According to details in this article from CBC Canada Royal Air Force glider pilot veteran Gordon Patrick was buried at the Green Acres Cemetery outside of Winnipeg, Manitoba, following his death in 1973.  For whatever reason, probably at least partially because he was estranged from his daughter, Elizabeth Patrick, who lived in Great Britain, no monument or marker was ever erected.

It appears that all was fine until Gordon Patrick’s grandson, Patrick Moulden, a clearance diver with the Royal Canadian Navy died in 2022. Moulden was buried at the Field of Honor in Woodland Cemetery in Burlington, Ontario.

Then in May of this year Elizabeth Patrick had decided to have her father disintered and moved to the same cemetery where her son now lays in rest.  According to the CBC Canada article, here’s what happened at that time”

“In May, wanting to have her father’s remains relocated to a cemetery in Ontario where her son is buried, Patrick — who lives in England — had the grave excavated. That’s when it was found to be empty.”

Since the elder Patrick’s burial in 1973 the cemetery ownership has passed through the Loewen Group, Alderwoods, and is now owned by Service Corporation International (SCI).  Again, according to the article, Elizabeth Patrick states that “she initially had a positive and reciprocal relationship with Service Corporation International leading up to the excavation, and the company even agreed to waive its estimated $9,000 cost.  But she says communication with SCI, which owns Green Acres, has slowed since early June, after the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police)  forensics unit carried out the first of two ground-penetrating radar searches in an effort to find any trace of her father.”

The article states that Ms. Patrick is now hearing from SCI’s legal counsel.  The article mentions that SCI’s e-mailed stance is “to say the company isn’t liable for the missing body, because he was buried before it took ownership of the cemetery. . . . . Given “the changes in ownership and organizational history of the prior owners,” the company believes “that Green Acres holds no liability.” 

Troy Harwood-Jones, a lawyer with PKF Lawyers is quoted in the article saying that “. . .the Manitoba Cemeteries Act could also make SCI liable. . . . The cemetery company will not be able to show that it’s met the requirements of the act by failing to keep proper records.”

Related — Here is a CBC News broadcast of the situation

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  This will be one case that is interesting to follow.  I don’t make the laws and holding SCI liable for something that happened at the cemetery 30 years prior to their ownership is pretty onerous, in my opinion.  On the other hand, if they agreed to buy the cemetery and take on all “rights and responsibilities” of previous ownership, this looks like a responsibility of previous ownership.

How could this situation happen?  Where are the remains of the elder Mr. Patrick?  One possible situation and my best guess is that it is a case of “transposed or incorrect numbers” placed on the decedent’s records at the cemetery.  Back in 1973 — before computers — many of the deceased in cemeteries had their records kept on index file cards with the information.  It could be something as simple as marking “Section 415” down as “Section 514” on an index card.  But I’m guessing that if they have had the Royal Mounted Police looking into this, those simple solutions have been looked at.

My guess is that Mr. Gordon Patrick is buried within the confines of the Green Acres Cemetery, it’s just that nobody knows where.

This case will be interesting to follow and we hope to keep our readers up to date on what happens.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

Decades of Neglect at Pennsylvania Cemetery Leads to Horrific Theft 

Most people who choose permanent memorialization for a loved one leave the cemetery or mausoleum confident that family members will be able to return and pay their respects for generations to come. They trust that the stewards of these sacred spaces will care for the property’s inhabitants to ensure that permanent memorialization remains just that — permanent.

A deeply unsettling development in Plains Township, Pennsylvania has proven that this isn’t always the case. During the first week of November, two bodies were stolen from crypts at Good Shepherd Memorial Mausoleum. One of the victims has been identified by a grandson as Mary Cappellini Piga, who died in 1979, while the identity of the other person has not been publicly released. Authorities have shared that some “partial remains” have been recovered, but the investigation is ongoing.

Owners claim ignorance

While this theft is horrifying, it has, tragically, been foreshadowed by decades of neglect by the owners of the Good Shepherd property. The mausoleum that once housed the remains of Piga was actually condemned in 2015 after the discovery of black mold, crumbling marble, and structural instability. At that time, some family members were scrambling to arrange reinterment for their loved ones — and suing the property’s owners for reimbursement of those expenses.

Lawrence Lee and Viktoria Evstafieva, who live in Ormond Beach, Florida, purchased the 6.08-acre cemetery at a tax sale for $4,500. Oddly, they later claimed that they weren’t aware the property included a cemetery or mausoleum. 

“We did not purchase the business part of it,” Evstafieva told a local news station in 2006. “We did not intend to continue this place as a cemetery.”

Funeral directors stepping up

Various township leaders have commented on the deteriorating situation at Good Shepherd over the years, but the recent crimes have renewed interest in finding a solution. One member of the Board of Commissioners —  who is, coincidentally, Piga’s great-grandson — said they’ve filed court documents to relocate the 38 bodies still housed in the mausoleum because efforts to reach the owners have been unsuccessful.

Funeral director Chris Yanaitis and the Luzerne County Funeral Directors Association have joined the efforts to do right by the deceased, but the process is costly, legally complex, and emotionally taxing. Yanaitis told WVIA that he hopes the Attorney General’s office will grant a blanket order to move the bodies from the mausoleum to Good Shepherd’s cemetery section, which volunteers are attempting to maintain.

Time is not on the side of Yanaitis and authorities. Not only is nature taking its toll on the mausoleum, but thieves have been systematically dismantling the structure, removing bricks and screws, most recently, of course, human remains. 

“Everybody in the Luzerne County Funeral Directors Association has been trying their best to do and get the word out to families,” Yanaitis told WVIA news. “I know [lawyers] have been helping us … but at the same time, it’s still a cost, and it’s going through a second funeral all over again.”

National funeral home and cemetery operator Carriage Services announced their 3rd Quarter results last week.  In total they announced total revenues of $102.7 million in revenues for the 3rd Quarter in comparison to the 2024 3rd Quarter of $100.7 million — that’s a 2% total increase.  The same report also stated that the company’s revenue for the 9 month period ending September 30, 2025, totaled $312.0 million as compared to the total revenue for the same 9-month period of 2024 of $306.5 million — that’s an increase of about 1.8% on the year so far.

That doesn’t tell the whole story, however, as the press release from Carriage Services, which you can access here, alludes to how strong the cemetery and preneed operations of the company have been.  Here’s a couple of bullet points from the press release that points to that fact:

• Total revenue grew 2.0% over the prior year quarter, driven by increased operating revenue of 5.2% primarily as a result of 21.4% growth in cemetery preneed sales;
• Cemetery operating revenue increased 12.6% over the prior year quarter, driven by a 4.6% increase in the number of preneed interment rights sold and a 15.1% increase in the average price of preneed interment rights sold
• Financial revenue increased 27.2% over the prior year quarter, primarily driven by a 27.9% increase in preneed insurance contracts sold resulting in an increase in general agency commission revenue

On the other side of the equation, funerals, I noticed that the number of funeral contracts slipped about 2% over the same 3-month (3Q) period of last year and the increase in Funeral Revenue per case was less than 1% coming in at increased revenue rate of 0.7%.  The low rate of funeral contract revenue growth makes sense when you also notice the company’s rate of cremation to burial also slightly increased for the 3Q period. . . . . Carriage Services reported a 3Q25 cremation rate of 61% as compared to a 3Q24 cremation rate of 60.4%.

Carriage Services Vice-Chairman and CEO Carlos Quezada summed up the quarter with some prepared remarks in the press release.  In part, Quezada made these comments:

“We are excited to be back in growth mode, expanding our footprint this quarter through strategic acquisitions of businesses that served over 2,600 families and generated more than $15 million in annual revenue last year. At the same time, we divested certain non-core assets to reallocate capital towards better long-term value creation opportunities.

Total operating revenue grew 5.2% year-over-year, driven by 21.4% growth in cemetery preneed sales combined with financial revenue growth of 27.2%, reflecting the continued success of our national prearranged funeral and cemetery strategy. These results highlight the strength of our team, the effectiveness of our business strategy, and the growing demand for the premier experiences we deliver. Purposeful Growth in Action – Building Momentum Toward Our 2030 Vision.”

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  Carriage Services management has been upfront in the past couple of years letting shareholders know that they re-allocating the assets of the business to set up greater success in the future.  They have sold some business units and acquired others — which in some areas makes comparable financial data hard to interpret without knowing what has been sold and acquired.

However, from the success of their cemetery segment and this knowledge that their new preneed agreements seem to be bringing more revenue to the bottom line, I conclude that they seem to be on the right track.

From my point of view, the consumer rarely stands still and it appears to me that part of the Carriage Services’ management goal is to be ahead of the curve for that consumer and have the right products ready for tomorrow’s consumers.  It’s an ongoing task that could pay big dividends in the future.

Disclaimer —  The author of this article for Funeral Director Daily is a shareholder of Carriage Services.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

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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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

Johnson Consulting Group Marks 25 Years of Guiding Funeral and Cemetery Businesses Through Change 

Scottsdale, Arizona — October 28, 2025 —Johnson Consulting Group (JCG), a premier consulting firm serving funeral and cemetery professionals nationwide, is celebrating 25 years of helping businesses navigate profession change, growth, and generational transition. This longevity provides great evidence in the satisfaction of JCG customers over the year.

Over the past quarter-century, JCG has grown from a firm focused primarily on succession planning to a full-spectrum consulting partner supporting all stages of the funeral home and cemetery life cycle. Its services now include mergers and acquisitions, operational consulting, accounting and financial management, coaching, leadership development, performance tracking through customer surveying and sales analysis, and technology solutions. 

A Legacy Rooted in Relationships

Founded in 2000 by Tom Johnson, and now led by his son, Jake Johnson, the company marks this milestone with gratitude for its clients, partners, and team members who have supported its growth and evolution. 

“My father loved this profession and his friends,” said Jake Johnson, President and CEO of JCG. “I think it was exciting for him to see that those relationships continue with what he built and to what we have today.” 

From its earliest days, Johnson Consulting built its reputation on deep, trust-based relationships within the funeral profession. Jake recalls growing up meeting funeral home owners through his father’s work and being struck not by the business side, but by the warmth and community of funeral service professionals. 

That relational foundation remains central to JCG’s approach today: Each client engagement is treated as a partnership, with JCG working “hand in glove” with operator teams to tailor strategies that fit their goals and values. 

Key Milestones & Contributions

• Broad national footprint: JCG has provided merger and acquisition advisory and consulting services to funeral and cemetery businesses in every U.S. state and Canada. 
• Billions in transactions: Over its history, the firm has supported well over $3 billion in funeral profession transactions. 
• Service diversification: From its beginnings in valuations and business exit planning, JCG responded to client demand over time by expanding into accounting, consulting, coaching, operational systems, and technology. 
• Profession insight and thought leadership: JCG has adapted alongside major trends — including rising cremation rates, shifting consumer expectations, digitization of operations, and evolving workforce dynamics. 

Jake Johnson points to technology, rising labor costs, and cremation rates as the most transformative forces for funeral businesses in recent years. He notes that funeral homes must balance deeply personal relationship-driven service with modern data-driven systems and efficient operations. 

Looking Ahead: The Next 25 Years

As JCG reflects on its first quarter-century, its leadership is already turning toward the future. The firm pledges to continue evolving in service of its clients:

• Innovate with purpose: JCG will continue developing and improving performance tools that help its clients operate more smoothly while preserving personal service. 
• Deepen coaching and leadership development: Recognizing that people drive long-term success, JCG aims to expand its executive coaching, team training, and leadership development offerings.
• Strategic growth and partnerships: The company continues to explore curated alliances, thought leadership content, and new service models to meet emerging challenges in the funeral and cemetery space.
• Commitment to clients’ futures: Above all, JCG intends to remain a trusted partner to funeral home and cemetery owners as they plan for succession, growth, operations, and market change.

“We’re in this for the long run,” says Johnson. “We honor my father’s founding vision while adapting continuously to serve an industry that never stops changing.” 

About Johnson Consulting Group

A leading funeral profession consulting firm focused on increasing performance, profitability, and success as owners navigate succession planning. Our expert services include succession planning, selling funeral homes and cemeteries, financing solutions, business coaching, accounting services, business performance analysis, customer survey program, customer experience workshops, incentive compensation plans, and Leadership and Management training.

For more information about JCG’s services, thought leadership, or JCG events, visit www.johnsonconsulting.com.

Fortitude Research and Marketing Launches Guidant – the First Technology Platform to Enable Online Cemetery Property Sales

Patented platform goes live with Milestone Funeral Partners, marking a major step forward in the digital transformation of the deathcare profession

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Oct. 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Fortitude Research and Marketing today announced the launch of Guidant, a technology company pioneering digital commerce solutions for cemeteries and funeral homes. The patented platform enables families to purchase cemetery property and related services directly from cemeteries, completely online — a first for the deathcare profession.

While several companies have made it possible to arrange funerals and cremations online, Guidant is the first to bring direct cemetery property transactions — traditionally an offline, in-person process, requiring customers to meet with a sales professional — into a fully digital, secure, environment.

Guidant’s patented technology integrates interactive mapping, inventory management, and e-commerce functionality, allowing cemeteries to showcase available property, streamline purchasing, and enhance the consumer experience. According to industry research, thirty-five percent of consumers say they would purchase cemetery property online if they had the option.

“For too long, cemetery property sales have been one of the last major purchase categories still tied to a completely offline process,” said George Owens, Founder of Fortitude Research and Marketing which incubated Guidant. “Guidant changes that. Our platform brings the transparency, convenience, and accessibility that today’s consumers expect — while empowering cemetery operators to grow their business in a digital-first world.”

The company’s first live implementation launched at Brooklawn Memorial Park in Portland, Maine, a partner of Milestone Funeral Partners, a forward-thinking funeral, cemetery, and crematory company serving funeral homes and cemeteries across multiple states in the Northeast.

“We’re proud to be the first to bring Guidant’s technology to market,” said Mike Martel, President of Milestone Funeral Partners. “This platform makes it easier for families to make meaningful, informed decisions — and it gives our locations a new way to reach people where they are. Guidant represents the kind of innovation our profession has needed for years.”

Guidant’s technology is patented, with 11 additional partner locations currently in pre-launch. The company is now entering an active growth phase, seeking to add new locations to the platform as well as seedinvestment to accelerate deployment, expand its engineering team, and scale adoption across North America.

“This isn’t just a digital tool,” added Owens. “It’s the foundation for how the next generation of cemetery commerce will operate — built with respect for tradition, and the innovation needed for the future.”

About Guidant

Guidant is a technology company transforming the way cemeteries sell property and services. With a patented digital platform that enables families to browse, select, and purchase cemetery property online, Guidant empowers cemeteries to modernize their sales process and meet the expectations of today’s digital consumer.
Learn more at: OurGuidant.com

About Milestone Funeral Partners

Milestone Funeral Partners, led by experienced funeral directors Michael Martel and Timothy “TJ” Smart, focuses on supporting community-based Managing Partners and fostering entrepreneurship. With a dedication to people and local caregivers, the company ensures its businesses are led by the best caregivers in each community they serve.
Learn more at: Milestonefuneralpartners.com

SS. Peter & Paul Cemetery Opens First Cremation-Only Building in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

New building ensures respect for the human body as called for in the catechism

Springfield, Penn. (October 14, 2025) – Cremation or traditional burial is often one of the most difficult questions facing people as they consider end-of-life decisions.  

While the Catholic Church has permitted cremation for over 60 years, Catholics in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s only options for cremation were columbaria and urn burials – until now. 

Everstory Partners, through its unique partnership with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, unveiled the first Archdiocesan cremation-only building open to all Catholics in Southeast Pennsylvania at Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery.  

As the Church requires cremated remains to be interred on consecrated grounds, this new building provides a sacred indoor space where families can preserve the ashes of their loved ones with reverence and honor the tenets of their faith. 

“This is important because the number of people who are seeking cremation for their loved ones continues to rise every year,” says Matt Sobon, senior vice president of operations, Everstory Partners. “Our first cremation-only indoor space follows our efforts to respectfully shape memorial services for modern families.” 

Currently, nearly 62 percent of individuals are cremated in the United States. That number is expected to exceed 80 percent by 2045, according to a recent report of the National Funeral Directors Association. 

Appointed as the Reflections Suite, this welcoming sanctuary is located at Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery in Springfield, Penn. It features more than 1,000 exterior granite and interior glass-front niches as alternatives to burial and accommodates the Vatican’s guidance on conserving ashes. 

The Most Rev. Keith Chylinski, auxiliary bishop of Philadelphia who presided over the October 11 blessing of the Reflections Suite reminded us of the heart behind this sacred space.  

“It’s important that we have sacred places to remember our loved ones, places where we can pray for them, feel the presence of God, and be reminded of our hope in Him and in eternal life,” he shared at the event. 

About The Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia   

The Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia proudly serves families in the Greater Philadelphia area with over 12 locations including Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery. Paul Sargent, Supervisor. Visit archdioceseofphiladelphia.org   to learn more and for a list of locations.     

About Everstory Partners 

Everstory Partners’ mission is to create supportive spaces where individuals and families can find solace, meaning, and hope in the midst of loss. Since 1999, the company has grown to include 463 cemetery, funeral, and crematory locations serving more than 65,000 families a year across the United States (including Puerto Rico) on both a pre-need and at-need basis. Everstory is the brand promise, created in April 2023, to destigmatize death care with a unique blend of long-standing traditions of caring for the deceased with a fresh perspective that death is a natural and beautiful part of the human experience that should be planned and celebrated. Visit  everstorypartners.com to learn more. 

A recent opinion article from Seeking Alpha author Lighting Rock Research concludes that “After two years of deleveraging and portfolio optimization, I think this is a turning point for Carriage Services to pursue acquisitions and grow its core funeral and cemetery businesses.”

Here are a couple of bullet points from the article whereby the author thinks Carriage Services is on an upswing.

• “(Carriage Services is) reflecting stable growth and a turning point after two years of deleveraging.”
• “Carriage’s preneed cemetery strategy and normalized growth post-pandemic support steady cash flow and future profitability.”
• “Balance sheet improvements position the company for strategic M&A, with forecasts of 4% organic revenue growth and incremental margin expansion.”

One dissenting bullet point by the author is such:

• “Key Carriage Services risks include leadership transition, competition from low-cost providers, and the need to further reduce high-cost debt.”

Here are some more bullet points from the article, which you can access here:

• “Carriage Services operates 159 funeral homes and 28 cemeteries in the U.S. market, making it a small competitor to Service Corporation International (SCI). The company has recently focused on debt repayment and optimizing its overall portfolios.”.
• “Carriage Services has generated stable growth over the past years, with a 6% revenue growth and 7.1% adjusted EPS growth.”
• “The key message for the quarter was that the company’s business is back on track after two years of debt repayment and divesting non-core business units.”

Comparisons with SCI —-

The article by Lighting Rock Research was published shortly after Carriage Services 2nd Quarter financial reports.  Lightning Rock Research also published an article shortly after the 2nd Quarter financial report of Service Corporation International.  You can access Funeral Director Daily’s coverage of that article here.

What is interesting about those two articles by the same author is that you can make comparisons on two companies in the Death Care retail business and look for similarities and differences.  For whatever reason, Lightning Rock Research sees, as a percentage, future revenue growth higher with SCI than Carriage.  The Revenue Growth Rate projections as shown on the charts below indicate a slightly over 6% annual rate for SCI and a slightly under 6% annual rate for Carriage Services.

When it comes to Earnings Per Share, the researcher postulates in his projections that SCI will almost triple its profits in the next decade while maintaining that Carriage Services will slightly more than double their Earnings Per Share over the same time period.  At first thought that difference could be seen as SCI using their economies of scale to increase profits. . . . Or, it could be that the author believes that cemeteries will be more profitable than funeral homes over that time period as SCI operates the higher percentage of cemeteries of the two entities.

Here are some charts where you can find some comparative numbers between SCI and Carriage Services that were provided in the articles by Lighting Rock Research:

Current Numbers taken from 10-k report as reported by LIghting Rock Research.  (FCF=Free Cash Flow)

Carriage Services 10-Year Projections from Lighting Rock Research:

Carriage Services Ten-Year Forecast by Lighting Rock Research

Service Corporation International 10-Year Projections from Lighting Rock Research:

Projections of SCI’s Revenue, Operating Profits, Net Profits, and more through 2034 by Lighting Rock Research

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  I always caution myself that when I look at financial reports that the numbers are “one-point, stationary-in-time” numbers.  It is my opinion that to get a good feel on the direction of a company you need to look at “trends over time”.

However, these two fairly current articles by the same researcher give us some type of feel as to how that researcher sees the companies from his point of view.

One difference I have with the research is his opinion that his viewpoint that one risk with Carriage Services is “leadership transition”.  The  founding of the company and the 30-year leadership of Melvin Payne can not be diminished, however, I think that leadership team of the past two years is now in place and will be a strength of Carriage Services moving forward rather than a potential weakness.

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

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

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Last month a judge in Indiana removed the obligation of taking care of a non-profit cemetery away from the cemetery corporation and placed it in the hands of the government. . . in this case Center Township.  In his decision, Judge Nathan Meeks commented that the Marion Cemetery Corporation efforts to maintain the cemetery were like a “few brave souls bailing water from the Titanic“.

Judge Meeks ruled that the cemetery, which has been the center of complaints and neglect for some time, should be placed in the hands of township trustee Deborah Cain, allowing her to take over care and maintenance of the cemetery.  The ruling, issued July 17, grants the township trustee full control over the cemetery’s financial matters, operations, grounds maintenance and repairs effective immediately.

The cemetery, Estates of Serenity located in Marion, Indiana, dates back to the 1800’s and has over 70,000 completed burials on over 100 acres of land.

As to how the cemetery got in the condition of disrepair the current President of the non-profit which owns the cemetery made these comments, “There’s so many cremations now, they’re just dropping the bodies off and not even doing viewings.   “Then they pick them up, take them home on the shelf or in a closet. So I’ve lost $120,000 in maintenance revenue from that.”

Prior to the pandemic the cemetery completed 150 burials per year and in 2024 that number had dropped to 54.

Not without a cost —  Township Trustee Deborah Cain also announced that she has recieved committments of $300,000 each from the city and county councils to fix up the cemetery.

Related Information — You can read an article and/or view a video news report on this action here.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take —  I think that there is more to this story than reported here.  It’s appears from reading the article that the non-profit that owns the cemetery and its President, Brian Jeffrey, have some type of arrangement with the Marion Cemetery Corporation that brings some type of benefit to Mr. Jeffrey.

The article points out that in February 2025 the Indiana Funeral and Cemetery Board found Jeffrey had failed to:

• Regularly mow large section of the grounds
• Trim around monuments
• Remove dead or dying trees
• Repair and reset monuments

The article also says that Jeffrey has filed a notice of appeal on Judge Meeks’recent decision.

My main point in bringing this article forward is regardless of why the cemetery is in disrepair, I understand why those with loved ones interred in the cemetery or those with ownership of lots for future interments are interested in repairing the cemetery.  However, I also wonder how thrilled that city and county residents are with $600,000 of their tax dollars going to keep up and restore a non-profit entity?

And, if the revenue from interments is insufficient to keep the cemetery financially solvent, how much more money will have to be spent by the taxpayers to subsidize the operation in the future?

As cremations and other disposition options continue to grow and as Americans use cemeteries less often in the future how many of these situations — where cemeteries cannot pay for their upkeep — will we discover?  And, what will be the remedy for solving what might be a large problem for non-profit cemeteries?

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

There is an interesting case, which you can read about and see a news video of here, blowing through the tradewinds of Hawaii at this time concerning the eligibility of burial in a Veterans’ Administration National Cemetery.  The case concerns the potential of a dis-interment of U.S. Army veteran and Honorably Discharged Dr. Robert Browne who has been buried in Honolulu’s Punchbowl National Cemetery of the Pacific since 1991.

The case has prompted a letter from the Hawaii congressional delegation, including United States Senator Mazie Hirono to the secretary of the United States Department of Veterans Affair “requesting legislation allowing the VA to review and initiate disinterment proceedings for Dr. Brown”.

From the article that I read it appears that the disinterment stems from a person who “identifies as a survivor of sexual abuse by Browne and has family members buried at the Honolulu cemetery”.

Of interest in this situation is the fact that Dr. Browne died before he was ever charged with the crimes but the Kamehameha Schools of Hawaii paid a settlement of $80 million to (his alleged) victims.  Another factor in the case against Dr. Browne is that his death was ruled a suicide.

The letter to the secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs makes this statement according to the article from Hawaii News Now, “The presence of an alleged serial abuser in a place reserved for those who served with distinction is deeply painful and unacceptable to survivors and the families of those buried alongside him.”

Funeral Director Daily take:  I think that this is a very complicated case under the current rules of VA cemetery eligibility.  In general, here are the simple requirements for burial eligibility in a VA national cemetery:

Veterans, service members, spouses, and dependents may be eligible for burial in a VA national cemetery, as well as other benefits, if they meet one of these requirements.

One of these must be true:

• The person qualifying for burial benefits is a Veteran who didn’t receive a dishonorable discharge, or
• The person qualifying for burial benefits is a service member who died while on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty for training, or
• The person qualifying for burial benefits is the spouse or surviving spouse of a Veteran (even if they remarried after the Veteran’s death), or
• The person qualifying for burial benefits is the minor child of a Veteran (even if the Veteran died first) or, in some cases, the unmarried adult dependent child of a Veteran

 

Certainly Dr. Browne qualifies under the first criteria.  But, as I continued to look at criteria for exemptions to those requirements there are possible exemptions that could, in my opinion, make Dr. Browne ineligible.  However, they seem a little bit in the areas of gray when it comes to this situation.

A couple of those exeptions include the following:

Veterans aren’t eligible if:

• They’ve been convicted of a federal or state capital crime and may receive a sentence of imprisonment for life or the death penalty—and the conviction is final, or

• Clear and convincing evidence shows that they’ve committed a federal or state capital crime, but they couldn’t have a trial due to flight to avoid prosecution or death

• They were convicted of a Tier III sex offense and sentenced to a minimum of life imprisonment—and the conviction is final.

My next cause of action was to look up “Capital Crime” and it is defined as “A capital crime, also known as a capital offense, is a crime that is punishable by the death penalty.  These crimes are considered the most serious offenses under the law and vary by jurisdiction, but often include aggravated forms of murder, treason, and terrorism”. 

So, if that definition is true, then Capital Crime does not seem to fit this situation as reason for disinterment nor does the conviction of a sex offense because Dr. Brown died before he was charged and/or convicted.

I want you to know that I’m not taking a side here but I do find there to be interesting arguments on each side.  It will be interesting to see how the situation plays out.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Final Thought — For the first time in my life I was called to jury duty this summer and was selected to a jury for a short trial.  I will say that when I found myself in the jury box for the beginning of the trial I felt the huge weight of justice on my shoulders.  I’m relieved that the case did not have repercussions of prison time — it was a simple case of a defendent accused of violating a restraining order against loud noise in an apartment complex.

Even though the case seemed fairly straight forward and simple, I was struck by how emotionally drained I was after listening to the case and deliberating with fellow jurors.  It was an interesting lesson for me to learn about the responsibilities of a “jury of your peers” in the American justice system.

I’m certainly glad that I will not be sitting in and trying to figure out the justice in this Hawaii case.

Related Article — “Eligibility for Burial in a VA National Cemetery”.  U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs

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