I’ll agree right off the top of this article that after working for about 35 years in the industry that I may be a little biased. I’ve always thought that small town funeral directors are some of the nicest people in the world and today I just thought it might be appropriate to tell of…
Security National Financial Corporation, the Salt Lake City company that competes in the to the consumer funeral and cemetery business reported that their corporate “after tax” earnings from operations increased 15.8% year over year from 2017 and 2016. Those earnings came on a roughly 9% system wide decrease in revenues. Pre-tax earnings were less than…
I recently came across an article in the Romulus, Michigan News Herald which you can read here. The article was, in general, about two men — Charles Cawetzka and Greg Farino. Farino is a retired U.S. Army Master Sargent and Cawetzka is a deceased U.S. Army veteran who served in the Philippine-American War in 1900. …
I don’t know funeral director Jim Ayres but he sounds like a person on a mission to bring funeral directors a good name. And, anybody who is on that type of mission certainly sits good in good standing with me. You can read an article from the Commerce, Texas, Journal here that announces Ayres’ recognition…
An article by ABC News Australia writer Carrington Clarke investigates the competition level of the business in Australia. I read the article, which you can read here, and found it asked a lot of interesting questions that pertain to funeral service in North America also. The crux of the article is that public company…
BUSINESS
Traditional funeral homes: Is your clientele “aging out”?
That might be an odd headline for a funeral home article, but I had the thought process this week when I wondered if the market for “traditional funerals” has “aged-out”. And, if so, what…
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.,…
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
Batesville makes investment in Eterneva, will “leverage” client relationships
Last week Batesville announced in this press release that they had “made an equity investment in Eterneva and formed a strategic partnership with the company to expand access to custom memorial diamonds.” Batesville also…
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…
