Dorothy Height was a famous civil rights leader. She recently died at age 98-President Obama recently spoke at her funeral service giving the eulogy at the National Cathedral in Washington DC
Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy
PETA Buy’s ad space on a cremation urn. Yes this week there was a man in Eugene Oregon who sold ad space on cremation urn and yes the animal rights group is putting ads on the man’s urn that says
One of the PETA ads will say: “I’ve Kicked the Bucket — Have you? Boycott KFC.” The other reads: “People who Buy Purebred Dogs Really Burn Me Up. Always Adopt
via www.myfoxny.com
This is a very bizarre story, even for a funeral guy. Click Here to read about the man selling ad space on his urn.
Funeral Industry|Funeral News| Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy
The Chicago Tribune’s Eric Zorn Has revealed a radio ad being run by the World’s Largest Funeral Corporation Service Corporation International, NYSE: SCI. The advertisement is extremely inappropriate and shows the extreme that a dying Funeral Industry will go.
Here’s the text of a radio commercial now running from something called the Dignity Memorial Network:
Your phone rings, the last thing you expect is your father calling from his vacation in Mexico. And as soon as you hear his voice you know something terrible has happened. Your heart sinks, your palms sweat. “It’s your mother,” he says. An auto accident on a coastal road. She’s gone. His voice cracks. And you try to remember if you’ve ever heard your father cry. You struggle to speak. You sit down and begin to worry about how to get both of them home.
Old fashioned of me, I’m sure, but I prefer discreet euphemisms and soft sell in funeral-industry come-ons — “your time of need” and so on — to vivid evocations of family tragedies.
Also, really, the last thing you expect is your folks to check in from vacation.
SCI Known for it’s antics and scandals in the Funeral Industry, was exposed last year in the Washington Post in a veterans corpse abuse scandal, at National funeral Home in Falls Church, Va. There was also a Burr Oak Like Scandal, involving Service Corporation International at a cemetery outside of LA Last year.
Service Corporation International (the world’s largest funeral corporation) recently purchased the #5 Funeral Corporation . In an effort to maintain control of property required to be divested(sold as part of the deal and required by the FTC.) several Keystone execs(#5) will maintain control of the businesses sold.
Several Keystone Executives have formed a company and purchased the property. This shows the extent corporate leaders in the Funeral Industry go to maintain, control of your funeral dollar.
Snippet from the Memorial Business Journal-
It seems that the funeral home/cemetery acquisiton market has a new player. What was speculated for months is moving closer to fruition as three former top executives at Keystone North America have formed a new company and are moving forward with the acquisition of the properties the Federal Trade Commission last month ordered divested by Service Corporation International in order to complete the company’s acquisition of Keystone.
The company, Foundation Partners Group, will be headed by Steve Shaffer, who is president and chief executive officer. Shaffer was previously chief financial officer at Keystone. Jim Price, who co-founded Keystone in 1996 and was the company’s chief operating officer, is Foundation Partner’s executive vice president and chief operating officer; and Chris Thomley, who has served as Keystone’s chief accounting officer since 2005, becomes chief financial officer.
via memorialbusinessjournal.wordpress.com
Funeral industry| Funeral News by Your Funeral Guy
Service Corporation International At Need Funeral income is down in Q1. Income from the preneed funeral investments rose with the markets. Funeral Corporations are still struggling so many companies like SCI have turned to acquisitions to make the downward trend stop. Service Corporation International #1 funeral corporation recently purchased Keystone the #5 funeral corporation in North America.
SCI’ income increase in Q1 2010 revenue increased over the First Quarter in 2009. but the increase does not begin to make up for the 2009 losses.
Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI), the largest provider of deathcare products and services in North America, today reported results for the first quarter 2010. Our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements can be found at the end of this press release. The table below summarizes our key financial results:
(In millions, except for per share amounts) Three Months Ended March 31,
2010 2009 Revenues $ 530.9 $ 510.6 via www.digitaljournal.com Funeral Industry, Funeral News, Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy
Your Funeral Guy Supports Digital Death Day
Your Funeral Guy has done several posts on Digital Dying or what happens to your Life on Line online after you die. This is an important topic and in order to facilitate discussion on this matter, Your Funeral Guy Supports Digital Death Day.
Digital Death Day will be a part of
IIW X Internet Identity Workhop 10
May 17-19, 2010
at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California
Here are some of Your Funeral Guy posts on digital dying and digital assets.
Set up A Free Facebook Memorial For Your loved One
How to Add an Obituary to Facebook
Places to plan your Digital Funeral
Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy
Burr Oak Cemetery has been sold with a condition. The price was not $25,000 but $110,000 Dollars. The deal included Cedar Park, which brought the total deal to 1 million dollars.
Click here to see a video on the The sale of Burr Oak Cemetery
Burr Oak Cemetery was the cemetery where less than a year ago it was discovered that over 300 graves were desecrated and bones were piled up all over the cemetery.
There is a catch to the deal: It’s contingent on obtaining permission to perform burials in 9 acres on the northern side of Burr Oak Cemetery. It’s the area the workers allegedly used as a dumping ground for human remains.
“It’s very important to get the cemetery into the hands of qualified operators who have the funds to run it the way it should be run,” said Robert Fishman, Burr Oak debtors’ attorney.
via abclocal.go.com
Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy
The Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal inspired Congressman Bobby Rush to introduce the Bereaved Consumers Bill Of Rights Act of 2009.
Here is a video of The Former LA Police Chief “Daryl Gates” Funeral Procession. This is an historic Police Funeral and Funeral procession. Gates took the Los Angeles Police Department out of Corruption into compassion.
His tenure was marred however by the Rodney King Police beating case.
Funeral Industry| Funeral News| Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy Blog
There is a new lawsuit in the Burr Oak Cemetery tragedy. It was Filed in Cook County circuit Court on Monday, April 26th 2010. The lady involved had multiple relatives remains desecrated.
The Burr Oak cemetery Scandal was exposed in July 2009. At the cemetery, 300 graves were desecrated and bones were piled up at various locations around the cemetery, in a horrifying scene.
New National Funeral and Cemetery legislation is making it’s way through Congress as a direct Response to this scandal. The legislation is called the Bereaved Consumers Bill of Rights Act of 2009.
Burr Oak Cemetery was sued today by a woman who says her relatives’ remains were knowingly desecrated in order to resell their burial plots.
Nellie Riley’s attorney filed the lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court alleging that the remains of her deceased mother, father, three brothers and sister were destroyed by cemetery staff. Hundreds of bodies at the cemetery were dug up to resell the plots for $300,000, the complaint says.
via www.chicagobreakingnews.com
Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy
The title of the book, “Grave Expectations Planning the End like there is no Tomorrow”is clever, and the graphics are done well, That is where the value of this “funeral” book begins and ends.
There is too much writing required in this book, for the person who wants to plan their funeral.There are many cute facts about funerals written on the white background in the margin of this book.They are simply interesting things about funerals that have nothing to do with planning one’s funeral.
This work has several pages that warn you about Funeral Directors, but gives no concrete advice on how to deal with the sales professionals you will negotiate your funeral contract with. There is no real advice beyond:
“Don’t let anyone push you around or embarrass you. Go to the internet and check out all the options you have choose from”(page 53).
This is poor advice as the places to plan your funeral online are too numerous to count.Some are very good and others not so good. A little guidance on this would have been helpful.
There ARE NO WORDS in the book on how to deal with funeral pre need or prepaying for a funeral, which is how many folks deal with a funeral in North America. Many folks have been taken and lost money in preneed funeral schemes. Not to mention the Prepaid Funeral and the pitfalls involved makes this work inadequate.
In Chapter 10 the idea of A Funeral Rehearsal dinner that one attends before one’s death is a very creative idea, and thoughtful. But in many death circumstances(sudden death,long hospitalization) it is not at all possible.
The book offers some falsehoods when looking for an urn on line. On Page 96 the authors state that the International Cemetery and Funeral Association(ICCFA) and the National Funeral Directors Association(NFDA) police online establishments that sell funeral goods and services..(Page 96)
The sad truth is that these organizations simply are not setup to do this. They do not even police their own members, and could not even if they wanted to. The fact that the authors allowed that to be printed indicates a lack of understanding about funerals and the funeral industry.
There is much more that can be said about this book. It is incomplete and too tedious(too much writing) exercise in planning your funeral.
The authors and Cider Mill Press, the publisher did not do their homework om Funerals.
Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy
Cremation costs can vary by thousands of dollars. This is is an important factor when considering funeral costs and cremations costs. We have addressed this subject in several places before,-it is important to address this subject again. You can view a video on this with more info here. As with funeral cost, and cremation cost- […]
Image via Wikipedia There has been an article on Ten Companies Controlling the Funeral Industry. What is interesting in the article are the Newcomers Wall Mart and Amazon .com These companies have only entered the funeral industry in the last several of years. This is an indication of traditional Funeral industry decline and the desire […]
Hillenbrand Inc and the CEO Kenneth Camp, have acknowledged funeral industry and Casket sales decline. The company executive has decided to live with the reality that is there. People are paying less funeral cost and many are continuing to live with the reality of the funeral industry decline. Hillenbrand Inc. CEO Kenneth Camp might have […]
1. TV special Shows what it is like to die If you or a loved one have thought you may die, it may be a good idea to catch the PBS frontline special”FACING DEATH”. Would you go to intensive care to die? How long should someone receive treatment? Check out the video. via http://www.yourfuneralguy.com 2. […]
There have been three great funeral books published in 2010 that can help with Funerals and your funeral cost. These book state the principles presented in Rest in Peace: Insider Tips to the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral. The First one is A Good Goodbye by Gail Rubin a new funeral book from the USA. […]
