen by the appropriate audience. It’s no different than what…
Heating homes with cremation emissions: An ethical question?
Energy transfer is not a new science. Yet I was surprised when I read this recent article published in The World – Public Radio that was titled “How cremations are helping to heat…
“Perceived Value” is now the strongest driver of Death Care customer satisfaction
Last week Johnson Consulting Group (JCG) released their annual “Sales and Customer Service Trends” report for 2026. The report is compiled by customer surveys that over the past five years and have included…
