According to data published by the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) in September 2024, the median cost of a funeral with a viewing and burial was $8,300 in 2023. Conversely, it was only $6,280 for a funeral with cremation. No wonder more Americans now prefer cremation, with the 2024 cremation rate projected to be 61.9% and 82.1% by 2045!

So, if you have a dearly beloved in Fort Worth, TX, who has just passed, consider honoring their life with cremation services.

To help you plan remembrance cremation services in Fort Worth, TX, the kind and compassionate team at Lone Star Cremation has shared valuable insights. Read on for practical tips to make the process seamless and ensure a service befitting your loved one’s memories.

Know the Legal Requirements for Cremations in Texas

The State of Texas imposes several legal requirements for cremations, including:

• A written authorization from the deceased person’s next of kin
• A 48-hour waiting period before cremation (unless a court order or medical examiner waives it)
• Filing a death certificate
• Obtaining a medical examiner’s cremation permit

Please ensure you have completed the above steps to help facilitate a seamless cremation service.

Understand the Different Cremation Options Available

Knowing the different types of services and options available is one of the first steps to cremation planning:

• Direct cremation: A simple cremation with no viewing or funeral services in Fort Worth, often the most affordable option
• Traditional cremation with memorial service: Provides a memorial and viewing service before or after the cremation
• Direct cremation with a post-celebration of life: Includes Fort Worth memorial services after the cremation, dedicated to celebrating the deceased’s life and sharing memories

Your choice may depend on whether your deceased loved one has left an official legal document known as “Disposition of Remains.”

Honor the Deceased Person’s Disposition of Remains

Under Texas Health & Safety Code § 711, a Disposition of Remains is a legally binding, written, and signed document that outlines who has the right to control a deceased person’s disposition of remains, including cremation. If the deceased has left written instructions, their survivors must honor their wishes. Otherwise, the following individuals can make the decision, based on priority:

1. Designated Person: The person named in the written Disposition of Remains signed by the deceased
2. Surviving Spouse: The deceased individual’s surviving spouse
3. Adult Children: Any of the deceased person’s surviving adult children
4. Parents: Either of the deceased individual’s surviving parents
5. Adult Siblings: Any one of the deceased person’s surviving adult siblings

Familiarize Yourself With Cremation and Funeral Costs

Another crucial step to planning remembrance and cremation services in Fort Worth, TX, is preparing for necessary cremation and funeral expenses. Given how these services can be pretty hefty for many people, knowing and understanding their costs can help ensure you pay only for what you need and willingly choose.

It’s also crucial to note that legal regulations exist to protect consumers and help them make educated decisions when planning or purchasing funeral, cremation, and burial services. A perfect example is the regulation enforced by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) known as the Funeral Rule. Some of the most vital elements of this law include:

• Requiring funeral and cremation service providers to provide accurate information about their goods and services
• Guaranteeing consumers the right to purchase only the goods and services they need and want
• Mandating service providers to list and price all items separately

Explore and Compare Cremation Packages

Exploring cremation packages can help you make informed decisions that align with your deceased loved one’s and your family’s needs, preferences, and budget. Comparing your options can reveal considerable differences in:

• Price
• Inclusions (and exclusions)
• Service levels

With this strategy, your family can find the most suitable cremation arrangements for your dearly beloved. For instance, Lone Star Cremation offers three service packages for cremation in Fort Worth, TX. They include the following:

• Basic Plan, starting from $795
• Priority Plan, starting from $995
• Premium Plan, starting from $1,595

At Lone Star Cremation, we pride ourselves on the transparent pricing of all our cremation packages. You can explore and verify all the inclusions and exclusions and their prices by visiting our website’s dedicated package pricing page.

Choose a Trusted Provider of Cremation Services in Fort Worth, TX

Preparing for a memorable remembrance cremation service in Fort Worth, TX, requires a thorough review and careful selection of a reputable crematorium. So, when choosing a facility, please ensure that it has:

• Proper licensing from the Texas Funeral Service Commission (TFSC), which regulates the state’s death care industry
• Certification as a crematory operator
• The equipment and highly trained and educated staff members that are necessary for performing the cremation process efficiently
• A sanitary, well-maintained crematorium
• Full insurance and bond

Lone Star Cremation, our cremation service facility in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, meets all those criteria (and much more). We have been a trusted name in the cremation industry since our establishment in 2004. We’re also proud to be the first-ever company in the area to offer customers the ability to arrange the services they need online.

At Lone Star Cremation, you can complete everything, including the following, within or under 20 minutes via our website:

• Necessary forms
• Authorizations
• Cremation package selection

Through our efficient online services, you don’t have to worry about the additional burden or stress of visiting our facility in person. However, please know that our kind, compassionate, and caring team is always happy to set up a face-to-face meeting if you prefer.

Let Lone Star Cremation Help Honor Your Deceased Loved One

Planning remembrance cremation services in Fort Worth, TX, doesn’t have to be time-consuming, complex, and riddled with unnecessary expenses. So long as you choose a highly experienced, reputable provider, you can have everything arranged online in as little as 20 minutes.

Lone Star Cremation is here to help ease the burden of cremation planning and preparation. With our 20+ years of experience, you can rely on our compassionate and caring team to assist you throughout the process, from completing all the necessary forms to choosing the most appropriate package that befits and honors your loved one’s wishes.

Contact our team today to inquire about our services or start your online arrangement.

There’s a little of everything in Funeral Director Daily’s list of “Top Read” articles of the past 30 days.  There is information on caskets, services, memorialization, value of businesses, and even some thoughts on what Death Care personnel do that the general public just doesn’t understand. . . .

And, we will throw a little history and nostalgia in the mix too.  The top read story of the past 30 days brings a little nostalgia as it has to do with a company that is not even involved in the Death Care business anymore but has its founding principles embedded in the casket business — Hillenbrand Industries, former parent company of Batesville (Casket).

Here’s the Top Read Funeral Director Daily articles from October 16 to November 15:

1. Hillenbrand Industries sold
2. Are we in the midst of a paradigm shift, from “Services selection” to “Memorialization selection”, by the consumer?
3. Casket companies make some news. . . .and what is the future demand?
4. Small volume firms need to know their potential value
5. Most people just don’t understand. . . . . 

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Seeking Alpha author Daniel Jones made the following comment in this opinion article titled “Carriage Services is coming back to life” published last week about the company:

“. . . I believe that the market is currently underestimating Carriage Services. The business has done a fine job of reorienting itself over the last couple of years, and it clearly is back in growth mode. . “

As is Funeral Director Daily’s policy for financial opinion articles, we will link the article and show some quotes on the article but let the reader make their own decisions as to the opinions given.

Jones makes the following claims at the beginning of the article about Carriage Services:

• “Carriage Services remains deeply undervalued, with strong top-line growth and demographic tailwinds positioning it for long-term success.”
• “CSV’s recent acquisitions and expansion into new markets signal a return to ‘growth mode’ after significant debt reduction and strategic review.”
• “Despite mixed profitability in recent years, 2025 guidance points to higher revenue, improved adjusted earnings, and attractive valuation versus peers.”

Funeral Director Daily will also provide these interesting graphics that accompanied the article for your knowledge:

The continued high fragmentation of the industry allows for more consolidation

America’s aging population creates tailwinds for Death Care providers

Carriage Services location map (As of December 31, 2024)

Disclaimer — The author of this article for Funeral Director Daily is a shareholder of Carriage Services.

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National funeral home and cemetery operator Carriage Services announced their 3rd Quarter results last week.  In total they announced total revenues of $102.7 million in revenues for the 3rd Quarter in comparison to the 2024 3rd Quarter of $100.7 million — that’s a 2% total increase.  The same report also stated that the company’s revenue for the 9 month period ending September 30, 2025, totaled $312.0 million as compared to the total revenue for the same 9-month period of 2024 of $306.5 million — that’s an increase of about 1.8% on the year so far.

That doesn’t tell the whole story, however, as the press release from Carriage Services, which you can access here, alludes to how strong the cemetery and preneed operations of the company have been.  Here’s a couple of bullet points from the press release that points to that fact:

• Total revenue grew 2.0% over the prior year quarter, driven by increased operating revenue of 5.2% primarily as a result of 21.4% growth in cemetery preneed sales;
• Cemetery operating revenue increased 12.6% over the prior year quarter, driven by a 4.6% increase in the number of preneed interment rights sold and a 15.1% increase in the average price of preneed interment rights sold
• Financial revenue increased 27.2% over the prior year quarter, primarily driven by a 27.9% increase in preneed insurance contracts sold resulting in an increase in general agency commission revenue

On the other side of the equation, funerals, I noticed that the number of funeral contracts slipped about 2% over the same 3-month (3Q) period of last year and the increase in Funeral Revenue per case was less than 1% coming in at increased revenue rate of 0.7%.  The low rate of funeral contract revenue growth makes sense when you also notice the company’s rate of cremation to burial also slightly increased for the 3Q period. . . . . Carriage Services reported a 3Q25 cremation rate of 61% as compared to a 3Q24 cremation rate of 60.4%.

Carriage Services Vice-Chairman and CEO Carlos Quezada summed up the quarter with some prepared remarks in the press release.  In part, Quezada made these comments:

“We are excited to be back in growth mode, expanding our footprint this quarter through strategic acquisitions of businesses that served over 2,600 families and generated more than $15 million in annual revenue last year. At the same time, we divested certain non-core assets to reallocate capital towards better long-term value creation opportunities.

Total operating revenue grew 5.2% year-over-year, driven by 21.4% growth in cemetery preneed sales combined with financial revenue growth of 27.2%, reflecting the continued success of our national prearranged funeral and cemetery strategy. These results highlight the strength of our team, the effectiveness of our business strategy, and the growing demand for the premier experiences we deliver. Purposeful Growth in Action – Building Momentum Toward Our 2030 Vision.”

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  Carriage Services management has been upfront in the past couple of years letting shareholders know that they re-allocating the assets of the business to set up greater success in the future.  They have sold some business units and acquired others — which in some areas makes comparable financial data hard to interpret without knowing what has been sold and acquired.

However, from the success of their cemetery segment and this knowledge that their new preneed agreements seem to be bringing more revenue to the bottom line, I conclude that they seem to be on the right track.

From my point of view, the consumer rarely stands still and it appears to me that part of the Carriage Services’ management goal is to be ahead of the curve for that consumer and have the right products ready for tomorrow’s consumers.  It’s an ongoing task that could pay big dividends in the future.

Disclaimer —  The author of this article for Funeral Director Daily is a shareholder of Carriage Services.

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You can’t read the newspaper or hear the television news without hearing of some new technology that is moving Artificial Intelligence forward.  Well, if you are keeping up with Death Care on a daily basis, you will also notice that technology is moving forward fast and furious to help funeral service professionals everyday.

The latest news that I heard was livestream technology company OneRoom and its innovation to solve “long-standing music copyright risk” during recorded services.

You can learn of OneRoom’s new innovative technology here.

According to a press release from OneRoom that we received this week, “For years, funeral homes have faced a legal risk when recording and sharing services that include copyright music. It’s a well-known issue within the industry, one with no clear solution, until now. OneRoom’s new built-in Music Copyright Protection feature removes the exposure entirely, making recorded services safe to share while preserving the integrity of the experience.”

Again, as noted in a statement in the press release, International Cemetery, Cremation, and Funeral Association (ICCFA) General Counsel Poul Lemasters says this about the issue, “Once the live event and stream are over, then the licenses no longer cover any additional publication if the music is part of the service. This means that if you choose to record the service and post it on your site, the music must be muted, because neither license allows a recording and playback of copyrighted music”.

The press release from OneRoom goes on to say, “OneRoom’s Music Copyright Protection solves that. Music plays in full during the livestream. Then, in the recording, only copyrighted songs are muted, everything spoken remains untouched. Guests watching the service can see a discreet on-screen message showing the song title and artist, with a link to listen on YouTube.”

Brady Cox, CEO of OneRoom made this prepared comment in the press release, “This has been a known risk in the industry for years, but no one had solved it.  We’ve built a solution that’s respectful to the experience, no effort for the funeral home, and includes a playlist with links that keeps the experience whole for guests, so they can still listen to the music. It’s compliant, and it takes the worry off the table.”

The feature will roll out to existing OneRoom customers over the coming months. There’s no setup required and no extra cost.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  As I alluded to in the first paragraph of this article, technology is rapidly moving forward in the Death Care space.  As a provider of Death Care news, I get press releases almost every day of some new technology feature available for Death Care providers.

I find myself thinking that the disposition of the dead human body is pretty much the same — burials and crematations, with a few other options now available.  However, the technology to help funeral service professionals handle the different tasks of caring for that person and also for providing the services and communication that survivors find necessary is changing every single day.

I’m a firm believer that the way funeral homes and cemeteries acquire, serve, and retain future clientele is changing drastically.  And, technology will be a big factor in how you do those things. . . . . it might even be that those that can capture the “technology savvy” consumer will have a leg-up on the competition when it comes to market share.

My advice, especially for the older, more traditional funeral directors like myself. . . .is that you cannot afford to put your head in the sand when thinking about technology.  My hunch, is that if you do, your competitors may zoom right past you.

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NFDA Introduces New Remembering A Life Award to Honor the Profession’s Most Meaningful Funeral and Memorial Services 

Brookfield, Wis. – The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) has announced a new honor within its renowned Pursuit of Excellence Award program: the Remembering A Life Award. This new recognition, debuting in 2026, will celebrate funeral homes that create the profession’s most personal and meaningful funerals and memorial services – those that go beyond expectations to bring comfort, healing and significance to the families they serve. 

The new award was formally announced during the association’s All-Star Recognition Ceremony on Monday, October 27, at the 2025 NFDA International Convention & Expo in Chicago. 

“The Remembering A Life Award will shine a spotlight on the heart of what funeral service professionals do for grieving families,” said NFDA Director of Public Relations Jessica Koth, who manages the Pursuit of Excellence Program. “It will honor those moments when creativity, compassion and attention to detail come together to help families remember, grieve and begin to heal. We look forward to presenting the first Remembering A Life Awards during next year’s All-Star Recognition Ceremony.” 

Elevating the Heart of Funeral Service 

The Remembering A Life Award aligns closely with NFDA’s consumer initiative, Remembering A Life, which educates families about the value of funerals and memorial services and offers resources for planning meaningful tributes and beginning the grief journey. Each year, up to five funeral homes will be selected by the Pursuit of Excellence Work Group for this distinction.

Recipients will be chosen based on essays submitted as part of their Pursuit of Excellence entry that describe a personal and meaningful funeral or memorial service. Submissions will be evaluated on how creatively the service honored the life of the deceased, incorporated family wishes and cultural traditions and exceeded expectations to provide a truly meaningful experience. 

Building on a Legacy of Excellence 

Established more than 45 years ago by the late NFDA Past President Richard Myers, the Pursuit of Excellence Award program honors funeral homes that consistently demonstrate integrity, innovation and service excellence. In addition to the new Remembering A Life Award, the program includes:

• Pursuit of Excellence Award: The program’s foundational honor, recognizing achievement in six categories of excellence.
• Hall of Excellence: Funeral homes are inducted into the Hall of Excellence upon earning their 10th Pursuit of Excellence Award.
• Richard Myers Pinnacle Award: Recognizes an extraordinary program or service that redefines funeral service excellence.
• Best of the Best Award: Honors up to five funeral homes annually for novel and innovative programs or services.
• Honorable Mention: Acknowledges programs that positively impact the families and communities served. 

Reinforcing NFDA’s Strategic Vision 

The introduction of the Remembering A Life Award supports several priorities outlined in NFDA’s 2024-26 Strategic Plan, including raising the profile of funeral professionals among consumers, increasing understanding of the value of meaningful memorialization and inspiring innovation across the profession.

“The Pursuit of Excellence program has always set the standard for service excellence,” said Koth. “This new award reflects our ongoing commitment to helping funeral professionals elevate their work and demonstrate the deep value of meaningful memorialization to families and communities.”

The first Remembering A Life Awards will be presented during the All-Star Recognition Ceremony at the 2026 NFDA International Convention & Expo in Charlotte, North Carolina. For more information about the Pursuit of Excellence program or to apply by the July 15, 2026, deadline, visit NFDA.org/PursuitOfExcellence. 

NFDA is the world’s leading and largest funeral service association representing 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 NFDA.org.

Funeral Director Daily recently learned that Rollings Funeral Service, based in Georgia, made a couple of acquisitions involving more than 100-year old family funeral homes.  Over the summer they purchased the McCombs Funeral Home of Jackson and Cape Girardeau, Missouri, — a firm that was founded in 1906.

And more recently in October, Rollings Funeral Service announced that they had purchased the Preddy Funeral Homes in the greater Charlottesville, Virginia, area.  Preddy Funeral Homes dates their founding back to 1916.

According to a press release, “The McCombs Funeral Home name will remain, and its current staff and leadership will continue serving families just as they always have. Through this partnership, Rollings will provide operational support, allowing the McCombs team to focus on delivering the exceptional service their community has come to expect.”

In a prepared statement in the press release, Christi Guilliams, former owner of McCombs Funeral Home made this comment, “This is a positive step forward for our staff and the families we serve.”

As to the Preddy Funeral Homes in Virginia, they operate out of three locations and serve more than 500 families per year.  According to that press releases, “The Preddy businesses will immediately gain access to Rollings accounting, legal and human resources support services.  The staff, who all will remain in their current roles, will also gain operational support, and will be able to participate in career training and bonus programs.  Families can expect the same high-quality care they have always received. . .”

In a prepared statement in the press release, Randy Preddy, former owner of Preddy Funeral Home made these comments, “This was obviously a big decision for us, but Shelly and I really wanted to stop working as hard and be able to travel a little more. . .At the same time I grew up in these communities and feel a huge responsibility to make sure our friends are still taken care of well and fairly. . . I really became comfortable that (Rollings) have the same interests at heart.” 

Rollings Funeral Service, along with their partner Pinnacle Funeral Service, operate close to 100 funeral service locations across 20 states.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  There is no doubt in my mind that “consolidation” in the traditional funeral home realm is happening and will continue happening at a more and more rapid pace.

I also believe that while renumeration is very important in the sale process for most family, and especially generational funeral home owners, the most important consideration in many sales of these “non-major urban area ” funeral homes is the “fit” with the acquiring company.  And, today’s owners of good operations have no lack of willing purchasers so they have the ability to look for a “good fit”.

I think being a “colleague” rather than a “competitor” will make a difference as national, regional, and local companies looking to grow will be making pitches to many of the most desireable businesses going forward.

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

As things seem to do in my life, circumstances came together this week to have me reflect on changes in the Death Care profession/industry.  First of all, here’s three items that came together to make me think about changes in our businesses.

1. I attended the funeral of a long-time member of my Bible Study.
2. I researched and produced an article that appeared in Tuesday’s Funeral Director Daily about the Hollywood Forever Cemetery and their “Premium Product” offerings.  You can access that article here.
3. I recalled and then revisited the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) recent press release about Americans choosing cremation at record rates.  You can access that article here.

What it all got me to wondering is if the American consumer is in the midst of, or will soon be “Selecting Death Care” by their “Memorialization” choice rather than their “Service” (such as cremation, burial, church service, etc) choice.

Here’s part of my thought process  —  for almost all of my career as a funeral director, consumers at-need or pre-need would come into the funeral home and tell us of their Death Care ideas.  If that choice included the use of a cemetery, such as in earth burial, entombment, or urn placement, they usually asked us about our thoughts on the different cemeteries.

In that format I would suggest that the consumer “selected” Death Care via the funeral home provider they chose.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

However, in today’s world, especially when a cemetery like Hollywood Forever offers “free cremation” to those who purchase “premium” cemetery memorialization I think a different process may be in place.  In cases like that, the cremation, or direct cremation,  seems to me to simply be a “means to the end” and the consumer is not concerned about who handles the physical means of turning the dead human body into the cremated remains.  They are more concerned about their purchase for “Memorialization”.

In this situation I would suggest that the consumer “selected” Death Care via the memorialization provider they chose.

This thought further deepened in my mind at the funeral of my friend.  While he was buried with a traditional service through my old funeral home I found myself at the reception luncheon visiting with another local couple about who happened to be about my age. As any retired funeral director knows, sitting in this position we become open game for all kinds of Death Care questions.

Well, this couple let me know that they are going to be cremated but more importantly, and what is most on their mind, is where they will be permanently memorialized.  As I listened, it dawned on me that their main concern is not about their funeral, the service, or who will cremate them, but where will they be permanently memorialized.  And, for one like me who believes in “permanent memorialization” I don’t think that is an uncommon thought.

So, getting back to Hollywood Forever’s offer of “Free Cremations”. . . . . my guess is if this couple bought a “premium” niche or columbarium from someone who offered “Free Cremation” with that purchase, they very well would take them up on that offer.  My guess is that with this couple, and many others, if the permanent Memorialization purchase is what they want, they would be happy to accept the “Free Cremation” and, if they wanted a memorial service, would do so at their church without a funeral home participating.

Finally, in looking at the aforementioned NFDA press release it predicts by 2045 an 82.3% cremation rate as opposed to today’s 63.4% rate.  It predicts a burial rate of only 13.0% in that same year as compared to today’s 31.6%.  Probably even more ominous in today’s “Service” selection vs. “Memorial” selection article it shows that the “Religiously Unaffiliated” has almost doubled in recent years with no signs of that stopping.

And, if we are not affiliated with a church or somewhere else with a history of “Services” will “Services” be less common and the idea of picking one’s Death Care providers by the who or where they pick their Memorialization option be more common?

I don’t have that answer but I think it is a situation that needs looking into.  While funeral homes have always been “Businesses” they have not always been “Consumer” friendly or “subtly aggressive” in customer acquisition. . . . . many times simply sitting back and making an income out of the consumer’s necessity when the time arrived.

In a world of new “Customer Acquisition” techniques by others in the greater Death Care world are funeral homes vulnerable to be left behind, or not even thought of, in some consumer choice instances?

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

It’s been pretty easy to recognize that the management team that replaced founder and long-time CEO Melvin Payne at Carriage Services has been building the foundations of the business in order to begin once again making acquisitions for growth.  That has probably been a necessary strategy but it also was noted by some investors that if they wanted to grow, then they would have to get back into the acquisition mode soon.

Well. . . .those investors should be happy now as earlier this week Carriage Services announced that they had made an acquisition of one of the larger Death Care operators in Central Florida.  In this press release Carriage Services broke the news that they would be acquiring the assets of a group of providers I’ll refer to as the “Osceola” group.

The press release describes that group of businesses as such: “a combination business with a funeral home located on a cemetery, five stand-alone funeral homes, a crematory and central care center, and a cremation focused business, located in the growing Orlando, Florida metro market.” 

Steve Metzger, President of Carriage Services had this prepared remark about those businesses from the press release, “Osceola is a truly unique collection of businesses with an incredible team. . . . . we look forward to growing with the Osceola team in the years ahead.”

And, in a statement that seems somewhat directed at those that thought Carriage Services might be waiting too long to start in acquisition mode again, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Carriage Services Carlos Quezada made this comment, “We are thrilled to reengage in acquisitions as part of our long-term growth strategy. This milestone marks the first step toward realizing our 2030 Vision and reinforces our commitment to purposeful growth.”

Related —  Here is the website for Osceola Memory Gardens, a part of the recent acquisition.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  I’ve been waiting for Carriage Services to make an announcement on an acquisition.  However, I have no issue with the timing and process of, seemingly, getting the ship in prime sailing form before setting out from the dock.  I believe that the management team at Carriage Services is being very methodical and strategic as they go about setting the right foundation not only with business sizing, but with their preneed decisions and their preferred vendors as well.

In business, I’ve always thought that a long-term strategy and the ability to follow that strategy is better than taking a swing at every pitch that comes one’s way.  And, it is my opinion that is the direction that this management team is taking.

Disclosure —  The author of this article for Funeral Director Daily is a shareholder in Carriage Services.

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

There is no doubt that while many investors (and President Trump) have waited for the Federal Reserve to set lower interest rates going forward and negotiated tariff rates lots of other investors have simply stayed invested and have found gains in the stocks of the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq.  Those indexes have returned gains of 10.4%, 7.1%, and 12.6% respectively year-to-date (up to September 5) in 2025.

And, of course, if you had invested in the Morningstar Global Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Index, that you can read about here, your investment would have grown 26.4% year-to-date up to September 5.

However, if you had put your money into the four stocks that comprise the Funeral Director Daily Death Care Index (DCI) from January 2 to September 5, 2025, you would be sitting on a negative return of just less than 1% for the same time period.  The unscientific Death Care Index is comprised of owning one share of stock of each of four public companies that have at least a portion of their revenues coming from Death Care.

Those stocks are Service Corporation International, Carriage Services, Matthews International, and Security National Financial Corporation (SNFC).  The DCI had a cumulative value on January 2, 2025 of $155.13 and on September 5, 2025, virtually two-thirds through the calendar year, the DCI rests at a cumulative value of $153.88  —  for a decrease in value of just under 1%.

Here’s a graphic of the information contained above:

Carriage Services bucks the trend — Carriage Services stock value increased in the time period from $39.02 per share to $42.74 per share, an increase of 9.53%.  As you can see from the chart above they were the only DCI stock to have a measurable gain for 2025’s first eight months.

This article from Yahoo Finance reports keys that management mentioned in their 2nd Quarter 2025 remarks that led to that increase.  Included among those key factors were:

• Funeral Segment volume growth
• Strong Preneed sales momentum
• Overhead Cost reductions
• Portfolio repositioning — The divestiture of non-core assets (presumably funeral home and cemetery facilities) coupled with the acquisitions of “higher growth, high-margin properties” (presumably funeral home and cemetery facilities).

Disclaimer-– The author of this article for Funeral Director Daily is a shareholder of Service Corporation International, Carriage Services, and Security National Financial Corporation.

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