The Family Plot Blog
Simple Things Relatives Can Do to Help With Funeral Planning
Here are some helpful funeral planning ideas from guest blogger Kayla Matthews. Death is part of life, and at some point, we all have to cope with the loss of a loved one. While the passing of a distant cousin or aunt may not affect you much personally, chances are their immediate circle of family is devastated by the loss. If you’d like to help but aren’t sure how, here are some ways you can be of assistance to those who are mourning. While...
News and Notes: Resolving to Plan Ahead in 2016
It's my firm belief humor can help prompt us to prepare for inevitable end-of-life issues. We can only laugh about death when it seems far away. The recent wave of mass shootings in the U.S. and abroad is a sobering reminder that our precious lives can be unexpectedly cut short. When we die without having made or discussed funeral arrangements or put our vital information together, our family and friends suffer more than the loss of our...
How Do You ‘Talk Turkey’ About Cremation Over the Holidays?
As the family gathers for Thanksgiving and the December holidays, it's an opportune time to "talk turkey" about end-of-life arrangements with relatives who need to know such details. For 50% of the U.S. population, that means choosing cremation. How and when do you start the conversation? "It's a heck of a lot better to discuss thoughts about advance medical directives and funeral plans over the kitchen table or during a long walk than over an...
Update on Alkaline Hydrolysis Systems
At the 2015 NFDA convention, there was a lot of interest in alkaline hydrolysis, a water-based alternative to fire-based cremation. Bio-Response Solutions, which has more than 18 years of experience making alkaline hydrolysis equipment, had a very large booth at the expo. The U.S. national average of those utilizing cremation is predicted to exceed 50% by 2016, according to CANA, the Cremation Association of North America. Many of those...
Memories of Loved Ones Memorial Materials
Memorial materials such as prayer cards, memorial programs, thank you cards, guest register books, bookmarks, photo posters and collages are yet another aspect of funeral care most families don't think about until they have to. Katy Samuels, the president and co-founder of Memories of Loved Ones, described on their website how this family-owned business got started: "On July 22, 2004 my brother Scott and I lost our friend Keith Noble suddenly....
Returning a Relative’s Ashes: Ask the Doyenne of Death
Cremated remains have a lot of emotional baggage that goes with them. You may hold onto cremated remains and feel comforted, or you may feel haunted. Because each person reacts differently to keeping cremated remains around, does it make sense to give cremation necklaces or keepsake urns containing ashes to family members? Before you divvy up a loved one's ashes among the family, consider this letter to Dear Abby published earlier this week...
Clothing for the Deceased
Clothing the dead - it takes some unique tailoring to make garments look good on someone who's lying down. Funeral directors and morticians also have the challenge of dressing someone who can't move his or her body! A.R.K. Garment Company has been in the business of manufacturing burial garments since 1928. The name comes from the last name initials of the three founders - Akerman, Rickman and Komer. Owner Tom Bearman's grandfather bought out...
News and Notes: Greening Final Arrangements, New Book, Etc.
Do you recycle and strive to save energy? If you consider yourself "green" in life, consider greening your final arrangements. This Thursday, I'm presenting an Albuquerque OASIS class on Greening Your Final Arrangements. Among the topics to be covered: green burial opportunities in New Mexico, the carbon footprint of cremation, how Jewish burial traditions are naturally green burial, donating your body to science, and what you need to know NOW...
Unique Urns at NFDA
Since the U.S. cremation rate is projected to surpass 50% nationally by 2016, there were plenty of creative cremation urns on display at the 2015 National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) expo. I've done past blog posts about some of these companies, but their innovation never stops. LoveUrns How can you make a metal urn look cuddly? That was the challenge LoveUrns president Naseem Kahn and his team faced when making a teddy bear urn for...
Memento Memorials Artistic Urns
Memento Memorials debuted their artistic, unusual cremation urns at the 2015 NFDA convention to much interest by funeral directors in attendance. Chris Harvan and his wife started the company in 2003 to create urns, keepsakes and memorials for family and friends who have lost pets and infants. Since then, they've branched out into urn product lines that feature artful design and crafting of metal, wood, concrete and other materials. They...
Creative Caskets at NFDA
It was "Caskets-R-Us" at the National Funeral Directors Association convention and expo. You may have seen previous posts about Trey Ganem's personalized caskets, and the video visits with Andrea Fernandez of Clear View Caskets and Mark Elder with Vision Casket. Here are other creative caskets that were on display at the 2015 expo: C.J. Boots Casket Company was founded by Christopher J. Boots in 1999. He was a custom furniture and cabinet maker...
‘Hail and Farewell’ Provides Cremation Memorial Service Guidance
When someone says, “Just cremate me after I'm dead,” the family often has no clue what to do for a memorial service or final disposition of the remains. The new book, Hail and Farewell: Cremation Ceremonies, Templates and Tips, will help families with memorial service guidance and creative ideas. The book by Gail Rubin, Certified Thanatologist and Certified Funeral Celebrant, and Susan Fraser, respected memorial authority, covers everything...
Trey Ganem Personalized Caskets at NFDA
Personalizing caskets gives grieving families a different way to celebrate the life of someone who has died. For Trey Ganem, making these caskets is a dream come true. He uses his intuitive gift for sensing the spirit of the person and designing a casket that reflects each individual. From a humble start in 2014 as a one-person shop in Edina, Texas, he now has a team of people helping create fantastic caskets as well as creative urns. His...
StoryClip Preserves Condolences on Video
New technology for funeral homes gets introduced every year at the NFDA convention. At the 2015 expo, StoryClip launched its new service to provide video condolences and messages from the deceased (recorded before they die, of course). Dustin Vik, co-founder and president of StoryClip, explained how the process works. "StoryClip is a tablet-based kiosk that allows family and friends to leave video condolences at your funeral home," he said. At...
Body Donation Details with LifeLegacy Foundation
UPDATE: As of February 2017, Science Care has taken over the day-to-day operations of LifeLegacy Foundation and Legacy Placement Services. Call Science Care to make body donation arrangements at 1-800-417-3747.
Using Cremated Remains to Make Portraits
As far as Dusty Jonakin knows, he's the first artist to paint portraits of deceased people and pets using only their cremated remains and linseed oil. There's no paint involved. He came up with the idea in 2009, while discussing the topic of cremation with his buddy Donnie Roberts. A year and a half later, Donnie was tragically killed by a car while he was walking home from work. Jonakin was good friends with Donnie and his wife. They knew he...
Vision Casket: Economical Cremation and Burial Products
There's always something new to learn about the funeral business when covering funeral conventions. In a conversation at the NFDA expo with Mark Elder, VP of Sales for Vision Casket, I learned more about the relationships between casket manufacturers and the end user - the funeral home and the families they serve. Vision Casket manufactures economical burial and cremation caskets in lightweight corrugated fiberboard and plastic cremation urns -...
Green Burial Products from Passages International
Passages International is a company that specializes in biodegradable and eco-friendly funeral products. The company's president Darren Crouch was at the 2015 National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) convention and took a moment to share some thoughts about the industry. "We're getting a lot of interest," said Crouch. "I think that funeral directors are realizing they have to offer greener alternatives. Just like when you go to a Toyota...
![[Animation] The Meaning of Day of the Dead](https://i0.wp.com/agoodgoodbye.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Dia-de-los-Muertos.jpg?resize=242%2C250&ssl=1)
[Animation] The Meaning of Day of the Dead
Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, is a time to celebrate lives lived. There's a long history behind it, involving ancient Meso-American cultures in Central America and Mexico, Spanish Conquistadors, and the Catholic Church. Read more about the history of Dia de los Muertos. You'll see a lot of skeletons in Day of the Dead artwork. Why? It depicts the idea that after our bodies die, our spirits live on. When the flesh is gone, the...
It’s Create a Great Funeral Day!
Today, October 30, 2015, is the 16th annual Create a Great Funeral Day. Kudos to Stephanie West Allen for initiating this day on Chase's Calendar of Events back in 2000. It's a day to think about what you might want for your "good goodbye" and have a conversation with the people you love. I've interviewed Stephanie several times over the years about why she started Create a Great Funeral Day. Over time, her ideas have evolved. Here are past...
Synthetic Cadavers for Mortuary Science
People donate their bodies to medical schools for anatomy studies and other purposes, and in exchange, the family gets a free cremation along with the satisfaction of contributing to research. Mortuary schools also use cadavers for students to practice embalming and restorative arts. But that may be changing. At the NFDA convention and expo, SynDaver Labs displayed a synthetic human body designed for anatomy study. This eye-catching example was...