An article recently published in the Wilkes-Barre Citizen’s Voice that deals with the number of cremations on the rise also reaches into the ramifications for families who have purchased cemetery burial space and now have no reason to use it. The article which lets us know of the rise in cremation services worldwide for a…
Assurant, Inc., parent company of Assurant Pre-Need, has received a rating of A (Excellent) in its Financial Strength Rating (FSR) according to a note in Business Wire of March 2, 2017. Best also affirmed the FSR rating of A- (Excellent) for the life and health subsidiaries of Assurant. According to the article Assurant’s ratings recognize…
There is no doubt that funeral service has changed. There is also no doubt that funeral home owners care about the people they serve. In search of all possible therapies for people in grief and need, the Greenlawn Funeral Home of Springfield, Missouri, has added a comfort dog to its staff. In an article from…
An interesting legal battle is taking shape in Port St. Joe, Florida, where Casey Whatley has received preliminary permission to open a funeral home in a building that has been vacant since 2008 and once had been operated as a Whatley Funeral Home. The plaintiffs contend that a license for operation had not been issued…
A release from the Associated Press announced that the community of Farmersville, Texas, some 35 miles northeast of Dallas and a community of 3500 residents is square in the cross-hairs of America’s issue with the Muslim religion. On Monday night a group led by Shamsur Rahman moved a step closer to getting permission from the…
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…
