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.

Johnson Funeral Home Announces Acquisition of Johnson & Brown Funeral Home in Iowa, Louisiana

Lake Charles, LA – Johnson Funeral Home is honored to announce the acquisition of Johnson & Brown Funeral Home, located at 505 US-90 East in Iowa, Louisiana. This partnership, made official on August 21, 2025, represents an opportunity to continue the proud tradition of care and service that Kelli and Joe Johnson, Sr. established when they opened Johnson & Brown Funeral Home in 2010.

With its beautiful, modern facility and its reputation as a trusted resource for families, Johnson & Brown has long been recognized as a great funeral home in the Iowa community. Johnson Funeral Home, deeply rooted in Lake Charles, feels a natural connection with Iowa and views the two communities as one extended family. This acquisition reflects Johnson Funeral Home’s gratitude for the opportunity to serve and support families in both the Greater Lake Charles and Iowa areas.

Kelli Johnson will remain an active partner and continue to serve families in Iowa with the same compassion and dedication that has defined Johnson & Brown for more than a decade. Together, the combined teams will ensure that families receive the same trusted care, now supported by the added resources of Johnson Funeral Home.

“We are both honored and grateful to continue the tradition that Kelli and Joe began here in Iowa,” said Andy Hankins, CEO and funeral director at Johnson Funeral Home. “Our goal is to build upon that strong foundation while expanding the support and services available to families in this community.”

Johnson Funeral Home looks forward to carrying forward the values of dignity, compassion, and trust that have guided Johnson & Brown since its founding, while continuing to invest in serving families with excellence for generations to come.

For almost 50 years, Johnson Funeral Home has proudly served families in Southwest Louisiana with compassionate care and personalized services. With locations in Lake Charles, Sulphur, Moss Bluff, and Iowa, Louisiana, Johnson Funeral Home is dedicated to helping families honor and remember their loved ones with dignity and respect. Learn more at johnsonfuneralhome.net.

Johnson Consulting Group Works Alongside ObituaryShare to Help Funeral Homes Maximize the Power of the Obituary

Scottsdale, AZ – [May 20, 2025] – Are you using the obituary to its fullest extent? Johnson Consulting Group (JCG), a leading M&A and consulting firm for the funeral and cemetery profession, is pleased to announce its support of Bob Arington, President and Founder of ObituaryShare. This collaboration introduces another valuable service to help the profession succeed — one that enhances a time-honored tradition: The Obituary.

At JCG, we’ve long believed that the obituary is one of the best tools to promote a funeral home. It tells the story of a life well lived, preserves precious memories for a family, represents the values of your firm, and reaches deep into the community. That’s why we are supporting the team at ObituaryShare — to make this powerful tool even more impactful.

ObituaryShare simplifies the obituary distribution process, allowing funeral homes to publish obituaries across multiple platforms and publications with a single submission. The result? A faster process, wider reach, and drastically increased traffic to your funeral home’s website.

In fact, funeral homes using ObituaryShare have seen remarkable results. Arrington Funeral Directors received over 209,000 website visits in Q1 alone, showing how effective a well-distributed obituary can be in connecting with families and the broader public.

“We created ObituaryShare to facilitate the information friends and family are seeking in a time of loss,” said Bob Arrington, President and Founder of ObituaryShare. “Having Johnson Consulting Group’s support gives us the opportunity to extend that impact to even more funeral professionals who want to modernize their service and grow their community presence.”

About Johnson Consulting Group
Johnson Consulting Group is committed to providing business solutions and tools to achieve increased performance, profitability, and success as one navigates the journey towards an exit strategy. 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.

About ObituaryShare
ObituaryShare is a leading obituary distribution platform that simplifies the obituary publishing process for funeral homes. By strategically promoting obituaries across multiple media outlets with one simple submission, ObituaryShare enhances both efficiency and reach.

Want to Learn More?
Contact your JCG representative to find out how ObituaryShare can benefit your funeral home, or visit www.obituaryshare.com to request a demo.

Johnson Consulting Group’s Volume 8 of the Performance Tracker X Trends and Insights Report Now Available

[Scottsdale, Arizona]: Johnson Consulting Group (JCG) has officially released their Volume 8, 2025 Performance Tracker X Trends and Insights Report, Powered by J3Tech Solutions. 

Performance Tracker X is the complete customer service management tool that evaluates staff and financial performance by sending out surveys to families to get real-time, accurate feedback for a funeral business to make data-driven decisions. 

Each year JCG analyzes every survey that goes through their system to determine what today’s families need and where the profession is headed. Of 135,100 total contracts entered into the system in 2024, they analyzed 113,921 sales and survey data records.  

Some key takeaways from their recent findings include:

• Survey response results: 9.5% of completed surveys generate actionable leads, with an average response rate of 36.7%. This is a total of 5,433 leads generated in 2024. 

• ICPs increase revenue and satisfaction: Per the data, Incentive Compensation Programs do boost revenue and customer satisfaction.

• Cremation is gaining ground: All cremation case types have higher customer satisfaction scores than any burial case types, indicating a shift in family preferences. This could also suggest an exceptional effort being put forth by funeral professionals to enhance customer satisfaction for cremation families.

• Low NPS (Net Promoter Score) for pre-planning: Pre-planned funeral arrangements have the lowest NPS score compared to other reasons for choosing a funeral home.

The report is available to download for FREE.

“It has been said that…If you take care of the families, they will take care of you!…To this end, it’s a privilege to annually present this critical report to our profession,” says Jake Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Consulting Group. “The customer experience remains central to every facet of funeral service, and this report offers invaluable insights for owners and operators, providing a comprehensive understanding of the evolving priorities of today’s families.”

About Johnson Consulting Group and Performance Tracker X: 

The JCG Performance Tracker X tool provides funeral homes, cemeteries, and cremation operations with timely, accurate measurements of customer service and sales performance. Through sending out surveys that allow for direct family feedback, the software offers comprehensive reporting that shows business owners what they are doing well and identifying the areas that need fine-tuning and improvements to increase enterprise value and profitability.

Johnson Consulting Group started its customer survey program in 2008 with continual improvement key to its success as a premier customer survey platform in the funeral space. This growing amount of survey data has proven invaluable for providing insight into customer needs and satisfaction. The company attributes its rapid growth based on its ability to offer the program with no contract to sign, a low monthly cost and accessibility to its experienced Consultants for interpretation and usefulness of the reports.

Johnson Consulting Group (JCG) Announces Recipients of JCG 2024 Excellence in Customer Service Awards, Powered by J3Tech Solutions

The Awards were presented to JCG client funeral homes who achieved the highest Total Value Index Score from family satisfaction surveys sent to each family they served during 2024. The Total Value Index is a calculation of the weighted sum of the Overall Performance Score, the Net Promoter Score and the “value of the price paid for goods and service” question. The Overall Performance Score is a calculation of eighteen independent questions that measure results in four areas: 1) Initial Contact, 2) Arranging Director, 3) Facilities and Vehicles, 4) Staff and Services Provided.

The JCG client funeral homes are divided into three categories based on call volume. Award recipients achieved the highest levels of customer satisfaction among the 576 funeral homes that were eligible in 2024.

On behalf of Johnson Consulting Group, we want to congratulate the following winners:

Category One: 24-150 Surveys Sent

• Coastal Cremations and Funeral Care – Jacksonville
• Care Funeral & Cremation Service – Moundsville
• Garrett-Sykes Funeral Service – Ahoskie Chapel
• Walker Brothers Funeral Home – Spencerport
• Halls of Waldoboro
• Foley-Cook New Day Cremation and Funeral Care
• Miles-Sterling Funeral & Tribute Center
• Wells Funeral Home – Canton
• Goodlettsville
• Alexander 
• Baue O’Fallon Funeral Home
• Riemann – Biloxi
• Opatovsky Funeral Home – Dempster Chapel
• Aria – Irving
• Weigel Funeral Home

Category Two: 151-300 Surveys Sent

• Mountain View Cremation & Funeral Care
• J. Verne Wood Funeral Home
• Billow Funeral Homes & Crematory – Fairlawn Chapel
• Buonfiglio Funeral Home
• Jersey Memorial Group, Old Bridge
• K.E. Pike Funeral Home
• Harper & Lucas Funerals & Cremations
• Alpine Funeral Home
• West Funeral Home
• Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel
• Chancellor Funeral Home – Florence
• Smith & Buckner Funeral Home
• Posey Funeral Directors
• Biggers Funeral Home
• Aria – Northwest Hwy

Category Three: 300+ Surveys Sent

• Cremation Society of Virginia – Southside Chapel
• Cremation Society of Virginia – Peninsula Chapel
• Simply Cremation
• Fremont Chapel of the Roses
• Hansen Chapel
• Heartland Funeral Home – Early
• Lynch & Sons Funeral Directors Walled Lake
• Menke Funeral & Cremation Center
• Miles Funeral Home
• Ott & Lee – Brandon
• Horan & McConaty – Wadsworth
• Roper & Sons Funeral Services
• Thomas McAfee Funeral Homes & Cremation Center – Downtown Chapel
• Thomas McAfee Funeral Homes – Northwest Chapel
• Whitney & Murphy Funeral Home
• Whitney & Murphy Funeral Home Bueler Mortuary

The JCG Performance Tracker X tool provides funeral homes and cemeteries timely, accurate measurements of customer service and sale performance.  The software offers comprehensive reporting that shows business owners what they are doing well and identifies the areas that need fine-tuning and improvements.

Johnson Consulting Group started its customer survey program in 2008. This large amount of survey data has proven invaluable to providing insight into customer needs and satisfaction. The company attributes the program’s growth based on its ability to offer the program with no contract to sign, a low monthly cost, and accessibility to its management professionals for interpretation and usefulness of the reports.

“With the commoditization of products and services in our society, providing an exceptionally high level of customer service is critical to differentiating us from our competition. At the average sale of a funeral today, the loss of even one family can have material impacts on a business and its value. The answer to continual improvement is to survey our customers, ask the difficult questions, ask for a review online, and recover when there’s an issue”, says Jake Johnson, President and CEO of Johnson Consulting Group.

For more information about Johnson Consulting Group or the Performance Tracker X tool, email info@johnsonconsulting.com or visit us at www.johnsonconsulting.com.

Johnson Consulting Group Adds Laurie Rhea and Tim Wilt to Business Consulting Services Team

Scottsdale, AZ [March 5, 2025] – Johnson Consulting Group is pleased to announce the addition of Laurie Rhea and Tim Wilt to our team as Business Consultants. With extensive experience in the funeral profession, including the ownership and eventual sale of their funeral business in 2022, Laurie and Tim bring a wealth of knowledge to our clients.

In their new roles, Laurie and Tim will focus on developing new opportunities, leveraging their firsthand industry experience to provide tailored consulting services. Their practical insights into funeral home operations and client relations will be invaluable assets to our team.

Laurie is a graduate of the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science and an award-winning restorative artist with over 22 years of experience in the profession. Tim served our country in the U.S. Marine Corps and also attended the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. With over 38 years of experience in the profession, Tim worked at a funeral home for 24 years before purchasing it in 2011. They now reside in Chambersburg, PA. Together, their expertise in funeral home management, operations, and client service make them a tremendous addition to the Johnson Consulting Group team.

“We are thrilled to welcome Laurie and Tim to Johnson Consulting Group,” said Jake Johnson, President and CEO of Johnson Consulting Group. “Their dedication to excellence, strong work ethic, and deep understanding of the funeral profession align perfectly with our mission to deliver unparalleled consulting services.”

Laurie and Tim’s journey in the funeral industry has been marked by a commitment to compassionate service and operational excellence. Their decision to join Johnson Consulting Group reflects a shared vision of supporting funeral homes and cemeteries in achieving their business goals.
“Joining Johnson Consulting Group is an exciting opportunity for us,” said Laurie. “We look forward to contributing to the success of our clients and collaborating with a team that values innovation and integrity.”

For more information about Johnson Consulting Group and our services, please visit johnsonconsulting.com or contact us at info@johnsonconsulting.com or 888-250-7747.

About Johnson Consulting Group

Johnson Consulting Group is committed to providing business solutions and tools to achieve increased performance, profitability, and success as clients navigate their business journey. Our expert services include succession planning, business sales and acquisitions, financing solutions, business coaching, accounting services, performance analysis, customer survey programs, and leadership and management training.

Felony Charges Piling Up Against Former Georgia Funeral Director Johnson As More Details Emerge

A grand jury has handed down a total of 66 felony indictments against former funeral director Chris Johnson, who was arrested in October after authorities serving an eviction notice discovered 18 decomposing bodies in Johnson’s Douglas, Georgia funeral home. The 66 counts include new charges involving a 2022 case of forgery for the purpose of insurance fraud.

The grand jury indictments were on hold while the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) completed the tedious task of identifying the remains and notifying the loved ones of those 18 individuals, which they accomplished earlier this month. At the same time, authorities were conducting investigations into the operations of Johnson Funeral & Cremation Services, including preneed business. 

These probes uncovered the alleged incident of forgery and resulted in the arrest of a second man, James Sirmans, in December. Authorities say that Johnson changed the cause of death on the death certificate from “natural causes” to “accidental” of Sirmans’ cousin so Sirmans could collect on a $9,000 insurance policy. For his involvement, Johnson faces charges of insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, forgery in the first degree, and violation of vital records registration. 

The other 62 indictments against Johnson are directly related to 17 of the 18 people who were entrusted to his care in 2024. Although 18 bodies were discovered in various stages of decomposition as authorities attempted to serve Johnson with an eviction notice on October 26, 2024, only 17 met the requirements for charges of corpse abuse.

In addition to the 17 charges of dead body abuse, Johnson was indicted on 17 charges of abandonment of a dead body, and 18 counts of theft by deception. Additional indictments related to the 2024 cases involved violation of vital records registration and insurance fraud.

In many of these cases, Johnson provided families with what he represented as the cremated remains of their loved ones. In others, families found that the casket that was lowered into the ground during their loved one’s interment was empty. Several were also left in financial limbo when Johnson failed to deliver the death certificates required to complete insurance paperwork. 

These families and community members are still perplexed as to how Chris Johnson was allowed to continue offering deathcare services when records show his establishment, embalming, and funeral director licenses had all lapsed by the time he passed an inspection by the Secretary of State in July. Many of the bodies that were discovered in October were most likely in the funeral home during this inspection.

Johnson has remained in custody since his initial arrest, and was even transferred to a new location out of concern for his safety. Earlier this month, Johnson’s bond was denied after multiple family members shared testimony about their loved ones’ lives and the agony of reliving their deaths. One of the deceased was a mother who was mauled to death in May 2024 while protecting her children from a pack of attacking dogs.

Other consequences of Johnson’s actions loom. The eviction notice authorities were serving at Johnson Funeral & Cremation Services on that fateful October day was a result of Johnson’s failure to pay $8,200 in back rent on one of his two commercial locations. In early December, Johnson was in court to settle these charges plus a $3,350 civil claim filed by a media company for nonpayment of advertising. Several of the 18 impacted families are also pursuing civil lawsuits.

Funeral Service Foundation Receives $100,000 gift from the Tom Johnson Memorial Classic

Gift will support the Foundation’s Memorial Classic Scholarship for students of mortuary science

Brookfield, Wis. – The Funeral Service Foundation announced that it has received a $100,000 contribution from the Tom Johnson Memorial Classic. The Tom Johnson Memorial Classic was founded by Tom Johnson more than 40 years ago with the intent of bringing together friends in funeral service for fellowship on and off the golf course. With more than 136 participants every year, the tournament is a philanthropic force that gives back to the funeral service profession.

Since 2010, the Tom Johnson Memorial Classic has contributed more than $844,000 to the Funeral Service Foundation and has created the Foundation’s permanently endowed Memorial Classic Scholarship, the impact of which continues to grow. Since 2013, 31 students pursuing their mortuary science degrees at accredited institutions have received the Memorial Classic Scholarship.

“We are committed to giving back and ensuring that the future of funeral service has a pipeline of educated and degreed individuals whose student debt is minimized and are well prepared to help grieving families in their communities,” said President and CEO of Johnson Consulting Group, Jake Johnson.

About the Memorial Classic Scholarship:

Named in memory of some of the funeral profession’s finest – Bill Bischoff, Mike Fleming, Dave Hirt, Steve Mack, John Morrow, Ed Murphy, Mike Stephens, Ed Tuggle, Joe Weatherford, and Tom Johnson – the endowed scholarship at the Funeral Service Foundation is funded through proceeds from the annual Tom Johnson Memorial Classic, which is led by Jake Johnson of Johnson Consulting Group.

“Thanks to this generous gift and the ongoing tradition of giving from the Tom Johnson Memorial Classic, the Johnson family, and all those involved, many aspiring professionals in the funeral service industry are afforded new opportunities,” said John Heald, Chair of the Funeral Service Foundation Board. “These contributions, which pay tribute to some of the funeral profession’s most dedicated advocates, help preserve their legacy by creating opportunities for compassion and care through this scholarship.”

About Johnson Consulting Group- https://www.johnsonconsulting.com/

Johnson Consulting Group is committed to providing business solutions and tools to achieve increased performance, profitability and success as one navigates the journey towards an exit strategy. 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.

About the Funeral Service Foundation – FuneralServiceFoundation.org

Since 1945, the Funeral Service Foundation has served as the philanthropic voice of the funeral profession and has identified as the charitable arm of the National Funeral Directors Association since 1997. Donors and volunteer leaders profession-wide support the Foundation in its mission to lift up grieving communities by investing in people and programs that strengthen funeral service.

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