Crist Mortuary Apologizes for Dropping Casket

Responding to a lawsuit’s allegations that Crist Mortuary employees dropped the casket of a 20-year-old Boulder High School graduate on the day of his funeral, letting his body roll onto the pavement, the mortuary’s general manager apologized. “We made a mistake,” said Michael Greenwood, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit along with [...]

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Exclusive: First Look at Batesville’s Burial Vault Graveside Set Up

Last December we reported that Batesville Casket Company (parent company Hillenbrand) bought the Goria Burial Vault company. We also reported in July that Batesville ran job ads on CareerBuilder.com and in local Cincinnati, Ohio and Louisville, Kentucky newspapers looking for Diver/Burial Vault Sales Representative, confirming speculation that Batesville was planning to service their own burial [...]

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Burial at Sea Did Not Follow Federal Guidelines

A North Carolina man whose body resurfaced off the coast of Hollywood one day after a burial at sea had been wrapped in a plastic tarp and weighed down, a violation of federal guidelines for the disposal of human remains in the ocean. It is unknown whether anyone will be charged with a crime in [...]

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Have Your Ashes Pressed Into a Vinyl Record?

Music lovers can now be immortalized when they die by having their ashes baked into vinyl records to leave behind for loved ones. A UK company called And Vinyly is offering people the chance to press their ashes in a vinyl recording of their own voice, their favorite tunes or their last will and testament. [...]

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Businesses: Keep Nasty Complaints off the Web by Offering Great Customer Service

By Marc LeVine, Director of Social Media, RiaEnjolie, Inc. You and your family began your funeral home business with the best intentions in mind. There isn’t a funeral home director with an ounce of integrity, who launches his or her new business deliberately intending to disappoint their customers. Nor, can any sane business person – [...]

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New Life Tributes Software From FuneralOne Blew Me Away

I received a phone call last week from FuneralOne CEO Joey Joachim, asking me to review their new version of Life Tributes. Life Tributes is described as: Life Tributes by funeralOne gives you the ability to produce world-class memorialization products with the click of a mouse, and it’s all done in-house, in-minutes! Joey told to [...]

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Funeral Industry Facebook Tip – Video

I was searching through a few funeral home “fan pages” or “like” pages (which ever you prefer) on Facebook and I noticed something that you should never ever do on your funeral home’s Facebook page. Please do not post a full obituary as a status update. Only post the persons name and link to the [...]

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Hillenbrand (Batesville) Going After Mexican Knockoff Casket Maker

Hillenbrand Inc.’s Batesville unit, the largest U.S. maker of coffins, filed a U.S. trade complaint to stop imports of what it deems are knockoff caskets from Mexico. The complaint, filed yesterday with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, said Ataudes Aguilares of Guadalajara, Mexico, is bringing caskets into the U.S. that infringe patents related [...]

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The Crowded Casket, More Than Dead Being Buried In Casket

We CAN take it with us? Since the beginning of burials, man has often gone to the grave with company. These days, funeral directors grant most requests: a shotgun … a case of beer … a bottle of Jack Daniels … some favorite cigars … golf clubs, usually putters … a clarinet … a tool [...]

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OPINION SHAPER: Why Does a Funeral Draw so Many While an Actual Life Draws So Few?

I was sent a link to this article through Twiiter (@ryanthogmartin). After reading it I thought it was a great article and poses a question many of us have asked before. I would love to get your opinion as well, so please share below in the comments. Someone dear to us died last year. She [...]

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