The transformation of Batesville

By Funeral Director Daily May 14, 2025

    In mid-April I received a press release from Batesville that was titled “Batesville empowers Deathcare professionals with Industry-leading Burial, Cremation and Technology solutions at 2025 ICCFA Exhhibition.”  Since that time I’ve had this article in my mind and thought now was as good as any time to share some of my historical insights…

Matthews acquires Dodge Company

By Funeral Director Daily May 13, 2025

  On May 1 of this year Matthews International announced the closing of the sale of their SGK Brand Solutions Segment in this press release.   According to this press release that was posted yesterday from Matthews International it didn’t take long to put some of those proceeds to work as they announced the acquisition…

Perfection is the enemy of progress. . . and profitability

By Funeral Director Daily May 13, 2025

  I don’t know where I first heard the saying, “Perfection is the enemy of progress”, but it always sounded somewhat strange to me until I really took the time to see what the cliche meant.  To me, it says that we all want progress, but if we wait until the time is perfect to…

Are Reinforced Soil Systems the future for cemetery safety and profits?

By Funeral Director Daily May 12, 2025

    Geogrid Reinforced Soil Systems (RSS) have long been used by engineers to provide for stability for retaining walls and highway roadways in North America.  Now there is a company that has turned that engineering for soil stability into products that can by used by the cemetery industry as well.   Here’s what the…

Matthews International 2nd QTR Report: Interesting times

By Funeral Director Daily May 9, 2025

  Funeral Director Daily presents you the final report of our hat trick of financial reports this week.  Today we bring you the results of Matthews International’s operations for the period of January thru March 2025 which is the company’s 2nd fiscal quarter of the year.  Earlier this week we reported on the same period…

BUSINESS

The election is over, Congress has changed. If I ran NFDA here’s what I would do.

By Funeral Director Daily | November 10, 2026

    Now that the television advertising has stopped, I know that the United States recent election cycle is over.  And, whether your favorites won or lost it is time, or it will be come…

Chptr wins NFDA Innovation Award, launches ChptrOne

By Funeral Director Daily | November 5, 2026

  Includes an NFDA Convention Highlight   Let’s begin with an announcement that came from last week’s National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Here’s that announcement:   Chptr, creator of the…

Another suburban Chicago funeral home sold

By Funeral Director Daily | November 4, 2026

  It was only ten days ago that Funeral Director Daily brought you this article about Park Lawn Corporation adding to its Illinois cluster by purchasing two funeral homes northwest of Chicago.   We now…

FINANCE

Security National CEO on the 3rd Quarter 2026: “We had a rugged 3rd Quarter”

By Funeral Director Daily | November 13, 2026

    Security National Financial Corporation’s Chairman, President, and CEO Scott Quist made this comment in the opening remarks of the company’s 3rd Quarter Earnings Report earlier this week, “From the Income Statement point of…

Funeral homes in Kentucky, Indiana purchased by Landmark Funeral Group

By Funeral Director Daily | November 12, 2026

    We were notified in late October by this press release that Landmark Funeral Group had acquired the Funeral Excellence Group (FEG) that consisted of nine locations.  All of the locations are located in…

Carriage Services 3Q26 Earnings Call: CEO explains comparable revenue drop

By Funeral Director Daily | November 11, 2026

    Carriage Services, one of three public funeral home and cemetery companies that are required to release finanical information to the public did so for their 3rd Quarter of 2026 last week.  They also…

REGULATIONS

The election is over, Congress has changed. If I ran NFDA here’s what I would do.

By Funeral Director Daily | November 10, 2026

    Now that the television advertising has stopped, I know that the United States recent election cycle is over.  And, whether your favorites won or lost it is time, or it will be come…

The Mid-term elections are a week away. Where do Death Care voters stand?

By Funeral Director Daily | October 27, 2026

    An NFDA Convention Discussion Topic The mid-term congressional and senatorial elections are right around the corner taking place one week from today.  The direction and results of those elections will help America chart…

Can cemeteries be part of the “Battery Storage solution” and profit from it at the same time?

By Funeral Director Daily | October 26, 2026

  An NFDA Convention Discussion Issue   One of the issues that we have in America right now is that utility companies need to “store electricity” to help meet peak demand periods.  Here’s how a…

CEMETERY

Can cemeteries be part of the “Battery Storage solution” and profit from it at the same time?

By Funeral Director Daily | October 26, 2026

  An NFDA Convention Discussion Issue   One of the issues that we have in America right now is that utility companies need to “store electricity” to help meet peak demand periods.  Here’s how a…

The Start of Something Good

By Funeral Director Daily | October 13, 2026

    I learned of the advent of the upcoming first annual National Cremation Remembrance (or Placement) Day earlier this year from my friends at Crowne Vault.  The company was one of the first to…

Will the dispersion of Natural Organic Reduction soil be an issue?

By Funeral Director Daily | October 1, 2026

  Back in August the Worcester (Maryland) County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) approved Natural Organic Reduction (NOR) firm Earth Burial’s request to spread NOR soil on a 14-acre property in the county.  According to…

CREMATION

The Start of Something Good

By Funeral Director Daily | October 13, 2026

    I learned of the advent of the upcoming first annual National Cremation Remembrance (or Placement) Day earlier this year from my friends at Crowne Vault.  The company was one of the first to…

Not a Good Look: “Dysfunctional Death Care System” becoming an issue in Chicago mayor’s race

By Funeral Director Daily | October 9, 2026

    In August of this past summer (2026) 56 decomposed bodies were found improperly stored in a funeral home in Chicago.  It’s not the first time or the first place something like this has…

Will the dispersion of Natural Organic Reduction soil be an issue?

By Funeral Director Daily | October 1, 2026

  Back in August the Worcester (Maryland) County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) approved Natural Organic Reduction (NOR) firm Earth Burial’s request to spread NOR soil on a 14-acre property in the county.  According to…

PRENEED

The election is over, Congress has changed. If I ran NFDA here’s what I would do.

By Funeral Director Daily | November 10, 2026

    Now that the television advertising has stopped, I know that the United States recent election cycle is over.  And, whether your favorites won or lost it is time, or it will be come…

Wages, credit, inflation. . . . How are those factors coming together to influence revenue per case

By Funeral Director Daily | October 20, 2026

    “Revenue per Case” (RpC) is a very important metric in your funeral home to illustrate how much money comes into the your funeral home for every death call you care for.  The goal,…

Preneed: Your funeral home’s reputation may be tied to your preneed provider

By Funeral Director Daily | October 2, 2026

    I came across an interesting article the other day that reminded me of the unease that I always had in selecting our funeral home’s preneed insurance partner.  My unease had nothing to do…

PRODUCTS

Chptr wins NFDA Innovation Award, launches ChptrOne

By Funeral Director Daily | November 5, 2026

  Includes an NFDA Convention Highlight   Let’s begin with an announcement that came from last week’s National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Here’s that announcement:   Chptr, creator of the…

Can cemeteries be part of the “Battery Storage solution” and profit from it at the same time?

By Funeral Director Daily | October 26, 2026

  An NFDA Convention Discussion Issue   One of the issues that we have in America right now is that utility companies need to “store electricity” to help meet peak demand periods.  Here’s how a…

ASD named one of America’s Most Innovative Companies

By Funeral Director Daily | October 23, 2026

Today’s Article includes an NFDA Convention Preview       Who says Death Care is not “innovative”?   Just this week I learned that ASD – Answering Service for Directors was named to Fortune‘s 2026…