Can Your Funeral Stationery Platform Do This? Eulogize Just Made Personalization Even Easier. 

If you’ve seen the Eulogize stationery and video platform in action, you might think the guys behind it would be well pleased with their product. After all, it’s been less than a year since Australian co-founders Ben Sutton & Nick Kelly introduced Eulogize Memorials to the United States, and already, deathcare professionals in 13 states have used it to engage families and create stunning, personalized memorials. Despite this success, however, Kelly and Sutton won’t be satisfied until they’ve reached one goal.

“We’re constantly working to make the platform so intuitive that it’s almost impossible to make something look bad, the goal is to help anyone, no matter their tech experience, end up with something they’re proud to share ”says Kelly.  “This is still the North Star and the rule we apply to all new features, products, and options.”

Easier Than Ever

While this commitment to continuous improvement is impressive, you have to wonder what else the Eulogize team could possibly do to make their intuitive platform even easier to use. Well, if “hold my beer” means the same thing in Australia as it does here in the U.S., imagine Kelly and Sutton saying that as you read this partial list of recent Eulogize updates:

• Multiple AI-powered image editing tools, including instant photo enhancing and background removal,
• The ability to embed Eulogize tributes into any online obituary or funeral home website as a digital flipbook, with optional integration of a button leading to your sympathy store,
• Printing & Delivery available nationally on a range of premium paper options, and
• More and more optimization & customization features being implemented on a regular basis.

“Because Eulogize only does online tribute creation, 100% of our focus and improvements go towards making that experience better for our users” explains Sutton. “We have a long list of new features we can’t wait to keep rolling out”.

These enhancements complement the impressive features that set apart Eulogize from its competitors from the get-go, including:

You CAN do this

It’s highly likely that most deathcare professionals don’t hold degrees in graphic design or computer programming. Luckily, you don’t need either of these skills to create truly beautiful funeral programs, bookmarks, service cards, thank-you cards, and tribute videos in a matter of minutes. In fact, the idea to create a more approachable, easy-to-use memorial platform came to Ben Sutton after his mom struggled with the process of creating tributes for his grandmother’s funeral service.

“We always joke that we beta-test every new product with our moms,” Sutton told Connecting Directors last year, “but it’s really not a joke. If they can’t use it the first time, we rebuild it.”

Eulogize is now fully integrated within three leading case management platforms, and the team is working to launch several new integrations throughout 2025. In addition to shaving time off of the design process, these integrations also reduce the potential for errors in the final product.

Personalize your platform

Getting started with the all-in-one Eulogize platform is risk free, with no setup fees and a highly personalized onboarding experience. You and your team can decide which features and themes you’d like to use in addition to the level of collaboration and access you’d like to offer the families you serve.

While a picture is worth a thousand words, seeing Eulogize in action is worth a million. Nick Kelly and Ben Sutton are taking their show on the road this year to share the platform with as many funeral professionals as possible. You’ll find them at the Oklahoma Funeral Directors Association state conference in Norman on April 6-8, in Las Vegas at the ICCFA Experience on May 1-3 and at the Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska Tri-State Expo in Kansas City May 4-7. 

And of course, one of the easiest ways to learn more about Eulogize is to book a complimentary demo with the team or reach out via the Eulogize website.

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We recently learned of an interesting sale/acquisition story that happened recently in Illinois.  This article from the Mendota Reporter will tell you of the sale of the Merritt Funeral Home to the Unger-Horner Funeral Home.

It’s interesting to note, according to the article, that the Merritt Funeral Home has been in the Merritt family since 1938 and the Unger-Horner Funeral Home dates all the way back to 1861 and has seen six generations of the Unger-Horner family work there.

What else is interesting about the transaction is that is does not appear to have had a hitch in the process. . . . possibly because the elders of both funeral homes, Bob Merritt and Don Horner, have been friends and colleagues since 1966.  Here’s what Don Horner said in the article about the relationship and this situation coming together,  “Bob and I have been friends and colleagues since 1966.  It’s been a great relationship for both of us. When he (Bob Merritt) decided he was going to sell his funeral home, I told my kids earlier on that this would be a good funeral home for them to think about. They’re two long-standing family businesses, which is unique. It’s going to be part of our family business and our heritage. It’s been wonderful to see this happen.”

And, here’s what the seller, Bob Merritt said in that article, “I saw them as being the next owners of this funeral home.  I’ve  always had them in mind for it. Passing this off to a family like the Horners is the only way it could have gone for me to feel good about selling. It means the world to me that they’ll carry on. It makes it easier to walk away from this business I’ve known all my life. I feel very confident in what Derek (Horner) and Chad (Horner) will do with it.”

One of the new owners, Chad Horner, made this comment in the article, “One thing about being family-owned and operated is we care about the families.  That comes before the business of it. Families have always come first. People in Rochelle and Mendota that come to us will know that their funeral home cares about them first.”

Here is the website of the Unger-Horner Funeral Home in Rochelle

Here is the website of the new Horner-Merritt Funeral Home in Mendota

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  It’s always good to see an acquisition story where it appears that both the buyer and seller come together without animosity at the closing of the transaction.  It’s also refreshing to see that issues, outside of finances, still drive some of the business transactions being done.

From everthing I read in the article it appears that the Horner family is happy for the opportunity that growth may bring to  them and Mr. Merritt is very happy that his funeral home is under ownership that he feels will continue to serve his community in the same way he would.

If you are thinking about retirement or selling your funeral home for any reason I think it is important to know what you might be looking for in a successor. . . . . maybe it doesn’t matter to you and finances are the sole variable in your sale.  However, most transactions in the death care profession have some sense of an owner who has worked in his community for years wanting to know that, at least in some form or fashion, his methods and values are somewhat carried on by the successor.

Once the paperwork is signed and the dollars transacted that doesn’t always seem to happen.  Many times that stems from simple mis-understandings about continuing operations during the process.   That mis-understanding can lead to lack of trust and support from the former owner and that is something that any new owner would not want to happen.

Selling your funeral home and getting the right team in place as the successor is most of the time different from simply getting the highest price from a buyer.  When I needed help in getting this formula right I turned to the experts at Johnson Consulting Group and I’ve always been glad I did.

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