An article written in Australia’s The Guardian points out that after a six month test the Salvation Army will be entering the funeral business on that continent. Salvo (short for Salvation) says that after doing about 90 services in their six month trial they will be starting up and operating in the New South Wales…
There is a small problem in the community of Marysville, Michigan, according to an article in The Voicenews. Marysville Director of Public Works, Barry Kreiner is quoted as saying, “We are all out of niches. They are all sold”. At Funeral Director Daily we have mentioned that cremation seems to becoming the preferred method…
According to CBS article a recent survey by the Funeral Consumer Alliance and Consumer Federation of America shows that funeral and cremation pricing at establishments owned by funeral giant Service Corporation International are, in general, higher than independently owned funeral establishments. It seems to us at Funeral Director Daily that we seem to see news…
Today we introduce the Funeral Director Daily “Death Care Index” or DCI of the public equity markets. The DCI will consist of six publicly traded companies that deal in the funeral, cremation, cemetery, and pre-need industries and are publicly traded. The companies, which we will describe below, include Matthews International, Service Corporation International, Carriage Services,…
A recent article by NBC News Business has highlighted the seemingly rapid trend in the funeral/cremation business. That trend, becoming somewhat popular among the baby boomer generation, is celebrating the life of the deceased with alcohol at the wake/visitation or post funeral. Funeral firms are searching for just the right way to offer this type…
BUSINESS
Can “Roll-ups” work in a “Price-Sensitive” environment
Earlier his week I heard from a couple of people who notified me that Foundation Partners Group (FPG) apparently had a recent round of employee layoffs. That seems to be confirmed by employee and…
Somebody finally said it, “Industry revenue for Death Care is estimated to drop”
Over the years that I owned and operated a funeral home I saw an increasing cremation percentage almost every year. And, like most funeral homes, my charges for traditional burial were more than my…
“Complimentary Disposition”. . . Another uphill climb for the traditional operator?
Recently, to prepare for a presentation at the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) annual convention I’ve been looking into the future to try and see where Death Care is going. And, I’ve been…
FINANCE
Can “Roll-ups” work in a “Price-Sensitive” environment
Earlier his week I heard from a couple of people who notified me that Foundation Partners Group (FPG) apparently had a recent round of employee layoffs. That seems to be confirmed by employee and…
Somebody finally said it, “Industry revenue for Death Care is estimated to drop”
Over the years that I owned and operated a funeral home I saw an increasing cremation percentage almost every year. And, like most funeral homes, my charges for traditional burial were more than my…
Private Equity: Is there a slump in redemptions going on?
Private Equity (PE) ownership in the funeral, cremation, cemetery, casket, and Death Care supply industry has been a hot topic over the past couple of years. Private Equity companies have been purchasing, aiding in…
REGULATIONS
Texas “regulatory issue case” and resulting lawsuit moving forward
In March 2025 the Texas Funeral Service Commission sent a cease and desist order to the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) ordering “the mosque to stop what it alleged were unlicensed funeral services, and…
Parting Stone enforces patent protection
It’s just the way it works. If you are a company or other entity that seeks patents to protect your intellectual property you have to be able to fight off others who may…
Recompose: On the “Grow”
I started publishing Funeral Director Daily about the same time that entrepreneur Katrina Spade was involved in a pilot research project with Washington State University on the possibility and merits of composting human remains. …
CEMETERY
Everstory Partners adds New Jersey cemetery to its group
Everstory Partners the cemetery heavy company that operates more than 460 cemeteries, funeral homes, and crematories in the United States and Puerto Rico announced last week that they had acquired the Franklin Memorial…
Cemetery sued over private casket-lowering policy
When I was a practicing funeral director I was well aware of safety concerns at the cemetery when the casket was lowered into the vault and grave. Our good friends from Wilbert Vault were…
Cuba’s crisis with death
Cuba, the island country only 90 miles off the Florida coast has a crisis with death and Death Care. If you look at the Wikipedia page for Cuba you will notice that the population…
CREMATION
Can “Roll-ups” work in a “Price-Sensitive” environment
Earlier his week I heard from a couple of people who notified me that Foundation Partners Group (FPG) apparently had a recent round of employee layoffs. That seems to be confirmed by employee and…
Pure Cremation exec: Is the “At-Need choice” death market contracting?
The number of deaths in the United States is expected to grow 26.3% from 2019 (the last year prior to the pandemic) until 2040 by certain estimates. Estimates for the number of deaths in…
Parting Stone enforces patent protection
It’s just the way it works. If you are a company or other entity that seeks patents to protect your intellectual property you have to be able to fight off others who may…
PRENEED
Pure Cremation exec: Is the “At-Need choice” death market contracting?
The number of deaths in the United States is expected to grow 26.3% from 2019 (the last year prior to the pandemic) until 2040 by certain estimates. Estimates for the number of deaths in…
Anthem Partners announces strategic partnership with Family Shield Credit
In a press release from earlier this week funeral home operator Anthem Partners announced that they have formed a partnership with Family Shield Credit in order to provide families with “flexible, budget-friendly payment options while…
Connecticut budget includes money for victims of allegedly stolen pre-arrangements
Earlier this month, as you can read in this article from NBC Connecticut, the legislature of Connecticut passed their state budget which included the “Act Concerning Unlawful Funeral Service Practices”. The state appropriated…
PRODUCTS
“Complimentary Disposition”. . . Another uphill climb for the traditional operator?
Recently, to prepare for a presentation at the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) annual convention I’ve been looking into the future to try and see where Death Care is going. And, I’ve been…
OneRoom’s “Stories” feature is proving successful
There seems to be an amazing number of technological advances coming into Death Care that can help funeral homes, crematories, and cemeteries enhance the services that they provide. Many of these breakthroughs can…
The Natural Funeral brings Natural Organic Reduction to the local level
In a press release we received last week we learned that The Natural Funeral, Inc. of Colorado is bringing their Natural Organic Reduction (NOR) program to the Northeast and Southeast parts of the United…
