Sara Marsden-Ille What is a ‘green’ burial site? There are currently approximately 166 registered green burial cemeteries and memorial woodlands in the United States. These are recognized natural burial sites, although some are hybrid cemeteries where both natural and traditional burials take place. A green burial cemetery is also sometimes called an eco-cemetery. As we explained in … Read more
Choosing to build or construct your own coffin is a unique alternative to purchasing a manufactured casket. It can also prove to be a personalized and inexpensive option. According to sources about coffin making, this can be quite easily done without specialist woodworking skills. With all our environmental concerns about the earth’s resources and pollution, … Read more
It may not be the ideal venue for all, but funeral homes are now moving into the market as life celebration event venues. It is not surprising when you consider that the industry estimates that around 50% of funeral chapel and gathering facilities are largely stood unused these days, and that many funeral homes have … Read more
Baby Boomers – a generation that has effected change! They are a generation that has been known for making their mark and choosing to do things differently, and there is no exception when it comes to death. The Funeral Industry has been eagerly anticipating the influx in what has been a declining death rate, when … Read more
With our lives so documented in a digital world today, the deceased are even easier victims of identity theft than ever. It can be extremely distressing to discover that your loved one’s identity has been stolen following their death. Not only can it be very emotionally tormenting, the financial implications to the good-standing of the … Read more
“Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans.” — John Lennon Have you created a ‘bucket list’? Have you consciously thought about all the things you want to do before you die? Urgh, no, you may say, that’s very distasteful! Why? Because in our culture the “D”words are still rather … Read more
‘Homegoing’ funerals have gained some notoriety of late, first The Learning Channel (TLC) aired a feature reality show based in a funeral home in Dallas where elaborate and unusual homegoing funerals were staged. Now, Christine Turner, a filmmaker in New York has made a documentary centered around an African-American funeral home in Harlem, NY that … Read more
Last month whilst on a trip to New York City, I took the time to visit Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. As I stepped off the noisy, chaotic streets of Brooklyn into the acres of quiet tranquility sitting above Brooklyn, it was like stepping into the ‘Secret Garden’. The history of Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood cemetery originally … Read more
America’s first funeral home to cremate bodies by liquefying them has been ordered to stop performing the process. The process called alkaline hydrolysis, or also known as resomation, uses lye and heat, to speed up the natural process of a human body breaking down. In an age where ecological and environmental policies are rife, and … Read more
Funeral People Explained Funeral Service Terms Cremation Terms Explained Burial Terms Funeral Home Terminology Explained Funeral Merchandise Terminology Death Care Legal Terms explained Funeral People Explained – the different roles you may encounter when dealing with a death We have listed below some of the people you may encounter when you visit a funeral home, … Read more
Federal Trade Commission ‘Funeral Law’ conducts Undercover Investigations The ‘Funeral Law’ is a federal law that protects consumers. The Funeral Industry needed to be governed by trade laws just like any other retail industry, as funeral homes can take advantage of consumers and exploit them. Grieving families who don’t know their legal rights are vulnerable … Read more
Preplanning a funeral or cremation Visitor 77116313 04 Apr 2014, 02:31 PM My mother, perhaps unfortunately, signed up for direct cremation with PRENEEDS Family Service Eastern Region. The rate they charged her in 2006 is double what you cite here. Now they want to charge for death certificates. Is this a fee I can get … Read more
The old cliché resonates “Nothing is certain but death and taxes” and I have heard many talks about the ‘death’ industry as a “recession-proof” business. Yet the Funeral Industry is now feeling its own pinch as the current troubling economic times continue. This once very traditional industry has to move out of the dark ages … Read more
Bizarre, or just a sign of the culture of our times: Drive-thru Viewing at Funeral Homes The funeral industry that has often been criticized for being something of a ‘dinosaur’ is certainly now demonstrating some assimilation of modern cultural trends. The introduction by some funeral homes of web-casting of funeral services, was viewed by many … Read more
Our great shopping icon ‘Walmart’ always there to offer us “choice” and “value” has rocked the media and funeral world this week by announcing that they are to start selling caskets. Is this a good move? I am sure many funeral homes do not think so, but this nationalized news has brought one key message … Read more
Securing your DNA: A wise step to take before cremation! I was first introduced to the concept of securing DNA by a funeral director earlier this year. DNA has become a household word these days, one that we generally think of in terms of genealogy, genetics or paternity. This was the first time I considered … Read more
In the United States there is a rich cultural heritage of black owned and operated funeral homes. Indeed black funeral parlors were some of the first businesses to be set up by African-Americans after the abolition of slavery. How do you locate an African-American owned and operated funeral home? Often at US Funerals Online we … Read more
How to cater to, and market to, the growing Hispanic and Latino population in the United States is something many industries and even government agencies are trying to understand and master today. Here at US Funerals Online, we wrote some time ago a short piece on ‘Funeral Homes Catering to the Hispanic Population’, and yet … Read more
CNN ran an interesting story today from Asia about the design project for a floating cemetery. The title of “A cruise for cremains” caught my eye as I envisaged that the Carnival Cruise Ship Line was introducing a service offering ash scattering cruises from the U.S. to the Caribbean. I recently read of a baby … Read more
Google is quite omnipotent, and has such powerful control over our everyday interactions in the digital world today. Whether you choose to, or not, it is likely you use a Google product almost every day, and probably multiple times. Facebook announced some time ago that they had introduced an option to facilitate an account being … Read more
We all are familiar with the term ‘poverty’ and what it implies. The US Census 2017 reported that 13.9% of Americans live below the poverty line or poverty threshold. The poverty threshold is defined as a household income of $16,240 for a family of 2. This, however, does not take into account the thousands of … Read more
This seems to be a growing trend among progressive funeral homes today. Since we first published an article in January 2011 about ‘US Funeral Homes Adapting to Host Weddings and Other Life Celebration Events’, it seems there are more and more innovative ways in which funeral homes are serving as community centers. The bottom line … Read more
According to the 2008 census, people of Hispanic origin are now the nation’s largest ethnic or race minority. Hispanics constitute 15% of the nation’s total population, with 48% of the Hispanic-origin population living in California and Texas. With an ever-increasing Hispanic population, even the Funeral Industry is now adapting to how to fulfill the growing … Read more
A lock of Michael Jackson’s hair owned by known Hollywood hair collector, John Reznikoff, is now going to be used to create a unique diamond by a company named LifeGem. Reznikoff, who secured a lock of Jackson’s hair that had caught fire in a freak accident during the filming of a 1984 Pepsi commercial, reportedly … Read more
Cremation has become a household term in the U.S. today, now accounting for 55% of all funerals conducted. Even those states traditionally very slow to accept cremation–Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama are now reporting significant increases in cremation cases. The funeral industry, known in the past for its slowness to respond to change, is starting to … Read more
On Thursday, January 31st, 2013, CNBC aired a documentary that went behind the scenes of the $17 billion death care industry in the United States. Tyler Mathisen presented the show that looked at how death care professionals profit from helping us make that final journey. It is already acknowledged by those within the death care … Read more
We often get asked the question “What does the average funeral cost?” Of course, quoting an average price can be difficult as funeral prices do vary significantly, depending upon both an area and a funeral provider. Like many other commodities in our society, the average cost of a funeral has increased steadily over the last … Read more
Everyone knows they are going to die sooner or later. While we all hope it is “later”, we should put our affairs in order for the benefit of our loved ones. Great comfort can be achieved by knowing that advance planning for the inevitable will have eased the trauma of your passing for your family. … Read more
Most of us do not like to think about the need to create a will, it is often something we defer in our younger years, feeling it is not really necessary. However, if someone dies without a will, things can get very complicated for remaining family. It certainly helps if you have taken the time … Read more
It is no easy task to effectively plan and prepare for a funeral, especially if you are in a heightened emotional state following a bereavement. If the death was unexpected, then you are thrust into planning the funeral with very little time, and although it makes the task no easier if you were dealing with … Read more
Planning a funeral service can be a daunting task. There are a number of preparations to co-ordinate, important documentation to be located and completed, decisions to be made – and all this often in a short timescale. To help you we have listed below 5 top tips to help you plan a dignified, yet affordable, … Read more
Funerals can be unnecessarily expensive, in fact so much so, that a funeral is usually the 3rd or 4th largest single purchase you will make in your life behind a house, a wedding, and a car. Now would you go and purchase a house, or a car, without any research or planning? No, of course … Read more
The following funeral planning guide is designed to highlight many of the immediate decisions that need to be made when planning a simple, affordable funeral service. Did the deceased make any provisions for what they would like to happen when they die? This could include a funeral plan with a local funeral home, whereby they … Read more
The funeral industry has traditionally been slow to adapt to change. There are still funeral homes without a website. To those of us whose livelihood is based online, and better still spend the greater part of our working day ‘plugged in’, the notion of life without the Internet just seems…well unimaginable today. Although many funeral … Read more
So you’ve been named an executor of an estate, but what does that really mean? An executor is the person in charge of someone’s affairs after they die. This can include tasks such as making sure the deceased’s will is followed, cleaning out and selling a home, closing accounts and keeping the peace among beneficiaries, … Read more
Understanding the ritual of a Jewish funeral How is the body prepared for a Jewish funeral? The Jewish Funeral Service Jewish Customs and Rituals that follow the burial Shiva – the immediate period of mourning after the death has occurred Shloshim – the following period of mourning Yahrzeit – the anniversary of the death Can … Read more
The death care industry in the United States is presently experiencing a period of significant change. Americans are turning to cremation as a funeral alternative at a much higher rate than was originally forecast. Tradition is eroding, environmentalism is expanding, and the memorialization aspect of the funeral ritual now presents boundless possibilities when the body … Read more
As the cremation rate continues to rise, and people continue to seek out new and personalized unique services to mark their passing, memorial diamonds are gaining popularity. So what is a Memorial Diamond? A memorial diamond is an artificially created diamond made using the carbon DNA extracted from the cremated remains of a human being. … Read more
This guide to shipping cremated remains aims to highlight exactly what you need to know to transport cremated remains, either within the United States or to another country. As the cremation rate increases and families are more dispersed, there is a growing demand for the easy transportation of cremated remains. In some cases, the family … Read more
We all spend more waking hours in the ‘digital world’ these days, and with 89.4% of the U.S. population online(1), living our life, and indeed our eternity, in a virtual space is becoming an intrinsic aspect of our culture. Culturally the ‘space’ of online memorials is becoming our virtual cemeteries! For those of you who … Read more
There are many life assurance companies in the U.S. who offer Burial Insurance. Here we have outlined some basic information about what burial insurance is, and why it can be an essential element of planning ahead. What is Burial Insurance? Burial insurance, also referred to as Funeral Insurance or Final Expense Insurance, is a … Read more
We all know that cremation is on the increase in the United States. Cremation only accounted for 4% of dispositions in the 1960s. Today industry observers forecast the rate to now reach over 60% by 2025. Not only is the cremation rate on the increase, but also cultural attitudes have shifted. The lavish, full-service ‘traditional’ … Read more
Funerals can be expensive, so much so, that these days a traditional funeral service can be beyond the means of most families. The average funeral costs around $8,000 and the average cremation costs in the region of $3,500. With many families struggling to make ends meet, laying out thousands of dollars for a funeral is … Read more
When you first receive news of a death, be it expected or unexpected, the initial reaction is shock. Even if you have nursed a loved one through illness or old age, it can still be numbing and distressing when they finally pass away. If you are the next-of-kin and responsible for making the funeral arrangements … Read more
The transition from a home funeral to funeral home What we consider a ‘traditional’ American Funeral today is quite different from the practice of funerals that occurred across our nation over two hundred years ago. Before the American Civil War home funerals were the general practice. By the mid-nineteenth century, the preservation of bodies by … Read more
Cremation is on the increase in North America, and forecast to rise considerably over the next fifteen years. It appears that Americans are shifting in their preference for tradition and burial. The Cremation Association of North America CANA (2010) conducted research that has evidenced the following nine factors as considerations as to why cremation is … Read more
What can you expect to pay for a funeral or cremation? A funeral is an expenditure that most of us do not give any thought to until faced with the role of making arrangements for a lost loved one. However, it is usually the third largest one-time purchase we will make, following a home and … Read more
Crestone, Colorado is the location of the only outdoor human cremation facility in the United States. Some may consider it an archaic tradition, but the facility in Crestone will perform a funeral pyre for anyone, regardless of their religion. Funeral industry professionals say that this facility is the only one of its kind in the … Read more
A cremation society is an organization, made up of members, who through their membership ensure their future cremation wishes are met. Society members usually pay a subscription fee to become a member and can either preplan and prepay their cremation, or merely pre-register. In some states, state law allows a funeral business to use “society” … Read more
The ‘fusion funeral’ – the alliteration works well doesn’t it? As Dan Katz rightly points out in his post ‘The emergence of the fusion funeral’ we are witnessing some amazing examples of innovation by some funeral companies now. It is an interesting time for this industry, with the huge shift towards cremation, a radical shift … Read more
The death care industry is undergoing some significant changes at present, and what most of us thought of, as the ‘traditional American funeral’ is maybe something of a dying ritual. Although I believe there will always be a place in American culture for the full-service traditional funeral, it certainly seems that more options are available … Read more
With a more transient population today, and with the size of the United States alone, the need for the transportation of human remains has been growing in demand. As families have moved away from their State of origin for employment, relationships or retirement so has the issue of ‘repatriating’ their remains following death become a … Read more
The Baby Boomer generation has already made its mark upon the death-care industry, the first generation to demonstrate a changing attitude towards funerals. This post-war generation, that has been attributed to being radical and revolutionary in all aspects of their lives, is now impacting on the death-care industry as they face their ‘final curtain’ or … Read more
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