Government Allows SCI to Buy Palm Mortuary-Your Funeral Guy

The worlds largest funeral corporation will soon be in control of the Las Vegas Market

The government has allowed Service Corporation International to buy Palm  Mortuary in Las Vegas. This will allow SCI to Control the Funeral Market in Sin City.

Service Corporation International (SCI) is the worlds largest and cemetery and funeral corporation.

SCI has had poor financial reports in 2009 and terrible scandals, veterans corpse abuse in Falls.Church,VA at National Funeral Home and massive Grave Desecration at Eden Memorial park in the Los Angeles Area(500 graves).

This is sad news for the funeral consumer and the people of Las Vegas Nevada.

A Texas company has agreed to sell some of its Las Vegas funeral home operations to settle an antitrust lawsuit filed by the state over its purchase of Palm Mortuary Inc.

Service Corporation International (SCI) will sell Davis Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 6200 South Eastern Ave. (Sunset Road), the Nevada Attorney General’s office said.

SCI must also sell the pre-paid funeral business from that home and the pre-paid business from Davis Funeral Home, 2127 West Charleston Blvd. (Rancho Road); to settle a complaint filed by the state so it can proceed with the purchase of Palm Mortuary.

via www.lasvegassun.com

Both the State Attorney General of Nevada, and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission)  are  behind the legal agreement.

There is more information on this here

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

Massachusetts Funeral Homes found to Violate the Rules-Your Funeral Guy

In in a sting operation by the the Division of Public Licensure in the State of Massachusetts, funeral homes in the Bay state were found to be violating the rule of law concerning funerals.

In August, 46 of the 175 Bay State funeral parlors checked at random failed an undercover sting, according to the state Division of Public Licensure. As a result, those funeral homes potentially face thousands of dollars in fines.

via www.metrowestdailynews.com

Contrast this to the State of Illinois where the Head of the Licensing Board is under investigation in the IFDA Preneed Ponzi Scheme.

In Massachusetts, it is the usual- Funeral Homes failed to hand over the general price list as required by the FTC, Funeral Rule.

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy.

 

Batesville Casket another pointer of Funeral Industry Decline-Your Funeral Guy

Batesville, the company that made Michael Jackson Golden Casket lost over 29 million in revenue this year compared to last

Batesville Casket(Hillenbrand)(HI) 4th quarter results are in and according to the Business Courier of Cincininati. “Hillenbrand sees lower sales in 4Q, stock drops“

Although profits are up for the year, the stock fell Tuesday on 4th quarter announcement. This is bad news for the funeral industry.It is the Business Courier’s Judgement that  Investors are losing faith in Hillenbrand. The company is also the maker of The Michael Jackson Golden Casket. It is the authors opinion that Batesville has shown dismal numbers all year.

Snippet from the Business Courier of Cincininati.

For fiscal 2009, Hillenbrand posted net income of $102.3 million, or $1.66 per share, versus $93.2 million, or $1.49 per share in fiscal 2008. Revenues declined to $649.1 million from $678.1 million.

IT IS MY OPINION THAT A 29 million dollar decline from the World’s Largest Casket Maker is a sure indication of traditional funeral industry decline and the rise of cremation.

Funeral Industry|Funeral blog by Your Funeral Guy

Michael Jackson Golden Casket Pic From Flickr under the creative commons license from

DianthusMoon’s photostream

Working in the Funeral Industry Causes Cancer-yourfuneralguy

Close up of cancer Cell

The National Cancer Institute(NCI)has issued a report on the Funeral Industry and Cancer. Those who are exposed to Formaldehyde continually in the business show high risk for brain cancer. The report appeared  in the Oxford Journal.

A summary of the article can be viewed here.

Those in the Funeral industry are well aware of their high risk  to cancer through exposure to Formaldehyde

Funeral industry\ funeral blog by Your Funeral Blog

Brits to increase Casket Production because of Swine Flu?-yourfuneralguy

Swine flu pandemic headlines

It seems that the Brits are considering increasing casket production because of swine flu, H1N1 Virus, This is a little absurd considering there  has been only 142 deaths in the UK so far.

It causes one to wonder whether they are aware of something we are not. Speculation and conspiracy this is not There are reports of the H1N1 virus mutating  the latest being from Norway.

From the UK.

The funeral industry believes the number of coffins being made could be increased by 150 per cent were more Britons to fall victim to the pandemic.

Most recent figures show there have been 142 deaths linked to the H1N1 virus in England, with an estimated 53,000 new cases in the past week week and 783 people in hospital suffering severe symptoms.

via www.telegraph.co.uk

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy.

 

Burr Oak Cemetery Opened on a limited basis|YourFuneralGuy

Burr Oak Cemetery partially reopened on November 19th 2009

Burr Oak Cemetery is being opened on Thursday to specific families that have a loved one buried there.

The tickets are being issued by a Perpetua,  Inc at a website at http://www.burroakalsip.com/

Anyone who has a ticket can get in on their assigned day. If You have a loved one at Burr Oak, you can find the information at the website.

Here are some of the details on the Cemetery Reopining listed at the Perpetua Website.

Burr Oak Cemetery will re-open to the public on a limited, section by section basis beginning on Thursday, November 19, 2009 through Wednesday, November 25, 2009. The Cemetery will be open from 8 am to 4 pm on week-days and 8 am to 3:30 pm on week-ends.

We anticipate that there will be large numbers of people coming to Burr Oak, some of whom may require assistance. To avoid the crowd, we suggest that you make your visit at least two weeks after the Cemetery opens.

We have a very limited staff, so we appreciate your patience. We will do our best to accommodate your needs. Because of the limited staff, the Cemetery will be opened up on a section by section basis, with a new section being opened each day until all 45 sections have been opened. Burr Oak staff will be stationed only in the areas being opened on that specific day to provide assistance in locating a loved one’s grave.

via www.burroakalsip.com

In order to visit the site one should get on a bus at a specific location-Burr Oak Cemetery Transportation Center at 12250 S Cicero Ave, Suite 109, Alsip, IL 60803. there is parking.

On Friday November 27th Burr Oak cemetery will reopen to the Public.

In July 2009 it was discovered that over 300 graves were desecrated at Burr Oak Cemetery. Four people were arrested. Bones were piled up all over the cemetery.

In reaction to the Burr Oak Cemetery  Scandal Illinois has proposed cemetery reform, and Congressman Bobby Rush has proposed the Bereaved Consumers Bill of Rights Act of 2009-Click here

The main problem at the Cemetery is that there are over 140,000 grave sites with only 43,000 headstones.

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

DC Sniper|Funeral|yourfuneralguy

DC Sniper has been put in the grave

The DC sniper was put to rest on Tuesday. Media was not allowed in the funeral. Family members did not speak to the press after the service. No Public Statements were made. This all happened In Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Snippet from MSNBC in Washington DC.

The man known as the D.C. sniper was laid to rest Tuesday in his hometown of Baton Rouge, La.  Several dozen people attended John Allen Muhammad’s funeral.

via www.nbcwashington.com

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

 

Funeral Industry Decline-Long established Funeral Home dies-YourFuneralGuy

Long standing Texas Funeral Home closes

There are more signs of Funeral Industry decline as funeral homes close, and funeral corporations post losses. Recently a long standing Funeral Home closed its doors in Athens Texas.

Gordon-Foster-Brown Funeral Home ceased operations on Nov. 15. After the closure, the TDB assumed custody of the records and funds related to the home’s pre-paid funeral contracts.

According to TDB, the department will soon begin proceedings to find another funeral home to service the 70 trust-funded contracts of purchasers who elect to keep them.

“It was a voluntary seizure from the department,” TDB Deputy Director Stephanie Newberg said. “We were contacted by the funeral home that they would be closing.”

Newberg said the closure was due to financial difficulties.

via www.athensreview.com

The economy has been putting pressure on the traditional Funeral Industry Forcing them to raise prices while folks are demanding and purchasing less. . The worlds largest funeral corporation SCI, Service Corporation International has shown poor numbers along with Matthews International.

Funeral Funeral Industry Blog by Your Funeral Guy

Illinois Cemetery Reform-Not applying to the City Cemetery-YourFuneralGuy

Illinois Cemetery reform Not to apply to Municipalities.

Illinois cemetery reform may not apply to the City Cemetery. This is not a good thing for consistent cemetery reform in the State of Illinois.  For reform only to apply to the Privatly owned cemeteries is some what ridiculous, and maybe discriminatory.

It appears that Cemetery reform in Illinois is being diluted by the politicians and lobbyists in the State. Cemetery reform needs to consistent applying to all cemetery.

Information on the Senate Cemetery Bill can be found here.

Here is some info on the cemetery reform bill. Snippet from The State Journal Register.

CHATHAM — Municipal officials no longer have to worry about unaffordable cemetery regulations, Chatham Village Board member Joe Schatteman said.

Senate Bill 1471, a rewrite of state cemetery regulations, was amended to exempt cemeteries owned by municipalities and religious institutions from provisions that require cemetery staff members to be licensed and receive continuing education.

“Just the financial upkeep of that would be devastating to many municipal cemeteries,” Schatteman said.

via www.sj-r.com

Click here for direct information on Illinois Cemetery Reform, that is in response to the Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal. The Illinois Senate may close the dbate on Illinois Cemetery Reform in 2010.

Funeral Industry Cemetery Industry Blog by Your Funeral Guy

You can Make it easily through a funeral without…-yourfuneralguy

Yes, you can make it through a Funeral without the full  use of a Funeral Direct0r, and expensive casket. In many cases however it is still best to hire a funeral director but not for all of his services. You do not have to get a Casket from the traditional funeral directors- Aurora, Batesville, or York Casket Company.

In fact if you are informed, some of the services of a funeral director can be done, by your friends, church members, clergy and others. In actuality you can do some of it before you die.

To some this may seem radical but it is quite simple.

From Rest in Peace Insiders tips to the Low cost Less Stress Funeral.

“The everyday role of the funeral director has been changing
over time. Some of the funeral director’s functions are not
as necessary as they once were. The reality is that today the
average person can plan a funeral that reduces the role
of the funeral director.” Copyrighted Material  from R.Brian Burkhardt

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy