Over my lifetime some things have just stuck with me.  A couple of those things are quotes that share a message of complicated projects or ideas that might seem insurmountable but also give the hope to try. . . because maybe the idea might just work.

The first one I remember is from back in the early 1980’s I had an idea for a business and I sent a certified letter to a Minnesota businessman who was in the Forbes 400 of most wealthy Americans and who’s business touched on the perimeter of this business.  I received this reply from that businessman, “This sounds like an ambitious project and one would wonder how you could ever succeed, however, until I’ve heard the complete proposal I’m in no position to criticize it.”

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

That was followed up with an invitation to come and visit him at his offices.  In the anything can happen category, he did not invest but we became friends and one of his children sat in on the meeting and I became friends with him also — and still am friends with both to this day.  At the end of the day I pursued the business, had some success, and the idea eventually became very successful when a larger group with much larger resources than I had took over the concept.

The businessman’s open-attitude to some small town funeral director entrepreneur made a difference in my life as it taught me to always be open to ideas that may seem insurmountable. . . but just might happen.

The second cliche that resonates with me is when Senator Ted Kennedy eulogized his brother Robert Kennedy  (RFK) at the services following his assasination in 1968.  Ted Kennedy summed up his brother’s passion for improving the world with one of RFK’s own quotes.

That quote was, “Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not.”

It’s with that preamble that I look toward the future and “outside the box” of Death Care to give you four ideas I see on the horizon of Death Care.  These are ideas I see with the ability to become reality in the Death Care business world.  And, while today’s column is to get you thinking. . . . I will expound on each idea in greater length over the rest of this week.

The four thoughts I have are as follows:

1. Family funeral homes being sold not only for cash prices, but with some part of the purchase price paid by the buyer to be in royalty payments moving forward based on a percentage of future revenues that the business generates.
2. The four-day work week for professional employees of funeral homes
3. Hospice services moving into Death Care, and more specifically, Direct Cremation and the offsite Celebration/Service business
4. A higher percentage of Death Care services being paid for by a more socially motivated government.

It’s my thought process that none of these ideas are guaranteed to happen.   However, I also believe the trend-line is apparent for a world where they could happen.

Stay tuned.

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It probably does not matter which side of the political spectrum that you straddle in anticipating that what is happening with the new Department of Government Efficienty (DOGE) will change some things as they are related to current government payment systems.  Whether you are for or against the effort by DOGE it does appear that over time some things will change.

And, I’ve been around long enough to know that when something catches the attention of the public on a national scale the process eventually works its way down to the local scale.  I can see that happening with the DOGE effort and an accounting of expenses coming to state budgets, public university budgets, school district budgets, and local budgets.

So, how might that affect your funeral business?  The first situation that comes to mind for me is in payments to funeral homes and their care for indigent individuals.  In most areas this is a budgeted item of state, county, or city governments.  I’m of the thought process that the DOGE philosophy will trickle down to these local governments and the amounts that they pay for the death care of their most vulnerable citizens may come into question by some. . . . and the search for savings could affect your payment amount from the governmental unit.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  When I was operating my funeral home we did about 300 funeral cases annually, more or less.  Anecdotally, I’m guessing that we had one governmental paid service each month which would equal to about 12 per year or 4% of all of our case volume.

My philosophy was probably different from a lot of funeral directors in that I never objected to the amounts that our county paid for these services even though it was generally below our cost of producing the services for the deceased individual.  I felt grateful for my position in the community and was willing to help those less fortunate than myself, to a certain extent, whenever I could.

In addition, I knew that our county’s money for such services came from the collection of property taxes and I never wanted my property taxes to increase.  In essence, I would have felt hypocritical if on one hand I advocated for the lowest possible property taxes while at the same time advocated for higher payments by the county when the money was being sent to me (indigent services).  I was happy to help people in their time of need. . . . and if you really think about it, because we were a profitable business, that 96% of clientele that fully-paid for our services subsidized our indigent service business. . . . . it is just another one of those “hidden taxes” that people of normal means pay in our society for the benefit of others.

One thing that did bother me about those indigent services is that the funeral home and, in many instances, the cemetery took discounts to help the deceased indigent family whereas suppliers to our industry did not.  For instance, the funeral home services were either discounted or free and many times cemeteries had to discount or offer free graves, while our suppliers such as casket companies, vault companies, and other suppliers to funeral service received their full payment of wholesale goods.

There was a practicality to that. . . the county paid one company — the funeral home — that supplied the rest of what was needed.  The funeral home had to then pay the suppliers, and I guess we could have asked our suppliers for discounts off of their invoiced amount for these services — but we never did.

Compare that to how our federal government pays for food for indigents.  In that realm, it’s my opinion that grocery stores and their suppliers are paid full prices for the goods that they sell.  I just find it interesting that for whatever reason, funeral homes have always been asked to discount their prices for the services provided to our most needy paid for by our government units.

It again proves that “compassion” is part of funeral service and serving “humanity” is what we do. . . . . .and, I’m glad we have that attitude.

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