Golf courses, in this day and age, are incredibly expensive to build.  It’s not only the land acquisition costs but you have the costs involved in shaping the fairways and the greens, building a clubhouse and equipment garages, and, of course, the holding costs while the landscape grows into a playable course.

I don’t exactly know what it costs to build a cemetery.  You’ve got acquisition costs and you have the build-out of columbariums and mausoleums, so I’m sure it is not inexpensive either.  And, like a golf course growing into playing shape, you also have a holding costs for certain forms of revenue such as interment costs until deaths have occured.

There is a debate going on right now in Australia’s largest city about turning the Carnarvon Golf Course into a “modern memorial park“.  It turns out that about 10,000 people are buried in Sydney each year and the Metropolitan Memorial Parks (MMP) CEO Denise Ora claims that there is a “pressing need” for more burial space.

One of her suggestions is to take over the Carnarvon Golf Course and turn it into a cemetery.  Ms. Ora is quoted in this article from ABC News Australia as saying, “Our vision for the Carnarvon site is to create a modern memorial park that not only meets essential burial needs but provides a public space for the whole community.”

As you can imagine, not everybody is excited about the Metropolitan Memorial Parks’ plan for Carnarvon Golf Course.  Local Member of Parliament (MP) Lynda Voltz described the plan as “lazy and short-sighted“.

Voltz continued with these comments in this article that appeared in Australian Golf Digest, “To look at any golfing facility and other sporting facilities as just land that they can make alternative plans for… this is the sixth golf course that we’ve seen under attack in Sydney, and it won’t be the last, but the fact is Carnarvon is our busiest sporting precinct.   Between Carnarvon and the soccer fields at Coleman Park, they are full all the time. Every single day of the week, it’s packed with cars. There’s 2,000 members, there’s a waiting list. There are 1,500 booked rounds a week, and then there’s walk-ins on top of it. . . . . .You’re talking about working class people here [who enjoy] this cheap, public golf course. . . . . ”

According to the Australian Golf Digest article, a round of golf at Canarvon Golf Course is priced at AUS $49 which is the equivilent of US $30. . . .

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  I find this controversy interesting.  While I understand that people want cemeteries near where they live, I had not thought that a country as expansive as Australia would have worries about running out of cemetery space. . . . especially when they have a 70% cremation rate at this time.  And, space for cremation memorialization is less than would be necessary than for full-body burials.

I also find it interesting, and I question that in a finite area such as a city limits if a cemetery would have a majority of citizens choose it over the other options of having a golf course and/or other recreational facilities available for the residents.  It will be interesting to see what happens with this situation as it moves forward.

A Not So Serious Take on This Subject:  I’ve been a big fan of the 1980 filmed comedy movie “Caddyshack” over the years.  It is one of my all-time favorite movies and in the day of video movie rentals and/or purchases, I’m guessing that I had watched it over 20 times.  One of the favorite lines of the movie is spoke by comedian Rodney Dangerfield playing a wealthy real estate developer when he says, “I tell ya, country clubs and cemeteries, the biggest wasters of prime real estate.  Dead people, they don’t want to be buried nowadays. Ecology, right?”

Related — Here is an archived article about cemeteries, golf courses, and the use of water.  It actually refers to the Dangerfield line in the article.

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Caribbean Cremations & Scary Cemeteries | 4M #213

Welcome to the two-hundred-and-thirteenth edition of Morticians’ Monday Morning Mashup, 4M #213, where we’ll serve up bite-sized, easily-digestible nuggets of the deathcare news you need to crush conversations in the week ahead. Bon appetit!

A first for Antigua

On Tuesday, a 29-year-old Antiguan female funeral director will open her country’s first-ever crematorium, offering the 100,000 residents of Antigua and Barbuda a new, local disposition option. She’ll also work with Antigua’s two existing funeral homes so they can offer their families cremation, which is sure to be appreciated given the islands’ ever-shrinking available burial space. Stefanie Meyer completed her mortuary science studies and apprenticeship in Connecticut and returned home committed to opening Meyer’s Funeral Home — but it wasn’t a simple task. Neighbors protested several proposed locations, and “as Antigua’s first crematorium, government officials had no established procedures,” requiring three organizations to work together to change legislation and create new guidelines. We agree with the Antigua Observer — Stefanie Meyer is a “revolutionary entrepreneur!”

Funeral Homes Across America Trust Treasured Memories

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Trusted by hundreds of funeral homes nationwide, Treasured Memories has become the go-to rewards network for owners looking to make their operations more profitable. Every month, members receive detailed point statements, so you know exactly what you’ve earned and how to use it.

Whether you reinvest in supplies, redeem for cash value, or let your points build, the choice is yours. Don’t miss out on benefits your peers are already taking advantage of.

Scary, spooky, sacred spaces

We’re a few days late, but we had to share the latest rankings from our survey-loving friends at Choice Mutual insurance company. It’s a list you might be happy that your property didn’t make — anytime other than Halloween, anyway. Yes, Choice Mutual asked 3,004 Americans “which cemeteries they would be least willing to visit alone after dark” to come up with The 150 Scariest Graveyards In The U.S. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many of these properties are concentrated in the Northeast, and there are plenty that gained their “scary” status because they’re tied to history, tragedy, or pop culture.

Doing the right thing

Remember those 300+ piles of cremains that were discovered a few months ago in the desert outside Las Vegas? Authorities became involved in the investigation of their origins because while it’s not illegal to scatter cremains on public lands in Nevada, it is against the law for commercial entities to do so — and who else would have that many cremated remains in their possession but a crematory or funeral home? To preserve the dignity of the remains and to give family members a place to visit (once the identities of the deceased are identified, if possible, when the identity of the secret scatterer is uncovered), a local funeral home, Palm Mortuaries and Cemeteries, removed the ashes last week and will memorialize them in a crypt.

No small mistakes

As you well know, errors of any kind by deathcare professionals are not easily overlooked by grieving families. (I can’t express to you how upset I was when a cemetery misspelled the first name of a loved one on a form a few years ago). So, it can’t be surprising when funeral directors face major consequences — including lots of negative press — when making major mistakes. Two issues, both originating in California, made it to the news last week. In both cases, the wrong body was presented to a family, wearing the clothes of their loved one. One family has filed suit; the other probably will do the same, especially as the sight led one family member to suffer a heart attack in the chapel during the viewing — and the funeral home only offered a refund of 1% of the total $20,000 funeral cost. 

According to Gemini AI, “(the number of) articles can indicate short-term reactions, they can also foretell longer-term trends by reflecting shifts in public and business attention and sentiment”.  And, if you read the number of articles that I do while researching for Funeral Director Daily, you would probably believe, as I do, that there is great interest in the subject of “green or natural burials”.

However, like anything new and somewhat different, there seems to be a great deal of caution from governmental organizations in granting permissions for green or natural cemeteries.

That preamble brings us to the case of Matt Connell and his 20-acre parcel located about 25 miles southwest of Duluth, Minnesota, in Minnesota’s Carlton County.  According to Connell, and from information in this article, it appears that Connell bought his acreage with, what he claims “was (already) zoned to allow for a private cemetery, without the need to acquire a conditional use permit.”

Turns out that now we are over two years later and Connell has survived a 2-year moratorium from the Minnesota legislature on Minnesota natural cemeteries and now another moratorium on an approval process, expected to last at least one year put in place by Carlton County officials.

According to the same linked article as above,  “(Connell) and his business partner filed a lawsuit in federal court accusing Carlton County officials of illegally blocking his project on land zoned to allow for private cemeteries. He also alleges that the county is violating his constitutional and religious rights.”

Carlton County in response filed a motion to have the lawsuit dismissed and those arguments were heard on Wednesday, October 22, in Federal Court.  A decision on that motion is expected in 60 to 90 days.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily:  The eventual decision in this case may give some clarity about green cemeteries vs. traditional cemeteries and the associated factors about public health, environmental concerns, and the public acceptance of things that are new and different in the greater Death Care world.

According to an expert quoted in the article, there is no cemetery specifically devoted to the green or natural burial method as of this time in Minnesota.  According to that same expert, there are green or natural burials in Minnesota but they have taken place in areas of traditional cemeteries.

From my point of view, I don’t know if green or natural cemeteries will become mainstream or continue as a niche business in the greater Death Care universe, however, there seems to be plenty of interest in them and it will be interesting to see where this disagreement ends up.

Related Articles:

1. Proposed green burial cemetery in Carlton County in federal lawsuit.  Northern News Now (MN)
2. Petition for burial in shroud to National Assembly.  City News – Montreal, Quebec (Canada)

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Seeking Alpha contributiing author Daniel Jones published an article this week titled, “Service Corporation International:  You might want to hold this one until your last breath”.

It is a very interesting article that uses both SCI financial data and United States birth and death data to make a case that SCI, as a company is probably a good investment for the long haul.  The article also makes good use of graphs to tell its story.  You can access the article here.

As always, Funeral Director Daily does not take a particular side of the issues presented other than to present them to you for your own opinions.  Here are some quotes from the article:

• “Service Corporation International remains a dominant player in the US and Canadian funeral and cemetery industry, with strong growth prospects.”

• “SCI’s revenue, profits, and cash flows continue to rise, driven by population growth and increasing demand for death care services.”

• “Unless you expect a world-ending catastrophe, you can expect revenue growth achieved by Service Corporation International to continue for the long haul.”

• “While many countries, like Japan, South Korea, and China, are seeing populations decline, the US continues to see population growth, largely because of immigration.”

Steady Growth of U.S. Population from 1950 to 2024 as shown in the article

The above chart shows the steady population growth in the United States from 1950 to the present.  The article states, “In 2024, it (the U.S. population) hit an all-time high of 345.4 million. That’s up an astounding 22.7%, or 64.9 million, since the year 2000.”

And, here is another chart from the article which shows a continuing growth of population up to 2050 where the hypothesis is that the  United States population will reach 380.8 million —  that’s another 10% increase from 2024.

U.S. population projected growth to 2050 with a projected rise in Median Age. (Image from Seeking Alpha article)

Here is a quote from the article that pertains to the above chart and the idea of the country’s Median Age rising, “It’s unclear what the future holds. We do know that, by 2050, the US population is expected to grow to 380.8 million. The median age is forecasted to grow to about 41.9 years. Currently, the Congressional Budget Office expects an overall decline in the mortality rate. But not everybody agrees with that. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, for instance, expects issues like drug use to challenge the common narrative that mortality rates will actually decline even as the population of the US continues aging.”

Author Daniel Jones somewhat combines the idea of more deaths with the idea of SCI as North America’s largest Death Care provider to make this statement, “But what is undeniable is that a growth in the overall size of the population is guaranteed to cause the number of deaths to grow. This certainly bodes well for a company such as Service Corporation International.”

Related Article — Here’s a recent article from CBS New’s 60 Minutes Overtime that questions what might happen if the United States continues to see a decline in natural born birth rates.  It is titled “The Trends behind the historically low U.S. Birth Rate” and can be accessed here.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  I think Seeking Alpha author Daniel Jones has a good handle on Service Corporation International as a company and on his insights into the United States population dynamics.  Putting those two things together easily leads one to believe that if you are the biggest in a growing industry, as that industry grows with opportunity, your company should enjoy the most growth.

That makes a lot of sense. . . .But I’ve also learned over my life that things don’t always happen in a vacuum.  In this case there are a host of other issues surrounding Death Care choice that it is not as easy as saying 1 + 1 = 2.

While Service Corporation International seems to be making all the right moves in moving in line with society’s Death Care choices — such as making arrangements with at least one of the professions natural organic reduction providers —  there is no guarantee that Death Care clientele will continue to use traditional funeral homes in the same numbers as they do today.  And, if over the next couple of decades SCI cannot move in sync with what consumers want. . . . a larger population (and more deaths) may be no help at all to them.

In my opinion, Death Care is now all about staying relevant with the consumers you are going to serve.  Yes, with the caveat that it is also somewhat geographic location related, the more deaths in your area the more business you should have.  However, I also think Death Care is in a unique position among consumers where habits and methods of use are changing and growth, even with more deaths, will take the right “moves” by existing Death Care businesses to continue to grow.

Disclaimer — The author of this article for Funeral Director Daily is a shareholder of Service Corporation International.

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New Video Resource Available for Cemeteries and Funeral Homes to Promote the Importance of Permanent Memorialization  

STERLING, Va. (October 13, 2025) – The International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral  Association’s Educational Foundation and Park Lawn Corporation (PLC) have partnered to  produce a powerful new video segment, now available for cemeteries and funeral homes to use in their community outreach and education efforts.  

The project began when Jay Dodds, Chief Strategy Officer at Park Lawn Corporation, was approached about the opportunity. Recognizing its value, he brought it to the attention of the ICCFA Educational Foundation, which quickly saw the importance of the topic and joined the  initiative. Together, the two organizations funded the project and brought the vision to life.  

Premiering in April 2025 on Advancements with Ted Danson, the segment highlights the essential role of permanent memorialization in the 21st century. It explores one of the most pressing challenges facing the profession today: ensuring that cremated remains are brought back to cemeteries and honored with a meaningful, lasting tribute.  

Through expert insights and real-world perspectives, the program emphasizes how the profession can work together to support families in making thoughtful, permanent placement decisions. Even as direct cremation rates rise, the segment underscores the importance of presenting every family with dignified options for memorialization that provide enduring comfort and a place of remembrance for generations to come.  

“We are honored to have helped make this project possible,” said Gino Merendino, President of the ICCFA Educational Foundation. “Our hope is that this video spreads an important message— that memorialization and remembrance are not only about honoring a life, but also about offering healing and connection for those left behind.”  

“Permanent memorialization is not just a professional responsibility—it’s a gift we give to families and future generations,” said Jay Dodds. “This segment is a valuable resource that cemeteries and funeral homes can use to inspire meaningful conversations in their communities and to reaffirm the lasting role our profession plays in guiding families through loss.”  

The segment is now available for deathcare professionals to share with their communities as part  of outreach, education, and engagement initiatives. It can be viewed from the ICCFA YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/TheICCFA. The full episode of Advancements with Ted Danson is also available to stream on Amazon Prime, Season 9, Episode 4.  

About ICCFA Educational Foundation 

The ICCFA Educational Foundation is a 501(c)(3) entity, established to make education accessible to future leaders in the deathcare profession and thereby raise the standards of professionalism within the industry. To learn more about the work of the Foundation and upcoming educational opportunities, please visit https://iccfa.com/educational-foundation/ 

This information (with photos) from the Hollywood Forever Cemetery announces the opening of their recently completed Gower Mausoleum.  Here’s a paragraph from the cemetery’s recent announcement:

“Hollywood Forever is honored to announce the opening of the Gower Mausoleum, a new architectural landmark in Los Angeles and the tallest mausoleum in the United States. Rising five stories above our historic grounds, this contemporary structure provides space for more than 50,000 loved ones in crypts and niches, ensuring Hollywood Forever may continue serving families for generations to come.”

In a city and area that has some unique architecture such as the Hollywood hill sign, the Los Angeles Airport design, and the round former Capitol Records building, the Gower Mausoleum will be the newest talk of the town.

The Hollywood Forever website also makes note the high-rise mausoleum will be the tallest mausoleum in the United States and it is expected to become a “cultural landmark and a sanctuary of remembrance.”

Premium Products —  I think we may be moving through a period in time where many economists believe we are in a “K”-shaped economy —  meaning that the economy is not the same for all.  Meaning that some people with assets are getting more assets and some people without assets are not growing any savings or assets at all —  that’s the “K”-shaped economy.

I also think that in an economy where cremation and not traditional burial is the norm that cemeteries established generations ago with the idea of selling burial plots in 4 foot by 6 feet dimensions might need to think outside the box and innovate their product mix.

When you look at this page titled “Hollywood Forever Premium Services” it appears that is exactly what Hollywood Forever is doing to maximize the sales revenue of their 55 acres.  Here’s a few (of many) items listed on that page with the cemetery’s pricing for each item:

• Private Family Mausoleums:  $50,000 to $3.5 million
• Sylvan Lake Peninsula locations:  $3.85 million  (can be developed as a place for memorial statuary, sarcophagi, a private cremation estate for a family for many generations, or simply a burial space for those who deserve the best.)
• Bronze Statue in the Garden of Legends:  Starting at $95,000
• Sky Terraces at the Gower Mausoleum:  Starting at $1 million

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  I think cemeteries and funeral homes that realize the burgeoning “K”-shaped American economy can make adjustments to reel in greater profits.  Maybe pinpointing “specialized-premium” marketing efforts to zip codes or neighborhoods that have a propensity to purchase greater services could have an effect on the size of the average individual sale moving forward.

Pinpointing these neighborhoods or areas might be the perfect use for Artificial Intelligence in funeral and cemetery marketing.

Just last week Delta Airlines indicated that for the first time ever their premium sales will be going over their economy sales.  Here’s what was said in their announcement, “The airline could soon earn more from premium seating than from economy for the first time,” according to the airline’s president, Glen Hauenstein. He continued, “We see that there are many, many more opportunities in premium in the coming years.”

I think that is an indication that “the experience matters”.  And I think that Hollywood Forever is learning that the “experience” of using a cemetery is more valued than simply buying a 4 x 6 foot plot for burial.  It is interesting to note that Hollywood Forever Cemetery is actually offering free Direct Cremation (value of $3,450) to those that purchase a cremation niche, tree memorial, or plot by a certain date.  It is also interesting to think about how that type of practice by memorialization companies might affect the business of Direct Cremation providers going forward.

Service Corporation International’s CEO Thomas Ryan made this comment during the company’s 2nd Quarter 2025 Earnings Call in July that insinuates that they see the experiential value movement also, “comparable preneed cemetery sales production increased by almost $19 million or over 5%, driven by a healthy increase in large sales as well as a modest increase in core sales.”  (Emphasis by Funeral Director Daily)

I think the experiential value shown here could help bring a turn-around to the “lower revenue per services” if approached correctly by funeral homes.  There seems to be no doubt that just as I enjoy the premium experience of reclining seats at a movie theatre as compared to the old fixed-position seats, that some clientele of death care, services, and memorialization, are willing to pay premium prices for the “right experiences”. . . . . The question might be, “Is your funeral home or cemetery willing to offer those experiences?”

Related Articles —

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Get Ready, Cemeteries: ‘Tis the Season for Necrotourists

One might assume that most cemeterians eventually develop a love/hate relationship with visitors. For example, family and friends are always welcome to stop by a loved one’s resting place — as long as they’re not driving through the grass or breaking the decoration rules. Likewise, you probably don’t mind when folks from the community walk the grounds for exercise, drive through to appreciate the beauty of nature, or learn more about the people of the past. You might even be OK with the #Gravetok creators who film themselves cleaning an old gravestone or eating a pie they made from a recipe engraved on a marker.

But how do you feel about people whose only purpose for visiting a cemetery is to revel in a place of death and sorrow, create creepy horror reels, or to pose for selfies at the graves of babies? While this type of questionable motivation or behavior can happen anytime of the year, the weeks leading up to Halloween are prime time for some of the sketchiest situations a cemeterian might encounter.

It’s called necrotourism

“Necrotourism” is a recently-coined term used to describe a niche form of tourism focused on visiting sites related to death. The concept itself isn’t new though, as people have naturally been drawn to sites of tragedy and death throughout history. These sites are most commonly cemeteries, but also include memorials, museums, and other places of historical or cultural significance where the deceased are remembered. 

All in all, necrotourism isn’t a bad thing, as many tourists are visiting these spots to appreciate the art, architecture, and history found in these locations or to simply honor those who died there. Visits to Ground Zero, Auschwitz, and Chernobyl, for example, can be incredibly educational, spiritual, and life-changing experiences.

Many modern cemeteries were created to be places for people to gather — for recreation and relaxation as well as mourning and remembrance. Today, Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn and Hollywood Forever in Los Angeles are just as well-known for their overflowing calendar of events as they are for their famous residents.

The dark side

Naturally, as the number of visitors to a cemetery or memorial site grows (along with the sales of t-shirts and guided tours), so do debates on the morality and ethics of profiting from tragedy. Some worry that encouraging necrotourism can lead to exploitation of suffering, disrespect to the dead and their families, and the possibility that people will forget the true purpose of the site.

These consequences are known as the “dark side” of necrotourism — when sites meant for respectful memorialization attract visitors with more nefarious intentions. Sadly, and perhaps, expectedly, these visitors and the creepy and/or criminal behavior spike in October, especially around Halloween — and especially at cemeteries.

Hateful and obscene

Over the last several decades, more reports of stolen or disturbed grave decorations, toppled vases, graffiti, trespassing, and other petty to serious vandalism have been reported in October than in other times of the year. In 2022, for example, criminals chose Halloween night to paint “hateful and obscene graffiti” (including some Satanic language) on graves and columbariums in a Catholic cemetery in New York. The cleanup and restoration cost thousands of dollars, in addition to the human cost in grief and outrage.

Other activities can be even more depraved and dishonorable. In 2007, someone dug up the grave and stole the remains of a woman who died 1821 from a New Hampshire cemetery around Halloween. The hole they dug was “a perfectly rectangular hole, 5 1/2 feet deep, with evenly piled mounds of dirt left on either side of the empty grave,” leading authorities to suspect that the actions were motivated by witchcraft or satanic ritual, as “some believe that if a skull is stolen on Halloween night, it will grant powers to a person who holds it.”

A similar situation occurred in Queens, New York on October 31, 2016, when vandals broke into a mausoleum, “wrecked the place,” leaving bones and clothing scattered about, and left with the skull of a man and the entire skeleton of a woman, both of whom died in 1928. 

While these examples are somewhat extreme, today’s social media culture has certainly compounded the potential for Halloween mischief — and the recording of such activities. Even though trespassing on cemetery grounds is a classic adolescent Halloween activity (call it old-school necrotourism), the resulting videos or images of the actions for TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram can lead to much bigger issues.

Practical preparations

There are some things cemeterians can do to proactively prevent or prepare for Halloween hijinks:

• Remind families (especially in October) about removing fragile decorations overnight, and offer to store or safeguard seasonal items.
• Collaborate on lighting, camera coverage, visitor policies for high-risk nights, and volunteer watch rotations.
• Encourage family members to photograph damage and file police reports immediately; quick reporting increases chances of prosecution and insurance recovery.
• Help families with repair referrals, memorial restoration fundraising, or compassionate communications. 
• Counsel communities about the social-media angle (don’t film or post desecration) and coordinate with police/parks departments about rapid takedown of offending posts if possible.

Good luck, and Happy October!

Tomorrow is the last day of the federal government’s fiscal year.  That is not necessarily a big deal except that the new federal budget year begins on Wednesday and as I write this on Sunday no agreement to fund the federal government of the United States is in place moving forward.  If there is no agreement on how to fund the government, then the government will shut down with only “essential services” continuing to operate.

While threatened many times over the past several years, we have not had a government shutdown in the United States for 7 years.

The good news in all of this is that “business generally grinds on”.  Private businesses continue to operate and in the funeral home business where the federal government intersects with funeral homes — at least in the National Veteran Cemetery operations — those operations are considered “essential”.

Here is a Veterans Administration “contingency planning” document that was released in anticipation of a federal government shutdown.  From the VA cemetery side of things here’s what I believe funeral directors would need to know:

• Burials will continue at VA national cemeteries.
• Applications for headstones, markers, and burial benefits will continue to be processed.

And, here’s a couple of things that will not be moving forward:

• The VA will not permanently place headstones or maintain the grounds at national cemeteries.
• The VA will not process applications for pre-need burials.

Thoughts on a potential government shutdown —  On Friday of last week the Yahoo Finance Morning Brief had a short overview on their thoughts about the looming government shutdown.  I found it a pretty fair observation of what the United States is facing and why we may actually see a government shutdown for the first time in seven years.  The following is an exerpt from that article:

By the time you read this. . . . or within the next 48 hours or so, we will probably have an answer on which way the federal government will move.

Related — “What’s opened or closed in a federal shutdown”.  USA Today

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Just last week according to this article from Newsweek “Southwest Airlines announced that it was ending a policy that allowed plus-size travelers to book an extra seat without extra costs. Under the new rules, passengers must buy two seats if they cannot fit on one, but refunds may be considered if the flight does not sell out.”

With that decision, according to the same article, Southwest joins United Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Frontier Airlines as airlines that require a second seat be bought in these circumstances.

We also learned last week from this article from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that airlines are not the only industry wrestling with the sales requirements to wide-bodied people.  The article tells of Danescourt Cemetery in Tettenhall, City of Wolverhamption where the council had announced a 20% surcharge on the sale of six-foot wide cemetery lots as opposed to the standard five-foot wide lots.

According to my exchange rate math, the six-foot wide rate would be (in U.S. dollars) US $ 3,650 per lot as compared to a normal five-foot lot rate of about US $ 2,920.

According to the article the city defended the move “saying that it was responding to an increase in demand for larger graves, with obesity rates of 33.3% in the city compared with a national average of 25.9%.”  The city also commented that “Local authorities in Telford, Birmingham, Walsall, Coventry and Staffordshire have already implemented charges for wider coffins.”  

The Wolverhampton City Council has already opened a dedicated section for six-foot wide burial plots at the cemetery.

Mr. Ross Hickton, described as a funeral director with Hickton Family Funeral Directors, an independent company with seven branches across the West Midlands spoke against the idea.  According to the article, Mr. Hickton is quoted as saying, “Essentially it’s a fat tax. You know people have paid into the system their entire life, paid their council tax to Wolverhampton Council, and for them to be told 20% more because of the size of their loved one, it’s not really acceptable or fair.” 

Matthew Crawley, Chief Executive at the Institute for Cemetery and Crematorium Management stated, “You have a finite amount of space to work with; therefore if you need to eat into a grave next door, say, then that needs to be accounted for.  You also have to account for the idea that digging the grave itself will also need extra equipment to keep it safe.”

Following this discussion, the council made the decision not to proceed with the (extra charge) plans.  It was noted, however, that extra charges for larger plots was “(a) common practice taken by councils around the country where higher charges cover the costs of providing a larger plot”.

A little more information on the subject—  The National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors surveyed its members to ask if their local councils charged more for wider plots.  They received 165 replies with 25% answering in the affirmative.

The BBC contacted 27 local authorities in the West Midlands and just over a third said they charged more for wider burial plots.

Related — Another article on this decision from The Guardian.  “Wolverhamton Council rethinks plan to introduce premiums on wider graves”. (Great Britain)

Related — Another article on this decision from The Independent.  “Council slammed for charging ‘fat tax’ on burials of larger coffins.”

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take —  I see both sides of this issue.  Anecdotally, I always felt nervous when I had to tell a family that an “oversize” or “larger than average” casket might be needed for their loved one.  It was a part of funeral arrangements that had to be done and it was never comfortable to do so.

I will also tell you that when I first started working in the profession in 1980 we had about one in every seventy-five casketed deaths that required an “oversize” casket.  By the time I retired that ratio went to about one in twenty. . . so, on average, people who died were larger.

There are lots of theories on why this is so and I use judgement very judiciously so I don’t even want to venture an opinion.  In some cases it may be out of a person’s own actions or ability to be smaller. It’s difficult for me to pass judgement on that individual.

It reminds me that we all live with different situations.  As for me, I’m simply grateful for my situation.  I have a devotional quiet time every single day and I have a lot to be thankful for.  During that time I always make a point to thank the Lord that at 67 years of age he allows me to be able to run a couple of miles daily and also  gives me the health to play golf.  I’m so very grateful to Him for that ability  — even if I’m a slow runner and a poor golfer!!

Trying to be accommodating to people of all situations is part of our duty as funeral directors. The large human-being requiring an “oversize casket” or larger grave is one of those instances.  However like airlines, funeral homes and cemeteries should be allowed to recoup the extra costs of that accommodation as well.

I’m guessing that oversize seats, caskets, and cemetery lots will continue to be a tricky and touchy subject.

By the Way — I don’t like the term “oversize” or “plus size”.  However, I had a difficult time coming up with the right term.  Take a look at the, at least in my opinion, awful synonyms for “oversize casket” that the thesaurus gave me.  You can see their suggestions here.

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11 Ways Cemeteries Are Keeping Criminals From Stealing Vases for Scrap Metal

Last week, authorities in Council Bluffs, Iowa arrested four members of an eight-person theft ring accused of stealing more than 1,000 bronze vases from gravesites in the Omaha, Nebraska metro area. The arrest stemmed from a tip from someone reporting a “vehicle full of metal vases” at a scrap metal recycling center. Authorities recovered around 800 of the stolen vases, which are valued at up to $600 each.

This particular incident resulted in the return of the majority of the stolen items, but most cemeteries aren’t so lucky. Over the last year alone, thousands of U.S. vase thefts have been reported by the media, but the true number of incidents that occur in private, public, rural, and urban cemeteries cannot be measured. Even without an exact number, the deathcare community must recognize that cemetery thefts are a growing epidemic. While there’s no foolproof way to keep the lowest of the low from stealing from the dead and grieving, here are 11 possible solutions for deterring theft and potentially recovering stolen vases before they can be converted to cash:

Physical security

We know — adding tall or electrified fences, security lights, locking gates, cameras, or even human security guards can get pricey, but it’s the most often-recommended theft deterrent recommended by authorities. They’re also a good way to reassure families that you’re taking the security of their loved ones’ resting places seriously, and at least trying your best to prevent theft.

Polyurethane vases

Bronze is a beautiful and durable material for both markers and vases, but it’s also a magnet for metal-seeking thieves. What if there was a vase made of an alternative material that was just as lovely and durable as bronze, still complemented the marker, and was of absolutely no interest to criminals? Granger Industries offers ForeverSafe polyethylene vases that meet all of these criteria. These models are molded to look exactly like the metal and stone versions and are built to last with 100% American-made materials.

AirTags

In 2023, a Texas family took matters into their own hands after replacing a loved one’s stolen vase multiple times. They attached an Apple AirTag tracking device to the vase, and when it was once again pilfered, they provided the login information to local authorities. Using the account’s GPS data, police located not only that family’s stolen item, but also three of four suspects and more than $62,000 worth of vases stolen over the previous few months. Of course, at about $25 each, adding AirTags to every vase in a cemetery could be quite costly, but attaching even a lower-priced tracking device, like this $12 version, to random vases could be a sensible solution.

Zinc vases

Although they look a little different than traditional bronze vases, zinc versions like this one from American Funeral Supply are a lovely option for theft-prone cemeteries. Materials like zinc or galvanized metals are less attractive to thieves hoping to cash in on stolen metals. 

Engraving

A California family whose loved one’s bronze vase was stolen from a cemetery in 2015 decided to have the deceased name engraved on the replacement. This option could provide some peace of mind, but as the local news reporter to whom they reported the theft found out, this might not deter theft or dishonest scrap metal dealers. The reporter actually went undercover and tried to sell a $1600 bronze vase to several scrap metal shops; although most told him it was unlawful to accept these, at least one offered him $8 for the vase.

Chains

Last November, metal vases valued at about $1,000 each began disappearing from gravesites in a gated San Diego cemetery. Again, families came up with their own theft-deterring options; in this case, they used chains to secure vases to monuments. Chains aren’t necessarily a novel idea, as many vases have been equipped with a thin and easily-snapped chain to tether it to the base for decades. However, thicker chains, perhaps attached by bolts secured in cement (as shown in these tips for securing outdoor metal sculptures) might prove a little more difficult to break. Although frustrated families may opt for a less-discreet option like wrapping a chain around the vase and securing it to an anchor point on the monument, that’s probably not a practical solution for most properties.

Microdots

Similar to AirTags and engraving, microdots won’t help to keep a vase from being stolen, but they could help law enforcement track them down afterwards. Microdots are tiny discs that are nearly invisible to the naked eye at less than one millimeter in diameter. Each dot is marked with a unique PIN code that is stored in a secured database to link property to its owner; this information can be read by a magnifier.  Microdots can be sprayed on the entire surface of larger items such as vehicles or bicycles, brushed onto guns or electronics, or applied with a microdot marker. Manufacturers such as Theftmark.com offers microdot kits for less than $10 that could be applied to a large number of vases. This company also advises placing notices that items are marked with microdot technology to deter would-be thieves.

Adhesives and epoxies

The design concept of most vase-equipped markers allows a family to choose whether they want to use the vase or hide it within the monument. But for those who elect to keep a vase upright perpetually, it’s possible to secure it to the base with an industrial-strength, heavy-duty epoxy or adhesive, as Legacy Headstones describes here. As with the chain solution above, a very determined thief with proper tools might find a way to bypass this security measure, but after spending a few minutes tugging on a few of these secured vases with no success, they might just give up and go elsewhere.

Drones

The BBC reports that a police force in Wales has begun using “thermal imaging cameras attached to drones and binoculars capable of picking out suspected treasure thieves.” In this case, authorities are using the technology to keep so-called “nighthawkers” from metal-detecting and digging up ancient archaeologically-significant artifacts that are thought to be hidden on the historic grounds, but it could definitely work for vase-hawkers, too. Thermal drones specifically equipped for law enforcement and firefighting agencies can be quite an investment, but several highly-rated amateur versions are available for $300 to $9,000.

Legislation

Sure, this solution might be a longshot, depending on how diligent one might be in garnering the attention of lawmakers and the level of interest by law enforcement, but it is possible to add or amend state or local laws to penalize scrap metal dealers who knowingly accept and pay for certain types of metals. In 2013, Utah’s state legislature approved a bill that increased penalties for taking in probably-stolen “regulated metals,” including street signs, manhole covers, and “grave site monument vases and monument plaques.” Most states have similar laws, including Missouri, which adds that “scrap metal dealers need a statement on cemetery letterhead to accept a gravesite vase for salvage.”

Rewards

There wouldn’t have to be laws like the one in Utah if every scrap metal dealer was 100% honest and always diligent about what types of metals they accept and from whom. Personally visiting your area’s scrap metal dealers to remind them of existing regulations and penalties — or even offering a “finder’s fee” for turning in vase thieves — might make at least a small impact.

Obviously, some of these options might be too expensive, time-consuming, or complicated to try, or a company’s internal regulations might prevent their implementation. However, perhaps these ideas might inspire your own creative solutions.