Everstory Partners, who may be the nation’s 2nd largest Death Care provider by serving over 65,000 families per year, recently announced completed renovations at their Cedar Hill Funeral Home just outside Washington, DC.  This press release from Everstory will give you more information on the recent transformation at the funeral home that serves about 1,400 families per year.

According to the press release, “Everstory Partners is transforming its funeral homes to emphasize hospitality and comfort for families.”

Again, according to the press release, “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.”

Here is the website for Cedar Hills Funeral Home and Cemetery.

Here is the website for Everstory Partners.

LIlly Donohue
Everstory CEO

A Little History — You may recall that Everstory Partners grew out of the public company funeral home and cemetery operator StoneMor Partners that was taken private by Axar Capital Management in November 2022.  About a year later, the company re-branded as Everstory Partners.  Andrew Axelrod was the principal behind Axar Capital Management and today serves as the Chairman of the Board of Everstory Partners.  The day-to-day operations have been led by President and Chief Executive Officer Lilly Donohue since the take private movement in 2022.

The “Quiet Company” — If you Google “the quiet company” you will come up with at least one result that mentions Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance company who branded that way at one time.  Google’s definition of “the quiet company” said this, “formerly Northwestern Mutual, a financial giant noted for its understated, trust-focused approach.”

Northwestern Mutual has re-branded with a bolder approach than being the “quiet company” but I remember that moniker because I used Northwestern Mutual as the cornerstone of my financial holdings when I started in business over 40 years ago.  There is no doubt that they were understated, but financially strong with great ideas and avenues for their clients.

I bring this up because when I checked up on Everstory Partners I was very impressed with what I have seen in the past three years as to the development of the company . . . .and I had not heard much about what they were doing.  Here’s a brief video of Everstory Partners being featured on Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid that will give you some insight on how they have been rebuilding the company since the take private moment.

Like Northwestern Mutual, I could not help but think that Everstory Partners is restoring an “understated and trust-focused” approach to what they are doing. . . . and, that should bode well for them moving into the future.

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Everstory Partners serves over 65,000 families annually and in addition to its funeral home business, operates close to 400 cemeteries around the United States, including Puerto Rico.

Recently they authored this press release which lets us know that they have completed a process in which all cemeteries have been digitized.  Here’s what Everstory CEO Lilly Donohue said in the press release about the process,  “When I joined Everstory, our teams wrote paper contracts for in-ground burials and mausoleum interments based on paper maps that could be 50 or 100 years old. Our systems and processes had not evolved, and our families and employees deserve better than that. So, during 2024, we digitized services and contracts at all our cemetery locations. Now, every contract is digital and in most cases, accompanied by aerial drone mapping. This digitization will help protect families’ end-of-life choices for generations to come.”

To accomplish this task Everstory Partners teamed-up with Plotbox which is described in the press release as such, “. . . an international cloud-based deathcare management software and mapping company based in Northern Ireland, with a team in the United States.”

One advantage for Everstory in this digital mode is that they can use the technology interface to view inventory and write contracts from anywhere — including homes, funeral homes, retirement centers, and even hospitals.

And, according to CEO Donohue’s statement’s in the press release, Everstory Partners is not finished with their technology transformation.  Donohue states, “In 2025, we are bringing this same focus and attention to digitizing services at our nearly 100 funeral homes. And we will not stop there. We will continue pushing and advancing death care services to meet the changing needs of our families.”

Here is the website for Plotbox.

Here is the website for Everstory Partners

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