A Pennsylvania church building continues to serve families as a funeral home.

The Cornelius, North Carolina Planning Board wants a funeral home to build a buffer behind their proposed building, so traffic on nearby I-70 won’t see the back of the building. Here’s what’s there now, if Google Street View has the address right: View Larger Map The planning board doesn’t want signage that’s viewable from the [...]

How will the aging baby boomer generation affect the funeral industry?

Waynesville, MO, southwest of St Louis, may be getting a crematorium. Waynesville Memorial Chapel plans to install a crematory if City Council affirms the zoning recommendation Thursday evening. The city Planning and Zoning Commission approved the application Tuesday evening. Affected residents had several questions about the facility and how it might affect property values, but [...]

The funeral industry isn’t being overly affected by the current US economic issues. Forbes reports that given the aging baby boomer population, the industry is actually looking at a slight upswing. “People don’t borrow from the 401k to buy groceries or gas. This is a major life event, like a wedding, so people are willing [...]

The New York Times has an interesting short piece about an embalmer in NYC. In my time around the funeral industry, I had occasion to visit prep rooms, and occasionally see bodies in there. Never had the opportunity to observe an embalming procedure.

Retired firefighters in Arizona are working to create an appropriate vehicle for firefighter funerals.

A funeral escort working Jackson County, Missouri was hit by a drunk driver April 3d. The escort suffered “life-threatening injuries” when a 20-year-old intoxicated male began passing the procession one car at a time, leapfrogging his way up. The escort, moving up to the front of the procession, was struck when the intoxicated driver swerved [...]

The graveside ceremony had just ended when the sky flashed with the sharp crack of a nearby lightning strike, followed by more flashes and rumbles on the horizon. The widower glanced over at the pastor and said, “Well, she’s there now.”

Cheryl Runner Kittle has pleaded guilty to embezzling over $35,000 from pre-need contracts held by an Elkins, WV funeral home. She’s agreed to restitution, but further sentencing awaits. The Suburban Journals in Town and Country, MO has a nice piece talking about the effects of weather on funerals. Here in Central Ohio, we won’t run [...]