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Museum On Brink of Closing

Bob — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 03:11:12 +0000

The Museum of Funeral Customs, in Springfield, Illinois is dangerously close to closing. The Springfield Journal reports via the New York Times that the IFDA has laid off the curator, and museum hours are now by appointment only.

“The original idea was that we’d get enough spillover from people visiting the Lincoln sites,” said Duane Marsh, executive director of the Illinois Funeral Directors Association, which operates the museum. “But for whatever reason, that just hasn’t happened. When a business isn’t paying its way, as everyone knows, you have trouble.”

Newsweek Profiles The Funeral Industry

Bob — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:27:56 +0000

In this week’s issue of Newsweek magazine, Associate Editor Matthew Philips in “Where Death Comes Cheap,” that the $15 billion funeral industry has always been seen as recession-proof. But this recession is proving different. Families are beginning to seek ways to cut bills that were once seen as sacrosanct. Long-term trends (like the growing acceptance of cremation) are coalescing with the down economy to lead some industry veterans to sense a shift.

Consumerist on Funerals

Bob — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 05:46:09 +0000

Much of it is common sense, but it bears repeating, since many people aren’t in a common-sense frame of mind when making arrangements.

It boils down to knowing the Funeral Rule, and being an informed consumer.

There are also links to online casket sellers, and the Funeral Consumers Alliance.

Consumerist article

Alabama Funeral Director Arrested

Bob — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 04:19:15 +0000

The Gadsden Times is reporting the arrest of Harold Watson, Sr., owner of Watson and Sons Funeral Home, for felony abuse of a corpse.

Edna Kathleen Woods died of natural causes in 2007, and her family entrusted her care to Watson and Sons Funeral Home.

Watson claims the family never paid him for her services, then he lost contact with the family. After storing her remains at the funeral home for at least a year, Watson allegedly put the body in a shipping container, loaded the container in the hearse, and drove the hearse to property he owns some two miles from the funeral home. There, he allegedly parked the vehicle outside a building, and removed the battery to prevent theft of the vehicle.

Watson is claiming the family wanted their relative cremated, but never paid for the service. A death certificate states that she was cremated a week after she died, however.

More from the Gadsden News, and the Associated Press.

Love From Grief

Bob — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:25:02 +0000

Gene Kincheloe and Mozelle Wales met at a grief counseling group held at Parke’s Magic Valley Funeral Home, in Twin Falls, Idaho. They had both lost their spouses in 2007.

It seemed appropriate to them to marry at the funeral home. On Valentine’s Day.

IFDA Sued By Funeral Directors

Bob — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 04:46:27 +0000

The Illinois Funeral Directors Association is the defendant in a lawsuit filed by six association members over the handling of a pre-need funeral trust fund administered by IFDA Services, a for-profit arm of the non-profit IFDA.

The trust fund was designed to cover expenses for an estimated 49,000 people who took out policies.

The Illinois Controller’s office recently ruled that the IFDA should not have been in the pre-need insurance business; the association had been granted a license by then-controller Roland Burris, now a US Senator for Illinois.

The association is also facing a lawsuit from two consumers alleging violation of state consumer-protection laws.

A statement on the IFDA website says that Merrill Lynch Bank & Trust Co. FSB has assumed the responsibilities of trustee, and that any principal deposited towards pre-need accounts is safe.

Columbia Gains a Funeral Home

Bob — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 01:39:33 +0000

After the Warren Funeral Home fiasco of last summer, African-American residents of Columbia, Missouri felt they had no place to go. Now Tom May, owner of H.T. May & Son Funeral Home, has had a property re-zoned to allow him to fill that void.

He’s purchased a former Jehovah’s Witnesses building, and Columbia City Council approved the rezoning. There were some objections, but the application was single-use, and May agreed to work with the neighbors to address concerns.

Green Funeral Roadblock in Georgia

Bob — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:18:31 +0000

Macon-Bibb County commissioners voted on November 4 to require a leak-proof casket or vault for all burials in the county, effectively killing a business and zoning proposal by Elizabeth Collins and James Wood. They had purchased 58 acres near Macon, and intended to create a 7,500 body green cemetery, but neighbors lobbied the commissioners for the law change. The land is still zoned for a cemetery, but the requirement for leak-proof burial containers runs counter to Collins’ ideals.

Restoring And More

Bob — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:05:20 +0000

“Restorative art” is the practice of preparing the body features of a deceased person for viewing. It’s part and parcel of embalming, and it’s been done for a long time. Abraham Lincoln was embalmed, and certainly cosmetic work was done there.

Now, it seems people are planning ahead to have certain things done after they die. MSNBC has more.

Connecticut Funeral Director Fined, Retains License

Bob — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 02:11:49 +0000

After a 14-month investigation, Connecticut Funeral Director Kevin Riley was found guilty of allowing unlicensed people to perform embalming services at Hartford Trade Services. He was fined $10,000; the Connecticut Board of Examiners of Embalmers and Funeral Directors took no licensing action.

Two years ago, state Department of Public Health officials accused Riley of numerous offenses, including using unlicensed people to perform embalming services, routine overbilling, and using a state contract to solicit private business. The last charge stems from claims that Riley used his exclusive contract with the State Medical Examiner’s office to have himself appointed administrator of estates of people with no relatives.

Dave Altamari of the Hartford Courant has more.