The Cemetery Guy

As cemeterians we are always explaining the difference between owning actual property and burial rights…but what about inurnment rights in a family cremation bench or private estate when a customer purchases one for installation in your cemetery? Cremation allows for many more opportunities than traditional casketed burials, when it comes to final placement and memorialization. The right to use cemetery land for the permanent memorialization of cremated remains has always bee

The answer is yes, but you have to look a little deeper than just breastfeeding statistics to understand the correlation. In a study done by the Centers for Disease Control, a connection is made between mothers who do not nurse their children and poverty. The reason they do not may actually shed light on the reason some of the poorest communities in the country tend to choose traditional funerals, thereby actually paying more for services than most people in wealthier parts o

Companies have been designing marketing campaigns targeting baby boomers for years. Death care professionals were slower to act than some, but in my opinion, are now serving this generation better than ever. Poll results from Johnson Consulting Group reported in their latest review show that families are more satisfied than ever when holding some sort of funeral service. According to the CDC National Vital Statistic Report on death rates in the US, more people die every year.

More families are arriving the day of the committal service with an urn in the back seat of their car these days. With no funeral director and sometimes no pastor to direct the service…how can you provide them with the service they need in order to make things easier for both them and their guests? Take charge!! Invite the family to meet 30 minutes prior to the published start time of the service. This time can be used to take care of last minute paperwork, answer any questio

How many of you have spoken on a panel about estate planning? Alongside a financial planner and funeral director, you stand and speak about cemetery expenses and the need to prepay your fees to lock in today’s prices to a medium sized crowd of donut and coffee filled attendees only to hear that because they are being cremated they don’t need your services anyway. Fast forward 20 years, now in addition to the financial planner and cremationist, stands the curator of memorializ