What Deathcare Can Learn from the Tragic Discovery in an Alabama Funeral Home Hearse

On the morning of Saturday, August 9, 2025, staff at West Gadsden Funeral Home in Gadsden, Alabama returned from a call and noticed what first appeared to be a doll in the back of a parked hearse. When they opened the door, they realized it was a real child, not in a casket. 

Police quickly treated the scene as a homicide. Within roughly 12 hours, Gadsden police arrested the child’s mother, 29-year-old Terica Pearl and identified the little girl as one-year-old Blessence. Pearl is being held without bond and is charged with capital murder of a person under 14. Court records cited by local outlets allege the child was strangled with a thick “robe string.” The investigation remains active.

Kindness amid the pain

It goes without saying that this event not only traumatized the baby’s family and the community at large, but the employees of West Gadsden Funeral Home have been especially affected.

“My heart is broken, my heart goes out to this family,” said West Gadsden’s owner/director, Dantez Robinson, at a community vigil hosted by the funeral home the evening after the discovery. “We are servicing this family, we are so sad that this happened.” 

The employee who found the child, who was not identified, has described the personal impact plainly: “I’ve got four girls of my own… I’m the one that found her… I couldn’t even work yesterday because that could’ve been one of ours.” 

Lessons learned

The overall response of the West Gadsden team has been admirable. In addition to hosting the well-attended community vigil, the firm announced it would provide services to the family at no charge. They have also done a great job managing their interactions with the media and law enforcement. Although no funeral home should ever have to go through such a horrible experience, deathcare can learn some valuable lessons from the incident.

For example, West Gadsden addressed the community with a vigil, concise statements of sorrow, and clear cooperation with authorities. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to coach your own team members on crisis communications. You could identify a single spokesperson, avoid speculation, and keep simple, scripted statements on file. “We are cooperating with law enforcement, our hearts are with the family, and we will share verified information as appropriate” are all great suggestions.

Another prudent step to prepare for employee impacts would be to prepare a critical-incident protocol that might include immediate relief from duty, access to peer support or an EAP counselor within 24 hours, optional group debriefing, and flexible scheduling for those directly affected.

You can also learn from the conditions that led to this funeral home’s involvement — namely, the mother’s ability to access the firm’s hearse. Audit whether doors remain locked whenever unattended; consider locked, fenced parking or interior bays; add motion-activated lighting and cameras; and ensure a single, documented key control process for all fleet vehicles. 

A true tragedy

There is no way to make sense of a loss like this, and even a week later an entire community is struggling to cope with the aftermath. What deathcare professionals can do, though, is protect your premises and care for your teams. West Gadsden’s staff did the right first thing: they looked closer, called immediately, cooperated fully, and then showed up for the community.

Last week Delta Airlines reported record revenue for the 2nd Quarter of 2025 and also reported that their earnings for the quarter were higher than expected.  All of this happened in a quarter where the consumer and business people were supposed to be cutting back on expenditures because of tariffs and economic concern and the thought process that the company’s expenses had moved up because of inflation and that would limit profitability.

More and more flying or traveling by public carriers such as Delta comes down to an experience.  Every passenger on a flight is going to the same destination but how the experience they choose to get there and how that is executed by Delta will be what they remember.

Is that a little like Death Care?  We can have a loved one buried or cremated but how we choose to do so and how that choice is executed by our Death Care practitioner will be what we remember and consumers will decide on if the service value was commensurate with the price they paid.

Like flying on public carriers, Death Care provides its services to consumers of all means —  from the very wealthy to the very poor and every situation in between.  Delta needs to provide the lowest possible costs to gain consumers who are willing to travel with “no frills” much like funeral homes need to be aware of having prices that consumers are willing to pay.

However, Delta has realized and most funeral homes have realized that if all clients choose the lowest priced product there is not enough margin to afford the amenities at your business to attract clients of a more discriminating nature. . . . and many times it is those clients that provide the margins to raise profits.

A big part of Delta’s success is what they call “Premiumization”.  Delta’s 2nd Quarter highlighted that “Main cabin revenue fell 5% for the June quarter, compared to a year ago. Premium ticket sales, on the other hand, rose 5%, underscoring an economic split between affluent customers and more price-sensitive ones”.

Here’s what one economic newsletter said of this situation, “spending data in other sectors reflects business-as-usual consumption in some areas but cautious spending elsewhere. More affluent customers are willing to shell out, while lower earners are pulling back.”

So, can funeral homes retain cost-conscious customers while picking up extra income and margin with customers who will spend more if offered more services?  I think so.

It might take some changes though —  Consumers are all different as are their values and perceptions of value.  In air travel getting from Point A to Point B at the lowest possible cost is many consumers goal.  However, having a larger seat, or leg room, or premium cabin service is important to many people and those people will “pay-up” for that amenity that gives them a better travel experience.

I think the same is true in Death Care.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

I also think the airlines’ modus operandi of selling their travel experience online is a positive factor in their ability to “premiumize” sales.  Think about it. . . .you’re sitting in the comfort of your own home or office looking at all of the options available on the airline’s website.  Most of the airlines offer their minimum experience with a seat in the rear section of the plane — sometimes only in the middle seat.  There is a small “premiumization” of $15 to $30 simply for selecting a seat on the window or aisle.

With no pressure on the consumer he can think about it for a minute and envision himself on the window seat never having to get up and move during the flight. . . .And, to some that is worth $20 or $30.

I think one of the big keys to this situation is the ability to make these premium decisions online with no pressure.  It’s my opinion that making theses types of decisions in person, and especially in a funeral arrangement setting where decision fatigue can set in, causes much more anxiety than doing so online.

When I look to the psychology of purchasing Death Care products I also thought of the process that I went through with in-person arrangements with family members.  I remembered what I termed “Decision Fatigue” happening often.  Family members were asked to make so many decisions — day of funeral, time of funeral, musicians, pallbearers, visitation hours — that they eventually developed a fatigue as the arrangements went on. . . . I would argue that the client’s apparent fatigue stopped me from asking about additional purchases at times. . . .such as cremation jewelry, Parting Stone, or options available for memorialization such as placement in Better Place Forests.

I think online purchasing where the consumer can go at whatever pace they desire would be a big asset in those sales  — as I believe it is in airline sales.

So, I think there is a real potential in “premiumization” of Death Care allowing for larger margins, but funeral homes are going to have to welcome online sales and online pricing to do so.  They are also going to have to invest in the proper technology program for online purchases.

What things could be “Premiumized” with additional revenues over and above a base package?? —

• Day of Service? — I remember in my funeral days having more funeral services on Mondays and Saturdays.  Could you charge an extra $150 or $200 for a service on those days?
• Cremation Concierge?  — Hand delivery of cremated remains to a home so a family member does not have to come back to the funeral home?
• For those Do-it-Yourself Memorial Service families — could you offer a register book, folders, and thank you cards for an additional fee?  What about an obituary writing service?

These are only a couple of items that come to mind off the top of my head and they don’t even take into account how you could “premiumize” merchandise such as caskets, urns, and other memorialization items such as jewelry or candles.

My guess is that there are computer programs out there that can help you in offering preneed and/or at-need packages with premiumization choices to consumer already.  While it has been about a year, which means that the process is probably even better and more refined than when I first saw it, I went through a simulated pre-need presentation and purchase completely online.  And, I was really impressed with how it was done. It was offered by a preneed company called Prelude and you can access their website here.

Final Thoughts — I’ve learned consumers are individualistic.  How one person wants to experience getting from Point A to Point B is different from another person getting to and from the same place.  The same is true of how a person wants to experience the memorialization of a loved one.

And, in most communities, America has a diverse section of economic ability among the residents.  Prices of funerals and cremations should reflect a base point for people to be able to memorialize a loved one. . . . .but there are many in each community who will “premiumize and/or personalize” their choices regardless of cost.  How funeral homes can deal with that realization could play a big difference in your funeral home “just getting by” or “being wildly profitable”.

It’s another point in my realization that Death Care is continuially closing in on the nexus of tradition and technology.

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Service Corporation International (SCI), the largest funeral home operator in North America, has grown its “Consolidated Funeral Revenue” 20.8% from 2019 (the latest year not affected by the pandemic) through 2024.  Their annual financial report lists this number as $1.92 billion in the year 2019 and $2.32 billion in the most recent year of 2024.

That math would then equate to an annual average rate of revenue growth for those five years of 4.16%.  In my opinion, that’s a pretty good rate for, as stock-picker Peter Lynch would say, a “slow-growth nickel at a time” industry.

Neptune Society

However, when you dive a little deeper into the SCI report on “Consolidated Funeral Revenue” you will find a listing for “Non-funeral home” revenue and when the math is done on that line item you will find that it has grown 81% or has an incredible annual growth rate of 16.2% over the past five years.  In 2019 SCI reported $52.2 million of “Non-funeral home” revenue and in 2024 the company reported $94.8 million in that same category.

Here’s how SCI defines “Non-funeral home” revenue in its report, “Non-funeral home revenue represents services sold on a preneed or atneed contract through one of our non-funeral home sales channels (e.g. SCI Direct). . ”

In a 2022 Investor Day presentation, that you can access here,  SCI intimates that this channel includes Neptune Society

A National Cremation Society location

and National Cremation Society operations.  That same presentation mentions that, at that time, they operated 109 locations of this type in 31 states.

Here’s some other information that is pointed out about SCI Direct in that presentation that are features of this segment of SCI which the company says benefits from an “Expanding market”:

• (It is an) Asset Light preneed model serving the direct cremation consumer
• (It is an) Incremental Channel to capture the price sensitive consumer
• (It offers) Simple product offerings and packaged pricing
• (It has) growing volume and average

That same 2022 Investor Day presentation claimed that SCI Direct brought home $37 million in gross profit for the year 2021.  And, if you check the 2021 annual report you will find that the “Non-funeral home” revenue was listed at $74.1 million estimating that the gross profit margin of SCI Direct could be as high as 50%.

That same year, the gross profit percent for the entire Consolidated Funeral Revenue of SCI was listed at 26.7%.

Here is the website for SCI’s National Cremation Service brand

Here is the website for SCI’s Neptune Society brand

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take: I started researching this because last week I took part in a Continuing Education seminar with a few other funeral directors.  A couple mentioned to me that they had seen their Direct Cremation with No Services case volume rise fairly rapidly in the last year or so.

I think that these statistics from SCI bear out that situation is happening.  While revenues for SCI’s funeral service overall increased at an annual rate of 4.16%, revenue for “Non-funeral” channels increased four times that percentage.  I think that is a pretty good indication that the funeral consumer is asking for “less”. . . . . Whatever “less” may be.

I also think that there is a lot to be optimistic about with these numbers.  In extrapolating the “ballpark” figures, SCI “Non-funeral” channels did $74.1 million of business in 2021 out of 109 locations.  That’s an average revenue of $679,816 per location.  And, if it truly had a 50% gross profit margin that would leave each location with about $340,00o to pay the bills.

When I look at those numbers a couple of things come to mind:

1. Margins of that nature can support this business model
2. Location overheads need to be less than historic traditional funeral home structures — both in physical structure and employee work schedule structures to make the expense side of the equation work.
3. Direct cremation is a volume business  —  high volume operations will do very well. . . . Low volume operations will struggle to survive.

I finally surmise that if this is the “Death Care” that the consumer wants, we will see more and more consolidation of the traditional funeral home operations in a necessary move to lower overhead cost per case by increasing case volume per location.

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

President Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk are rapidly looking at costs that are currently in the government budget that may be able to be whittled out.  It may not be perfect and it may not even be proper — as is discussed in this Yahoo Finance article about the government financial procedure of “Empoundment” — but it may eventually create a bigger “margin” between tax revenues and government expenses.

So, I believe, regardless of how you feel about the Trump/Musk team taking a chainsaw to the federal budget, there may be something to learn from their desire to do so.

I’m of the opinion that if original budgeted expenses are not annually watched and acknowledged they become expenses that grow in cost and, over time, may not be needed.  Take, for instance, a funeral home budget for advertising and marketing.  Maybe that budget has $12,000 appropriated for ad space on highway billboards.  Instead of simply adding a number such as 3% inflation to that $12,000 for the next year making the expense $12,360, one should look at the line item of $12,000 and determine if that number is still appropriate and is actually doing for the funeral business what was expected of that $12,000 expenditure.

Some items, like advertising spending, can be tough to quantify, but they should be looked at and discussed with potential options in mind. . . . Maybe social media, or radio or cable tv would bring better results. . . . and at the same time be less costly.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

My main point about the Trump/Musk “efficiency” project should be an annual project at your business.  However you widen the gap between revenue recieved and expenses paid increases your bottom financial line.  The two ways to do that are “enhancing revenues” and “containing costs” and forever fine-tuning those items will lead to a stream-lined financial business that will create increased value over time.

Going over your revenue and expense line items annually and putting some thought into each line is somewhat time-consuming and can be challenging as you may have to have the courage to change some expense items.  However, the failure not to do annual zero-based budgeting will lead to, more than likely, receiving less than the optimum income you should be able to bring in and create a bloated, inefficient expense budget.

Again, in my opinion, bloated, ineffecient budgets of some traditional funeral homes will eventually invite competitors who can come to market with less expensive options and still have a sufficient margin.  That is why in this day of growing choice of Death Care disposition services it is more and more important to keep watching your costs.

Empoundment —  This article from Yahoo Finance questions the President’s authorization on the issue of “Empoundment”.  What is meant by that is, “Does the President have the legal authority to not pay, or remove from the budget, items that have been authorized by Congress to be paid and signed by a former President (in this case President Biden).”

The challenge argument to Empoundment is that not paying these authorized amounts seemingly removes the separation of powers from the United States government.  i.e. It seems to put “spending” on the President’s table rather than Congress’.  The article states that this issue is on the path to be settled at the Supreme Court.

A Business created with “Enhanced Revenues and Cost-Containment” — One of the businesses that I have been associated with and founded during my business life was the International Basketball Association.  While there is a much longer story to my involvement let me say that the impetus for starting this business was to be able to bring minor league sports, in this case basketball, to smaller communities.

In the business conceptual planning the only way possible to do that was to find a way to bring costs down to the point where smaller communities, with less available ticket payers and advertisers, had the income available to build a profitable margin.  That was my challenge.

Over time I was able to create profitable margins by taking existing minor league basketball budgets and looking at ways to enhance revenue and contain costs which would allow profits in smaller communities with less opportunities for ticket sales and advertising revenue.  We enhanced revenues wherever we could by not only selling admission tickets and advertising but by creating fan clubs, youth clubs, royalties on concessions, etc.  The cost-containment side was even more scrutinized with the biggest savings developed by transporting players via charter buses rather than airline travel and partnering with arenas on rent dependent on the size of the crowds we drew for each game.

Because of the charter bus travel geographic locations of teams had to be in close proximity.  We operated very well for about five or so years with profitable clubs. . . which actually led to headaches as we grew.  The distances between teams grew and some of the cost-containment features were lost as we became a league that stretched from Saskatoon, Alberta, to Youngstown, Ohio.

We eventually discovered that we should have became a confederation of smaller regional leagues rather than stretch our distances creating a national-like league in scope.

Again, it points out the importance of knowing who you are and how you bring in your financial margins.

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

2025 NFDA Meet the Mentors Program: Exclusive Opportunity for Funeral Professionals to Connect, Learn and Advocate in Washington, D.C.

Brookfield, Wis. – The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) is proud to announce that its highly-praised Meet the Mentors program will take place from April 8-10, 2025, in Washington, D.C. This transformative event, held in conjunction with NFDA’s annual Advocacy Summit, offers a unique opportunity for emerging funeral service professionals to engage with leaders and experience the power of advocacy firsthand. 

Since its launch in 2011, and thanks to the generous support of the Funeral Service Foundation, Meet the Mentors has provided invaluable insights and connections for hundreds of funeral professionals. This year’s program promises to be particularly impactful, combining intimate mentorship sessions with real-world advocacy training on Capitol Hill. 

“We are thrilled to host Meet the Mentors in Washington, D.C., again this year,” said Sara Moss, MS, CT, LFD, NFDA Associate Director of Education. “This setting not only offers participants the chance to learn from top funeral service leaders but also equips them with the skills and experience to advocate for our profession at the highest levels of government.” 

An Exceptional Mentorship Experience 

The 2025 program will bring together 25 participants – funeral professionals aged 40 and under, or those licensed within the past five years – to learn from three distinguished mentors who have made significant contributions to the funeral service profession:

• Dr. Camelia Clarke: Co-owner of Paradise Memorial Funeral and Cremation Services and Leon L. Williamson Funeral Chapel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Clarke brings over two decades of experience. A past president of the Wisconsin Funeral Directors Association, she is also an active member of the NFDA Spokesperson Team and deeply involved in her local community.
• Lori Sheeler: As General Manager of St. Pierre Funeral Services in Indianapolis, Indiana, Sheeler has served in key leadership roles, including Vice Chairman of the Indiana Funeral Education Foundation and District 7 Director for the Indiana Funeral Directors Association. Her dedication to mentorship and service extends beyond the funeral profession, reflecting her passion for community support and education.
• Tim Schramm: Owner and CEO of Howe-Peterson Funeral Homes in Michigan, Schramm’s expertise spans funeral service management and mass fatality response. He currently leads the Michigan Mortuary Response Team (MI-MORT) and serves on the Funeral Service Foundation’s Board of Trustees. His commitment to excellence and innovation in funeral service makes him a valuable resource for emerging professionals.

Throughout the program, participants will engage in dynamic roundtable discussions, gaining career insights and personal advice from these leaders in the funeral service profession. Beyond mentorship, attendees will build lasting connections with their peers, creating a support network that will benefit their careers for years to come. 

A Seat at the Table: Advocacy in Action 

One of the most distinctive aspects of the 2025 program is its focus on advocacy. Participants will join seasoned professionals at the NFDA Advocacy Summit, spending a day on Capitol Hill meeting with Members of Congress. This hands-on experience offers a rare opportunity to discuss how federal policies impact funeral service professionals’ ability to serve families and operate their businesses. 

“Advocacy is a crucial skill for any funeral service professional,” said Moss. “By participating in these meetings with members of Congress, mentees will not only learn about the legislative process but also see the real-world impact of their voices in shaping policies that affect our profession.” 

Previous Meet the Mentors participants offer consistently high praise for the program. A 2024 mentee said, “My favorite part of this program was being able to sit down with the mentors and talk with them … I feel that the information they gave to us will be very valuable and I will be able to incorporate it into my everyday work life to make myself a better funeral director.” 

Another noted, “NFDA’s Meet the Mentors Program was an incredible experience! I gained valuable knowledge and insight that I will be able to use throughout my career. I would highly recommend the program to all newly licensed professionals.” 

How to Apply 

Applications for the 2025 Meet the Mentors program are now open. Interested NFDA members must be licensed NFDA-member funeral directors or embalmers, aged 40 or under, or within their first five years in the profession. The application deadline is 11:59 p.m. CST on January 17, 2025. 

Selected participants will be announced in February. Thanks to the Funeral Service Foundation’s support, the program covers registration fees, lodging, and select meals; attendees are only responsible for their transportation to Washington, D.C. 

For complete details and to apply, visit NFDA.org/Mentors. For questions, contact NFDA at (800) 228-6332. 

NFDA is the world’s leading and largest funeral service association, serving 20,000 individual members who represent nearly 11,000 funeral homes in the United States and 49 countries around the world. NFDA is the trusted leader, beacon for ethics and the strongest advocate for the profession. NFDA is the association of choice because it offers funeral professionals comprehensive educational resources, tools to manage successful businesses, guidance to become pillars in their communities and the expertise to foster future generations of funeral professionals. NFDA is headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., and has an office in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.nfda.org. 

Connect, Learn, Empower: NFDA Opens Registration for 2025 Professional Women’s Conference

Brookfield, Wis. – Registration is now open for the 2025 National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) Professional Women’s Conference, a premier event designed to empower female funeral service professionals. The conference will take place May 15-18, 2025, at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico. This intimate event, limited to 165 attendees, offers transformative educational sessions, invaluable networking opportunities and strategies tailored to the unique challenges women face in the funeral profession. The Funeral Service Foundation will offer 20 all-inclusive David C. Baue NFDA Professional Women’s Conference Scholarships to make this event even more accessible.

Designed by and for women, the conference aims to celebrate their vital contributions to funeral service while equipping them with tools for personal and professional growth. During this inspiring and uplifting conference, attendees will hear from exceptional speakers covering a wide range of topics:

• Turning Setbacks into Comebacks: MINDSET OF CHAMPIONS presented by Dawn D. Tryba, MBA, CPMBC, CMC, PMP, coach and management consultant
• Balancing Grief, Family Dynamics and Financial Conversations in Funeral Service presented by NFDA Trainer and licensed funeral director Lanae Strovers
• The Art of Self-Reflection: Harnessing the Power of YOU presented by Tina Paulus-Krause coach, visionary leader and catalyst
• Integrating AI in Human Resource Systems: Legal Considerations and Ongoing Training Strategies presented by Vice President, SESCO Management Consultants Jamie Hasty
• Creative Applications: A New Approach for Mastering the Prep-Room and Beyond presented by Autumn Cooper, a sales representative with The Dodge Company
• From Awareness to Action: Advocacy for Impact presented by NFDA Senior Vice President, Advocacy Lesley Witter, MPA, CAE
• And more! 

Engaging Discussions and Networking

Professional Women’s Conference attendees will kick off their time together with a Welcome Party that captures the spirit of the southwestern United States. While enjoying complimentary food and drink, guests will experience a fun-filled evening of lively conversation and building bonds with colleagues. The Welcome Party is generously sponsored by NGL. 

Professional Women’s Conference participants will also have the option of participating in a tour of Passages International headquarters and dinner. This unique “behind the scenes” tour will explore how Passages’ sustainable and eco-friendly funeral solutions products are made and the value they bring to grieving families, funeral homes and the planet. Tour participants will also have a chance to meet with members of Passages’ team while enjoying complimentary cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Following the tour, participants will enjoy dinner and continued networking at a well-known local New Mexican restaurant. 

There are countless other opportunities to build relationships with fellow funeral service professionals during the Professional Women’s Conference. “This was an incredible experience,” said one 2024 Professional Women’s Conference participant. “I am so grateful that NFDA creates this space for women to connect and support one another. The atmosphere is unmatched to any other event I’ve ever been to.” 

Another 2024 attendee noted, “Every woman in the funeral profession should seek the opportunity to attend a Professional Women’s Conference at least once.” 

Scholarship Opportunities

Thanks to the generosity of the Baue Family, the Funeral Service Foundation is offering up to 20 David C. Baue NFDA Professional Women’s Conference Scholarships to funeral professionals and students to attend this year’s event. The scholarships cover registration and event fees, three-nights lodging, and up to $500 in travel reimbursement. 

Applicants must be verifiably employed in funeral service or related occupations or be a student in good standing and currently attending classes at an ABSFE- or Canadian-accredited institution or program; NFDA membership is not required. Complete requirements and the application form are available at online FuneralServiceFoundation.org/Scholarship-Opportunities. Applications will be accepted from December 2, 2024, through January 15, 2025. 

“I will forever be grateful to the Funeral Service Foundation for the scholarship award and the opportunity to attend this amazing event, which will change the trajectory of my career,” said one 2024 scholarship recipient. “I truly left [the conference] feeling empowered and with a whole new network of colleagues.” 

Inspiration Award

During the 2025 Professional Women’s Conference, the association will confer the third annual NFDA Inspiration Award. This award will recognize an exceptional individual who has made noteworthy professional contributions to funeral service or a related field. 

Nominations for the NFDA Inspiration Award will be accepted online from January 15 through February 16, 2025. The ideal nominee is an enterprising individual who consistently takes the initiative to elevate the funeral service profession. The nominee serves as a mentor to colleagues and their energy and independent spirit serve as an example to others. Their efforts have resulted in significant accomplishments at the local, national and/or international level. 

Complete details are available at NFDA.org/InspirationAward. NFDA is grateful to NGL for sponsoring the Inspiration Award. 

Conference Registration Is Now Open

Registration for the 2025 NFDA Professional Women’s Conference is now open. Participants can save when they register by the early-bird deadline of February 14, 2025. Attendees must register for the 2025 NFDA Professional Women’s Conference by May 5, 2025. Registration is limited to just 165 participants. 

NFDA has negotiated a generous discounted rate of $249 plus taxes and fees per night, and waived the resort fee, at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa. This luxury resort located just 30 minutes from the Albuquerque International Airport in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. Whether conference participants want to enjoy a scenic horseback ride, a round of golf at the on-site course, lounging by the pool or receiving a service at the Tamaya Mist Spa & Salon, this resort has it all. When dinnertime rolls around, guests have several onsite restaurants to choose from. 

In order to receive the exclusive NFDA rate at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa, you need to register for the Professional Women’s Conference. Your registration confirmation email will contain a special link that can be used to book a hotel room. 

Participants can find complete details about the 2025 NFDA Professional Women’s Conference and register online at NFDA.org/PWC, or by calling 800-228-6332 (262-789-1880). 

About NFDA 

NFDA is the world’s leading and largest funeral service association, serving more than 20,000 individual members who represent nearly 11,000 funeral homes in the United States and 49 countries around the world. NFDA is the trusted leader, beacon for ethics and the strongest advocate for the profession. NFDA is the association of choice because it offers funeral professionals comprehensive educational resources, tools to manage successful businesses, guidance to become pillars in their communities and the expertise to foster future generations of funeral professionals. NFDA is headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., and has an office in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.nfda.org. 

It’s an exciting first weekend we just experienced, with the opening of the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France. The week of the Olympics landed in the midst of a very busy series of news cycles that document world events and daily news. Good and bad news abounds, everywhere you look it seems. You just have to pick and choose what you want to let into your day. Yet, it’s important to be aware of the world around us, because the earliest displays of the lessons we teach our children revolve around how we respond to the ups and downs of life.

Olympic athletes spend their lifetimes, mostly, dedicated to a singular purpose of training their bodies, minds, and spirits for excellence. From early inspirations, to learning from coaches, to finding personal trainers, and giving hours of sacrificial practice in lieu of taking it easy, no one person wins an Olympic medal alone. It truly does a team to train that future competitor. And, on the days of competition, everyone who has had a hand in the process of that person’s development can take a deep breath and smile, knowing that they played a role in getting them there.

Children are constantly monitoring adults to watch their examples of how to celebrate good news as well as to absorb bad news. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that, especially if you’re new to having a new member of your household. I was watching some of the Olympic coverage this weekend and there was a commercial that showed multiple children racing around a track at school, clearly competing with one other.

Segment after segment showed one child falling down, on a running track, on a soccer field, or a baseball field, and another child, a competitor, nearby stopping or turning back to go back and help the other child up, putting them back on their feet and giving them an encouraging pat on the shoulder. Not one word was said during the 30-second commercial until the end when the announcer said something to the effect that “Set the example for them to follow.” Message received and beautifully delivered.

The three Olympic

that are set forth are excellence, respect, and friendship. Whether in international sporting competition or in local business, these are three excellent values to hold to if you want to build and sustain positive relationships to endure for the length of time that you have your business. It’s certainly what we strive for, and our children are listening and watching everywhere we go and what we do and say. That’s a positive reason to be consistent, kind, and caring in everything we do.

It’s not easy, especially when in times where we don’t always agree with one another, in whatever setting we find ourselves in, disagreements may arise, tempers can flare, but just as quickly, we can reassess what a particular friendship means to us before we allow a disagreement to damage or even destroy it. Name calling is no more suitable for adults than for children. Possibly with the exception of one or two particular football games, we can all just agree to disagree with the opposition on who is right and who has failed, one year at a time, and the loser can repeat the mantra, “Wait ‘til next year,” and there’s always a next year. Always.

However, it does no good to trash-talk the opponents just for the sake of popular rivalries, because children don’t yet distinguish good-natured ribbing from attacking or cutting down the competition. Still, old habits die hard…particularly during football season. It’s bound to happen once you start collecting clothing in either maroon or orange…and goes from there.

Good examples of the USA Men’s and Women’s Swimming team were all around to watch this weekend. As one swimmer prevailed in the contest and the top three came in, you could not distinguish the joy between all of the USA teammates, as they sincerely celebrated one another as though each had prevailed as the winner, because as fellow members of Team USA, they were all indeed genuine winners.

Just making the trip to the Paris games means elite standing among world athletes. In the heat of competition, it’s easy to forget the statistical probability of an athlete coming from a small town in a small state, never before having seen their name in print beyond the local or state papers. And, with each special award and honor earned, every night and every day during the Olympic coverage, names are repeated, video footage of amazing victories, some separated by hundreds of seconds is shown, and reshown, and new names will be forever remembered from this week forward.

Learning how to lose is just as important as learning how to win. Most successes in life come after multiple failures. We learn most from our failures if we are wise and pay attention. If we keep in mind that every day we are modeling behavior to other eyes, adult, and child alike, then perhaps more people will mirror our behavior, if they like what we see. Treating people as you wish to be treated is something we learned in kindergarten, but it’s still true. No one person is as smart as “all of us,” and we can always benefit from the wisdom and experience of those who went before us, paving the way.

Congratulations to all our Olympians competing in Paris these next weeks and be prepared to shed a tear or two when the national anthem is played, and we receive our share of Gold Medals (if this first weekend is any indication). It’s a wonderful time to be an American and to cheer for Team USA as we Go for the Gold!

Cody D. Jones ’02

Owner & Community Member

10 Things You’ll Learn About Ryan Thogmartin from Curtis Funk’s Latest PodCasket Episode

As the founder and CEO of Tukios, Curtis Funk is one of deathcare’s best and brightest (as in both intellect and those bright green shirts). As someone who’s been in the business of serving deathcare professionals for more than two decades, Funk has met a lot of people — many of whom have earned “legendary” status within the industry. 

It’s those legends that Funk is featuring on his new podcast, PodCasket. In each in-depth episode, Funk reminisces with the folks who have shaped deathcare, learning their life stories, exploring their passions, debunking myths, and finding out all the things that make them extraordinary at what they do. 

Since Tukios launched PodCasket in April 2024, Funk has fellowshipped with seven such legends, including the father of funeral home websites, Michael Turkiewicz, Foresight founder Dan Isard, and Johnson Consulting’s own Jake Johnson. His latest episode, however, features someone who is near and dear to us here at Connecting Directors: our founder and DISRUPT Media CEO Ryan Thogmartin.

Funk and Thogmartin go way back (at least 17 years, in fact), and in Episode 7 of PodCasket, the two “dive into the fascinating, unexpected paths that led them into the world of deathcare.” As with all of his guests, Funk gets Thogmartin to open up about his journey, reflecting on the pivotal moments along the way. It’s an honest, entertaining, and insightful conversation from which any listener can learn a little (or a lot) about taking risks, making the most of every opportunity, embracing authenticity, and prioritizing what really matters.

In this PodCasket episode, Thogmartin finally reveals the answers to all those questions you’ve wondered about but never wanted to ask him, including:

• His “colorful” first words…
• How he made the single most important decision of his life at age four…
• What he really thinks about homeschool vs. public school…
• The true origin of his now-famous fascination with sneakers…
• How a gumball fish tank fostered his first foray into entrepreneurship…
• If he actually went to high school with LeBron…
• How a random visit with a sick classmate led to a career in sales…
• That time he thought his future father-in-law made bank vaults…
• Why CD Social was short-lived…and, last but not least …
• The origins of his unique wardrobe!

Most importantly, though, Thogmartin’s PodCasket episode illustrates how the themes of faith and family have run throughout his entire existence. Thogmartin explains how he looks back on his childhood with gratitude that his parents introduced him to Jesus as a child, and the significant impact his faith has had on his life and career.

You can find this and every episode of Curtis Funk’s PodCasket podcast at podcasket.co or wherever you get your favorite podcasts. 

What Deathcare Professionals (and the Families You Serve) Can Learn From Celebrity Deaths 

The recent tragic drug-related death of 31-year-old One Direction singer Liam Payne has sparked a good bit of discussion on why fans of celebrities mourn them just as deeply as they would a deceased family member. The phenomenon of celebrity grief is very real, and for many of Payne’s young fans, this may be their first exposure to death and mourning. Deathcare professionals who understand the impact of this particular kind of loss will be better prepared to share this knowledge when a family questions why its happening to them or their children.

The validity of celebrity grief is just one lesson one can learn from the death of beloved celebrities. These high-profile passings — and often, their aftermath — can also help you to explain key concepts to the families you serve. Here are some examples of how you can use real celebrity situations to better your business and support survivors.

Prince: Don’t die without a will

Despite his vast and complicated collection of assets, musician Prince did not have either a will or an estate plan in place when he died in 2016 at the age of 57. As a result, the probate process for Prince’s $156 million estate took more than six years to settle through the court system. Prince died with no spouse or children, so his six half-siblings were named heirs. Three sold their stakes to a Primary Wave, a music publishing company, while the other three maintained their portions. The protracted probate process included equitably splitting Prince’s intellectual property (music catalog, likeness, name, etc.) rights, real estate, and $6 million in cash.

Lisa Marie Presley: Directors will go above and beyond to help, no matter what (or how long) it takes

As the only child of the King of Rock and Roll, Lisa Marie Presley would have been a celebrity even if she hadn’t had her own music career and married two very famous people (Michael Jackson and Nicholas Cage). Sadly, Lisa Marie died suddenly in January 2023 at the age of 54, but she left a lesson for deathcare in her posthumously-published memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown. In the book she describes her grief after her 27-year-old son Benjamin’s death from suicide. She also admits to keeping his unembalmed body in a coffin with dry ice for two months in a 55-degree-temp bedroom as she mourned his loss and decided where to bury him. Presley’s funeral director patiently guided and assisted her with these preparations, serving her slightly unusual needs until she was ready for her son’s final disposition.

Kobe Bryant: Put your intentions in writing and keep documents updated

Basketball phenom Kobe Bryant wasn’t just talented on the court; he was also a successful businessperson who understood the importance of creating a highly detailed estate plan. However, after his death in a helicopter accident in 2020, his family realized that he’d missed two important additions: He never added his youngest daughter, Capri, to his trust, and despite verbally committing many times to “take care of” his mom, he never explicitly spelled out his intentions in his official estate documents. 

Casey Kasem: It’s not enough to just say you want to be buried

The 2014 death of America’s DJ Casey Kasem from a dementia-related disease was tragic enough, but the drama his family created before and long after his passing was even worse. Kasem’s wife Jean and his children from a previous marriage took several of their contentions against one another to court, but while those proceedings were playing out, Jean quietly shipped Kasem’s body to Norway for burial in an unmarked grave. His children claim she did this just to spite them, and claimed Kasem had told them he wanted to be buried at Forest Lawn in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, there were no documents to prove this. Ten years later, Kasem’s daughter Kerri is still hoping she can one day have her father’s body transferred back to the states and properly memorialized with a marker.

Paul Walker: You’re never too young to pre-plan

Actor Paul Walker’s recurring roles in the Fast ‘n’ Furious movie franchise had helped him to amass a $25 million estate — all of which was inherited by his 15-year-old daughter upon Walker’s tragic death in 2020. Although he was only 40 years old when he died, Walker had already created a will that created a trust for his daughter and specifically outlined his wishes as to who should be his daughter’s legal guardian.

It’s an exciting first weekend we just experienced, with the opening of the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France. The week of the Olympics landed in the midst of a very busy series of news cycles that document world events and daily news. Good and bad news abounds, everywhere you look it seems. You just have to pick and choose what you want to let into your day. Yet, it’s important to be aware of the world around us, because the earliest displays of the lessons we teach our children revolve around how we respond to the ups and downs of life.

Olympic athletes spend their lifetimes, mostly, dedicated to a singular purpose of training their bodies, minds, and spirits for excellence. From early inspirations, to learning from coaches, to finding personal trainers, and giving hours of sacrificial practice in lieu of taking it easy, no one person wins an Olympic medal alone. It truly does a team to train that future competitor. And, on the days of competition, everyone who has had a hand in the process of that person’s development can take a deep breath and smile, knowing that they played a role in getting them there.

Children are constantly monitoring adults to watch their examples of how to celebrate good news as well as to absorb bad news. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that, especially if you’re new to having a new member of your household. I was watching some of the Olympic coverage this weekend and there was a commercial that showed multiple children racing around a track at school, clearly competing with one other.

Segment after segment showed one child falling down, on a running track, on a soccer field, or a baseball field, and another child, a competitor, nearby stopping or turning back to go back and help the other child up, putting them back on their feet and giving them an encouraging pat on the shoulder. Not one word was said during the 30-second commercial until the end when the announcer said something to the effect that “Set the example for them to follow.” Message received and beautifully delivered.

The three Olympic Values that are set forth are excellence, respect, and friendship. Whether in international sporting competition or in local business, these are three excellent values to hold to if you want to build and sustain positive relationships to endure for the length of time that you have your business. It’s certainly what we strive for, and our children are listening and watching everywhere we go and what we do and say. That’s a positive reason to be consistent, kind, and caring in everything we do.

It’s not easy, especially when in times where we don’t always agree with one another, in whatever setting we find ourselves in, disagreements may arise, tempers can flare, but just as quickly, we can reassess what a particular friendship means to us before we allow a disagreement to damage or even destroy it. Name calling is no more suitable for adults than for children. Possibly with the exception of one or two particular football games, we can all just agree to disagree with the opposition on who is right and who has failed, one year at a time, and the loser can repeat the mantra, “Wait ‘til next year,” and there’s always a next year. Always.

However, it does no good to trash-talk the opponents just for the sake of popular rivalries, because children don’t yet distinguish good-natured ribbing from attacking or cutting down the competition. Still, old habits die hard…particularly during football season. It’s bound to happen once you start collecting clothing in either maroon or orange…and goes from there.

Good examples of the USA Men’s and Women’s Swimming team were all around to watch this weekend. As one swimmer prevailed in the contest and the top three came in, you could not distinguish the joy between all of the USA teammates, as they sincerely celebrated one another as though each had prevailed as the winner, because as fellow members of Team USA, they were all indeed genuine winners.

Just making the trip to the Paris games means elite standing among world athletes. In the heat of competition, it’s easy to forget the statistical probability of an athlete coming from a small town in a small state, never before having seen their name in print beyond the local or state papers. And, with each special award and honor earned, every night and every day during the Olympic coverage, names are repeated, video footage of amazing victories, some separated by hundreds of seconds is shown, and reshown, and new names will be forever remembered from this week forward.

Learning how to lose is just as important as learning how to win. Most successes in life come after multiple failures. We learn most from our failures if we are wise and pay attention. If we keep in mind that every day we are modeling behavior to other eyes, adult, and child alike, then perhaps more people will mirror our behavior, if they like what we see. Treating people as you wish to be treated is something we learned in kindergarten, but it’s still true. No one person is as smart as “all of us,” and we can always benefit from the wisdom and experience of those who went before us, paving the way.

Congratulations to all our Olympians competing in Paris these next weeks and be prepared to shed a tear or two when the national anthem is played, and we receive our share of Gold Medals (if this first weekend is any indication). It’s a wonderful time to be an American and to cheer for Team USA as we Go for the Gold!

Cody D. Jones ’02

Owner & Community Member