Alva Review Courier reports that there is a shortage of funeral directors in Oklahoma. 36,000 people die annually and the number of licensed funeral directors, embalmers, student apprentices and funeral homes have declined. The Director of the State’s funeral board wants to streamline the process of certifying funeral directors. The Lacrosse Tribune says that dogs…
Quad-City Times reports that Weerts Funeral Home has been sold to Service Corp International. Weerts was founded in 1909 and adquired by David Deuth from Jim Weerts in 2005. The firm developed a state of the art cremation center in 2012. Service Corp International owns and operates 2,000 funeral homes and cemeteries in North America.
Motif Investing is bullish in the funeral industry for two reasons: aging baby boomers will increase the demand for funerals and cremations between now and 2036; and 80% of funeral providers are private which provides room for consolidation.
Matthews International announced revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2017 (3 months ended December 31, 2016). You can read the earnings release here and the Seeking Alpha earnings call transcript here. Funeral Director Daily will focus on the performance of the company’s memorialization segment which produces headstones, caskets and urns. Memorialization sales declined…
TREVOSE, Pa., Jan. 23, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — StoneMor Partners L.P. (NYSE:STON) (“StoneMor” or the “Partnership”) today announced that Sean P. McGrath resigned as Chief Financial Officer of StoneMor GP LLC (“StoneMor GP”), the general partner of the Partnership, to pursue business opportunities outside the deathcare industry. Mr. McGrath will remain in his current role…
BUSINESS
Trump and Musk. . . .Can you learn from their cost efficiency mandate?
President Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk are rapidly looking at costs that are currently in the government budget that may be able to be whittled out. It…
Funeral homes receive rare “Letters of Assurance” from public authorities
Every day I search out articles about Death Care services to provide me with information on topics of interest in our profession/industry. One of the things that has been extremely disappointing to this…
The Trump tariffs and Death Care
The International Trade Association defines tariffs as such: “A tariff or duty (the words are used interchangeably) is a tax levied by governments on the value including freight and insurance of imported products.…
FINANCE
Trump and Musk. . . .Can you learn from their cost efficiency mandate?
President Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk are rapidly looking at costs that are currently in the government budget that may be able to be whittled out. It…
Death Care investments. . . . an interesting observation
There has been a lot written about the stock markets in the two weeks of the Presidency of Donald Trump. So much seems to depend on what the item of the day with…
Our opinion: Matthews sale of ‘brand solutions unit” consolidates company into “Death Care and Innovation”
I’ve heard from people over the years that thought Matthews International was “too complicated” of a company. The company that started in 1850 and and produced its first-ever bronze memorial in 1927, according…
REGULATIONS
Funeral homes receive rare “Letters of Assurance” from public authorities
Every day I search out articles about Death Care services to provide me with information on topics of interest in our profession/industry. One of the things that has been extremely disappointing to this…
County sets inspections to make sure cemetery monuments are safe
If you have been a funeral director for any length of time you have found yourself in a cemetery on a beautiful summer day when after the formal committal service the family remains…
North Carolina floods, Florida hurricanes, and L.A. wildfires: The tragedy of losing “kept at home” cremated remains
If you have read Funeral Director Daily for any length of time you will know that I am an advocate of “Permanent Memorialization” of loved ones. My reason for that belief is pretty…
CEMETERY
County sets inspections to make sure cemetery monuments are safe
If you have been a funeral director for any length of time you have found yourself in a cemetery on a beautiful summer day when after the formal committal service the family remains…
Should Disney be in the “Memorialization” business?
Over the last couple of decades there arises every once in a while the idea that the Walt Disney Company should get into some of the businesses that funeral home operators and cemetery…
Here’s the “Recipe” for more monument sales
While we cannot guarantee success with every idea, one of the reasons for reading Funeral Director Daily is that we endeavor to give ideas to Death Care professionals that can have a positive impact…
CREMATION
Should Disney be in the “Memorialization” business?
Over the last couple of decades there arises every once in a while the idea that the Walt Disney Company should get into some of the businesses that funeral home operators and cemetery…
North Carolina floods, Florida hurricanes, and L.A. wildfires: The tragedy of losing “kept at home” cremated remains
If you have read Funeral Director Daily for any length of time you will know that I am an advocate of “Permanent Memorialization” of loved ones. My reason for that belief is pretty…
Here’s the “Recipe” for more monument sales
While we cannot guarantee success with every idea, one of the reasons for reading Funeral Director Daily is that we endeavor to give ideas to Death Care professionals that can have a positive impact…
PRENEED
Does “Loneliness” affect funeral services, revenue?
Prior to Christmas this past month I listened to my pastor preach on “Loneliness”, and loneliness specifically as it relates to the Holiday Season. You see, she pointed out, that while many of us…
Funeral Directors Life adds 48th state of operation
Earlier this week we learned that Funeral Directors Life (FDL), based in Abilene, Texas, was approved to sell preneed insurance in the state of Virginia. As you can read from this press release,…
Anthem Partners, Premiere Preneed, NGL form strategic relationship
In what is becoming a growing trend among larger funeral home operators Anthem Partners announced in late September that they had formed a strategic alliance with Premier Preneed Marketing and National Guardian Life (NGL) that…
PRODUCTS
The Trump tariffs and Death Care
The International Trade Association defines tariffs as such: “A tariff or duty (the words are used interchangeably) is a tax levied by governments on the value including freight and insurance of imported products.…
Should Disney be in the “Memorialization” business?
Over the last couple of decades there arises every once in a while the idea that the Walt Disney Company should get into some of the businesses that funeral home operators and cemetery…
North Carolina floods, Florida hurricanes, and L.A. wildfires: The tragedy of losing “kept at home” cremated remains
If you have read Funeral Director Daily for any length of time you will know that I am an advocate of “Permanent Memorialization” of loved ones. My reason for that belief is pretty…
