Last week Angie and I attended a visitation service for a neighbor at the funeral home I used to own and operate.  While there we witnessed first hand the care the family was receiving and we could just tell that the friends and neighbors who stopped by, and the stories they told, were well received by the family and I also believe that the family was grateful that they had this visitation event as part of the memorialization of their loved one.  I’m also fairly sure that someday they will realize how it helped them in their total grief and recovery experience.

 

We also visited with a relatively new hire at the funeral home and I was impressed and immediately knew that this young lady has a good heart and wants to help families in this death care time of need.  And, like that young lady there are a lot of young people with that ambition to care for others out there that will serve funeral service well if we can get them to join our ranks.

 

So, that’s one family served very well. . . in my opinion it’s one family that will be grateful for the services provided by this funeral home and this funeral director.

 

Then, on Tuesday morning of this week my alarm sounded as it does everyday at 5:30 am by going to our local radio station which carries national news at that time period.  One of the very first stories I heard was that of a Colorado funeral home that was charged with bilking the United States government out of over $900,000 of pandemic relief funds.  You can read that article here.

 

So, here is the paradox I see. . . . . Funeral homes and funeral directors serve families one at a time and build up trust and confidence in our business practices by doing so.  However, and it is not just a United States issue, but bad actors in our profession tear down that trust and confidence with the public with this type of bad news . . .  several million people at a time.

 

It makes it so that our profession is always playing “catch up” in gaining the trust and confidence with the public.  Our profession is not alone in this. . . . people have lost confidence in many of our institutions because of this type of situation. . . institutions such as Congress or American churches.

 

And, it is not just in America.  I’ve linked some relative articles here so that our readers can see it happening all over the English speaking world.

 

I don’t think there is an easy solution to the dilemma.  Individuals and individual funeral businesses have to continue to serve one family at a time and our profession needs to look at how we keep these “bad apples” out of the game.  However, the more “bad news stories” that hit the media simply make that effort more difficult.

 

Related Stories:

• UK competition watchdog expresses concerns over funeral sector.  Great Britain
• Failed funeral provider coughs up only about 6% of money needed to pay customers back.  Great Britain
• Hull funeral directors:  35 bodies recovered and “human ashes” discovered.  Great Britain
• Consumer advocates warn of funeral insurance “rort” that leaves customers more than it costs to bury them.  Australia
• Australia’s funeral industry is crying out for change.  Australia
• Youpla:  How Aboriginal funeral fund evaded regulators despite 30 years of complaints.  Australia

 

More news from the world of Death Care:

• Meet Elizabeth Oakes — the woman bringing water cremation to Ireland.  Evoke (Ireland)
• Alabama Veterans Cemetery in Spanish Fort holds dedication ceremonty for new phase.  News video and print article.  WALA Fox Channel 10 News – Mobile (AL)
• Board:  Funeral home director sent photos of corpses to children.  Iowa Capitol Dispatch  (IA)

 

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