Five Ideas for Recognizing National Grief Awareness Week in Your Community

Helping families navigate the complicated and highly-individualized journey through grief and loss is a natural extension of the services you provide as a deathcare professional. Sometimes, though, the simple act of just recognizing that it’s okay to grieve can be as important as providing the proper tools to help them deal with their loss.

National Grief Awareness Week, which is observed during the first week of December, presents a powerful opportunity for deathcare professionals to show your community that grief is normal, unique, and perfectly acceptable. Sponsored by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the week is designed to “raise awareness about grief and loss” and — and it’s a perfect time for funeral homes to deepen family support and strengthen community outreach. 

Here are some ideas gleaned from SAMHSA’s plethora of grief and loss resources:

Normalize grief and encourage conversation

SAMHSA reminds us that grief is “a natural response to loss” and emphasizes that many people experience it differently and may feel isolated. The deathcare community is uniquely positioned to open respectful dialogue during pre-arrangement meetings, service planning, or aftercare/follow-up. Encourage clients and families by reminding them that “there’s no wrong way to grieve” and provide them with resources like SAMHSA’s tip sheet How to Support a Person Who Is Grieving a Loss of Life. By framing grief as expected and shared rather than something to hide, you create an environment of trust and affirmation.

Offer tangible resources and recommendations

Many families may feel lost in the days and weeks after a funeral. Consider creating or curating a short “grief support guide” specific to your community. List local support groups, faith-based grief ministries, grief-informed counselors, and online resources. Include guidance on when grief may require additional support (for example, complicated grief or long-term, intense reactions) and provide contact info for 988, the US crisis line, if urgent help is needed. Embedding this into your aftercare communication acknowledges the ongoing nature of bereavement.

Mark National Grief Awareness Week within your organization

Use this designated week as a moment to show your team’s empathy and community leadership. Simple actions could include sharing social-media posts using the hashtag #NGAW with the graphics and messaging from SAMHSA’s toolkit, which we’ve shared here; hosting a small remembrance event (e.g., a light-a-candle vigil or memory tree for those lost) in your chapel; or offering a brief no-cost “grief check-in” meeting with families served earlier in the year. Engaging in this way reinforces that the relationship doesn’t end with the service.

Train staff in grief-sensitive communication

Behind the scenes, your team plays a vital role. Encourage staff to become familiar with foundational grief concepts: that grief may involve emotional, mental, and physical responses; that it does not follow a linear path; and that cultural, faith, and individual factors shape reaction. Role-play simple supporting statements and cues to listen more than speak. Such preparation ensures all client touchpoints—from funeral directors to administrative staff—demonstrate consistency and compassion.

Follow up long-term and build a memory-focused engagement strategy

The service may be over, but healing continues. Consider scheduling a follow-up call or sending a handwritten note on the anniversary of the loss (or during holidays, which SAMHSA recognizes may trigger reflections). Offer a quarterly email or print mailing with short grief-education content, or partner with local grief support organizations to deliver workshops or webinars. Demonstrating ongoing presence helps families feel less forgotten and reinforces the role of your practice as a pillar of support.

National Grief Awareness Week offers funeral professionals a meaningful occasion not only to raise awareness but to actively enhance care. By normalizing grief, providing resources, marking the week with intentional support, training your team, and maintaining long-term engagement, your practice can make a lasting difference in how families navigate their loss and healing.

Imagine it is lunch time at the funeral home you work at when you get a call from the hospital two miles away that you need to immediately bring the best casket you have to the hospital.  And, by the way, it is for the President of the United States.

That’s the call that Vernon B. O’Neal of O’Neal’s Funeral Home received on November 22, 1963 — 62 years ago last Saturday.  O’Neal happened to be the only person at the funeral home at the time and selected his top of the line unit —  a $3,995 (1963 prices) solid-bronze casket made by the Elgin Casket Company.  The other problem that O’Neal had is that casket weighed 400 pounds and he was by himself at the funeral home.

Editors Note:  This is our annual re-run of the Funeral Director Daily article of November 22, 2021. . . . .Saturday, November 22, 2025, represented the 62nd anniverssary of when American President John F. Kennedy was assasinated.  Historians are still trying to piece together all of the issues that led to the shooting that day.  There is also a story of the caskets that were used for President Kennedy’s transportation and burial. . . This is that story.

According to this incredible article which gives much of the “behind the scenes” work on President John F. Kennedy’s post-mortem care, O’Neal eventually got three more people to help him get the casket to Parkland Hospital.

I would suggest you read the article. . . if you were living at the time it will bring back memories.  If you were not living back then, you will see decisions made in a much more innocent world that had not even contemplated this situation.

For me, I was a 5-year old recuperating from a childhood surgery and playing in front of the television at home.  I saw the news report come across the screen and remember going into the kitchen where dad, who was home for lunch, and mom were at the table.  I can distinctly remember giving them the news of the President’s death that I had just heard on our black and white television monitor.

Here’s a little chronology, according to the article,  of what happened when O’Neal arrived at Parkland Hospital with the casket:

• O’Neal was met by the Secret Service and some Kennedy aides

• O’Neal and the emergency room nurses placed Kennedy in the casket (this casket was to be used for transport and no death care preparations had been done with the President)

• A disagreement ensued as the Secret Service and Kennedy’s aides were ready to bring the casket to Air Force 1.  The disagreement was between the Federal employees and the Dallas County Medical Examiner and a Justice of the Peace brought to the hospital to secure order.  Believe it or not, in 1963 there was not a Federal crime on the books for assassinating the President.  Because of such, Dallas County officials felt that the President’s potential murder case should be adjudicated in Dallas County and wanted an autopsy done there before allowing the body to leave Texas.

• According to the article, the Secret Service and other Federal employees forcibly made their way to the waiting Air Force 1 where the casket was lifted into the passenger section of the plane for the flight back to Washington, DC.

• Upon landing in Washington, DC, the President (and transport casket) was brought to Bethesda Naval Hospital in a Navy Ambulance for an autopsy.

• At Bethesda Naval Hospital the President was prepared for burial by members of Gawler’s  Funeral Home and placed in a $3,610 Marsellus casket made of African mahogany.  According to the article, a rosary was placed in the President’s hands.  Again, according to the article, the President’s brother and United States Attorney General Robert Kennedy made the decision, backed by the President’s wife, Jacqueline, to have a closed casket rather than an open casket.

While that story is interesting and historical. . . . .the question did remain for some time, “What happened to the original bronze casket that encased the President’s mortal remains from Dallas to Washington, DC?  It wasn’t until the summer of 1998 that archives were released that let the public know of its whereabouts.

So, piecing from this article and other articles written after information was released from the National Archives in 1998, here’s what happened to the casket.

President John F. Kennedy

First of all, Gawler’s Funeral Home in Washington, DC, stored the Dallas bronze casket in a warehouse.  In January 1964 O’Neal’s Funeral Home in Dallas billed the federal government in the amount of  $3,995 (according to the article, the federal government felt that this was an excessive price and negotiated a $500 discount from that listed and billed price) for the casket but it is believed that O’Neal preferred just to have the casket back in his possession.  It has been rumored that collector’s were willing to pay O’Neal upwards of $100,000 if he were to sell them the casket.

The federal government paid $3,160 as a paid in full price of the casket (taking an additional 10% discount off the negotiated price) to O’Neal and the General Services Administration took possession of the casket.  And while the House of Representatives passed a bill to preserve all evidence in the Kennedy assassination for evidentiary value, Congressman Earle Cabell from Texas argued that the casket had no evidentiary value and should be destroyed.

The Kennedy family agreed with Congressman Cabell and Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach agreed that the United States government had the right to dispose of it in a suitable manner.  Here, verbatim, is what the linked article says happened next:

“. . . On February 18, 1966, several members of the Air Force picked the casket up from a secure building at the National Archives just a few blocks from the White House. The casket was placed in an Air Force truck and transported to Andrews Air Force Base — the very place that the casket had originally landed in Washington with President Kennedy inside of it less than three years earlier. At Andrews, the Air Force team from the 93rdAir Terminal Squadron loaded the coffin on to a C130 transport plane.

To dispose of the casket, the Air Force had decided to take it to a place that JFK had once considered being buried: the Atlantic Ocean. Kennedy loved the sea and was said to have considered being buried at sea when he died. Of course, we know that Kennedy was buried at Arlington National Cemetery instead, but for many reasons, the Atlantic Ocean was the perfect place for the disposal of the casket that had brought him back to Washington following his assassination.

The Air Force wanted to ensure the integrity of the casket and not allow it to become a souvenir by someone who happened to come across it floating in the ocean or washing up on the shore. The C130 flew about 100 miles east of Washington, D.C. and descended to about 500 feet above the water. Before taking off, the Air Force had drilled over 40 holes into the casket and filled it with three 80-pound sandbags. It was also secured inside of a wooden crate and sealed shut in a manner so that it wouldn’t break apart upon hitting the water.

At approximately 10:00 AM, the C130’s tail hatch was opened and the casket was pushed out of the aircraft. Parachutes softened its fall and the coffin began to sink instantly. The airplane circled the drop zone for about 20 minutes to make sure that the coffin didn’t resurface, but they had no reason to worry. The Air Force had chosen an area of the Atlantic that saw very little air or sea traffic, and the casket settled in about 9,000 feet of water. The Kennedy Family was relieved that they no longer had to worry about a bloody casket going on display somewhere for the “morbidly curious”.”

So, there you have it.  An explanation of how the President’s body left Dallas in a bronze casket and he was buried in a hardwood casket.  I found it very interesting that over the years people did not pick up on that and ask more questions about it.  That, in itself, is probably reflective of the simpler, and more trusting, times we lived in back then.

May God Bless the memory of President John F. Kennedy.

Here’s a YouTube video of the televised death announcement of President Kennedy that I remember.

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

This article from Yahoo Finance will inform you that the major indexes of the American stock market all closed at record highs last Friday.  During the same week the 3rd Quarter of the year closed and the Funeral Director Daily Death Care Index (DCI) reported a close that indicated a 3.60% increase for the year-to-date.

Below you will see a chart of the individual four stocks that make up the Funeral Director Daily DCI Index and how they have performed in comparison to the major indexes for the Year-to-Date (YTD) 2025 up to the end of the 3rd Quarter on September 30 2025.  You will notice that the DCI trails every sector with the possible exception of Consumer Staples for stock price appreciation for YTD 2025.  One possible reason for this, however, is the small sample size of public companies with at least a portion of their business in Death Care.

As you can see funeral home, cemetery, and crematory operators Carriage Services and Service Corporation International have had positive results, as far as stock price apprecition goes,  so far in 2025 while the other two members of the DCI, Matthews International and Security National Financial Corporation have seen their stock price drop during the year.  It’s difficult to know why, but both Matthews International and Security National Financial have other operations outside of Death Care which may be holding back their stock appreciation in what has been, as noticed by the stock index gains, a rather robust period for public stock investors.

Market Segments performance for YTD 2025 up to September 30.  Source:  LPL Research Factset

How About the Long-Term:  Just for the fun of it I went back to October 3, 2015, and looked at price appreciation (as recorded on Yahoo Finance) of the major indexes and also of the stocks that make up the Death Care Index.  If you had had $10,000 of either the index or a particular stock on October 3, 2015 and still held the index or stock, here’s what those indexes or stocks would be worth today (10/03/2025):

• Dow Jones Industrials Index:  $28,502
• Nasdaq Composite Index:  $50,780
• S&P 500 Index:  $34,992

And, here’s a chart of the Death Care Index values for the that hypothetical $10,000 investment as of October 3, 2015:

Related Information:

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”

If you have been involved in leadership for any length of time you will find that any decision that you make, even if you think it is the greatest decision in the world, will not be taken as beneficial to all parties.  Someone down the line of employment will wish the decision had been in the other direction.

I think of this when I remember decisions that I made that included team-wide financial bonuses for reaching certain numbers of death calls per year.  For instance, I operated with individual employee financial bonuses (in addition to salaries) of $1,000 for our business reaching 250 calls, $2,000 for reaching 275 calls and up to $6,000 per employee for reaching 325 annual calls.

I was somewhat taken aback in the years when we did 325 calls that some on the staff thought they had worked too hard and said that they would rather have time off than a financial incentive.  You see, my parents had instilled a work ethic in me where I saw work, and the financial benefits from it, as one of the imperatives of the job and you took time off when you were not busy. . . . .In my rural area I assimilated the thought to the farmer who had to “cut hay when the sun was shining” — because you cannot cut it when it is raining or wet.

In any regards, that is just an example of differing people having different attitudes about how life should be lived.  In my world, my profession paid for my life and leisure activities. . . . . I think some people look at it just the opposite, their life and leisure are supported by their profession. . . .i.e. what comes first in your life? — Your profession or your activities.

Whichever it is — that is okay.  It’s just a matter of how we look at life that differs.

So, we are all not wired to work 40 or 60 hours per week if we can live our lives, and be more balanced as a human being if we can work less. . . . The question is, “Can we bring enough income in if we don’t work that 40-hour week?”

Here’s a recent article about the country of Iceland that in 2019 adopted the 4-day work week working 35-36  hours per week instead of the traditional 40 hours per week.  And, Iceland did it without a drop in weekly income.

Here’s what the article goes on to say about the experience so far:

“Initial fears, similar to those observed during similar debates in other countries such as Germany, focused mainly on a potential collapse in productivity or the complexity of wage compensation. However, the Icelandic experience has swept away these fears. Reports, particularly those analysed by think tanks such as Autonomy, show that productivity has not only been maintained, but has even improved in some cases.

 

How can this be explained? The answer lies largely in the significant improvement in workers’ well-being. The reduction in working time has resulted in a significant drop in stress levels and fewer cases of burnout. Employees report a greater ability to reconcile their professional imperatives with their personal lives. This reality directly echoes the priorities expressed by Generation Z, a large proportion of whom (around 81% according to certain studies) are convinced that shorter working hours are synonymous with greater efficiency, and plebiscite mental health as an essential criterion.”

So, I’m a Baby Boomer and my self-health is maintained partly by being productive through my work.  Why else would I spend hours writing a blog at age 67 when I could be on the golf course or at the coffee shop?  However, as the younger generations are telling us, that is not always the case with them.  They seem to be healthier with a more work-life balance that allows them more time to enjoy non-working hours.

I think the Death Care profession needs to take a real hard look at this dilemma.  Funeral service is a very rewarding career, emotionally, if you have the time to enjoy those rewards.  Young people seem to want to go into funeral service but then leave prematuraly because they don’t seem to think they have the down-time to enjoy the positive self-images they have built up.

Funeral business leaders need to acknowledge this among today’s young professionals.  If we are going to acquire and retain the best and brightest for our profession we need to come up with the ability to offer 4-day work weeks to our professional personnel.

The challenge will be doing it in a world where revenues per case are stressed.  It’s pretty simple that Death Care businesses need to use the technology available to us to hasten this advance.  How can we alter what we are doing to use less human hours per death? . . . . Online arrangements, use of non-professional staff where applicable, shorter office hours, and possible job-share duties come to mind.

Maybe we need to forego weekly schedules and look at 6 or 8-week block schedules as a way that might help us do this.

I don’t have the answers but I do believe that some funeral businesses will go to a 4-day, 36-hour week for professional employees on a regular basis.  And when that happens, the rest of us will probably have to follow suit or be left with those professional employees who are not our number one choices.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily:  It’s tough for me to come to grips with this situation because I always just worked until the job was finished.  That’s not always the way of the world any more though.

Just last week I had the opportunity to be on the University of Minnesota campus for a reunion.  I planned my visit to arrive early for two reasons —- First, I wanted to avoid heavy traffic and Secondly, to give myself some time to visit my old office and say hello to some of the administrative staff that I worked with.

I arrived at the McNamara Alumni Building where my office had been on the 6th floor.  My first surprise was that the elevators did not work without a pass-key, an obvious security feature that didn’t surprise me so much.  I pulled out my cell phone and rang the “Office Receptionist Desk” but was greeted with a message that told me the phone was disconnected.  Finally, I phoned the cell of Head of the Administration in that office and he answered.  He proceded to tell me that they all work from home now most of the time and there was no one who I wanted to say “Hello” to that was in the office . . . and he was at home as well.

I was absolutely stunned because in my day – only four years ago – I spent all kinds of time in that office and relied on the knowledge of the administrative assistants many times during the day to get my work accomplished.  In essence, I learned last week that a lot of the employment rules had changed in a short period of time.

And, I think you are going to see that in funeral service. . . So be ready.

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

As has become our custom when an article about one of the Death Care Index (DCI) companies is published in Seeking Alpha we bring that article to you.  Last week an article about Carriage Services was published titled “Carriage Services:  Strong gains look beckoning in 2025″.

You can access that article here.

As is also our custom with these types of articles, we present them to our readers with no opinion on our part.  Here are a couple of exerpts, however, from the article:

• “Carriage Services shows strong growth in Preneed cemetery sales, and free cash flow gains, and has revised guidance upward due to robust quarterly earnings beats.”

• “. . . . it wasn’t surprising to see the company report a strong earnings beat due to an 11% top-line gain over the same period of 12 months prior. Strong gains in both the top & bottom lines resulted in management bumping up full-year top-line guidance to approximately $400 million and adjusted free cash flow to approximately $60 million.”

• “Carriage’s fiscal 2024 trends demonstrate that momentum may be ramping up even further in the funeral & cemetery provider. Why do we state this? Considering that earnings growth is the prime driver of stocks on Wall Street, Carriage is projected to deliver over 21% growth in fiscal 2025.”

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

President Carter’s Funeral Wasn’t the Only Deathcare News Making Headlines Last Week

The week-long celebration of the late Jimmy Carter’s 100-year-long life was certainly a fitting tribute to our country’s longest-living president — and it highlighted many of the meaningful memorial traditions that are still treasured by the deathcare profession. Of course, the solemn and respectful services weren’t without a bit of controversy, namely the use of the “troubled” U.S. Army caisson platoon and the surprisingly cordial gathering of the five living presidents.

Thankfully, the nonstop coverage of tributes to the 39th president overshadowed an unusually high number of deathcare-related headlines — many of them involving important (or at least interesting) legal updates that we didn’t want you to miss.

Illinois chain of custody law goes into effect

Beginning this year, Illinois funeral directors who knowingly provide the wrong cremains to families could face penalties, including jail time. The new Integrity in Death Care Act establishes a thorough system for tracking remains, and not following the process will now be a felony. The law was inspired by the 2022 discovery that a Carlinville funeral home had mixed up the mostly-untagged cremains of nearly 80 individuals. Authorities realized there were few options for criminal charges for this mishandling, although a slew of civil suits were filed.

Utah director’s license revoked … again

A funeral director whose license was reinstated following his release from a Utah prison in March has once again seen that license revoked. Lonnie Nyman was sentenced in 2019 on a wide variety of crimes, from financial misdeeds and witness tampering to charges of sending explicit images to a minor. So perhaps it’s not surprising that Nyman allegedly gave the state’s Funeral Service Board misleading information that led to the board’s issuance of a probationary funeral director’s license in November. Nyman, who called himself “an awesome, awesome funeral director,” acknowledges wrongdoing but disputes many aspects of the original case and the current license revocation proceedings.

Arkansas introduces body parts bill

State legislators in Arkansas learned last week about Lux’s Law, a bill which, if passed, would make it a crime to sell human remains that were authorized for cremation. The bill was inspired by the terrible tragedy of Lux, a stillborn baby whose body was stolen and sold by a funeral home employee. Violating this law could result in a fine of up to $10,000, up to five years in prison, or both. 

Grieving New York families may pay toll

A controversial “congestion toll” went into effect in New York City, and it seems even grieving families will not be exempt. Because funeral homes (obviously) will not transport bodies via public transportation, the owners of hearses and other mortuary vehicles will be subject to the $9 per day fee for operating a vehicle in certain areas of Manhattan — and most plan to pass that fee along to families. The New York Post spoke to several directors who all agreed they’d have to incorporate the fee into their basic service charges. One director even participated in a failed lawsuit last year to block the fee from going into effect.

Georgia director denied bond

Chris Johnson, the Douglas, Georgia funeral director who is accused of 17 counts of abuse of a corpse, will remain in jail for the time being. In late October, authorities attempting to serve eviction papers at Johnson’s funeral home discovered 18 bodies in various states of decomposition. Since his initial arrest, Johnson’s bids for bond have been denied while the Georgia Bureau of Investigation worked to identify each set of remains. Although the last two families were finally notified last week, bond was again denied, because, according to one family member, if Johnson was let out, “somebody’s going to kill him.” In addition to the abuse charges, Johnson faces up to 100 years in prison for fraud, forgery, and theft.

Next week is Chrsitmas. . . . . And, almost everybody has their own traditions on how they spend time with their family or their community.

But what about your funeral home?  What are the traditions that they follow?  Having looked-forward to annual traditions is not only a way to celebrate with your community. . . .it is a way that your business can be looked on as a leader in that community.

Last week I noticed an article from our good friends, and Funeral Director Daily sponsors, ASD (Answering Service for Directors) that put a spotlight on 20 real-life “Heartwarming Funeral Home Holiday Traditions” that happen across the United States.

And, instead of me trying to explain them to you, I present them here, as explained by ASD for your own perusal.  Maybe one of these, or something like it, will find its way into your company traditions in the future.

About ASD —

Answering Service for Directors (ASD) is the leading funeral home answering service and communication technology provider throughout the United States and Canada. They have been family-owned since 1972 and exclusive to the funeral profession since the mid-90s. Their Call Specialists provide consistent, compassionate service sensitive to the needs of funeral directors. Specialized training emphasizing patience, empathy, and accuracy prepares our Call Specialists to consistently provide elite service when answering life’s most difficult calls.

More than a third of all funeral homes in the United States use their services because they fine-tune them to individual requests more than any other answering service provider. ASD strives to make communication easier for funeral directors so they can enjoy an improved work-life balance. They provide cutting-edge, award-winning solutions for mobile communication and powerful, time-saving integrations with the leading funeral home software and website companies. Their ASD Mobile app and MyASD website provide transparent visibility for all our clients. Whatever the funeral home communication needs, ASD has a proven solution for any budget.

You can learn more about them here.

About Funeral Director Daily sponsors–

Funeral Director Daily sponsors, such as ASD, provide a financial committment that allows Funeral Director Daily to operate as a free source of Death Care related news and information.  I could not bring you this medium without them.

I know that you have choices when selecting vendors in the Death Care realm.  . . .However, please thank them for their generosity and give those sponsors of Funeral Director Daily a chance to be a provider for you when looking at potential vendor partners in your business transactions.

Thank you. . . .and have a very joyous Holiday Season!!!

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

We who have everything, the gift of life, good health or at least access to good medical care, and loving family including fur babies, live in a day and time when we are surrounded by opinions. Some hold them fast, some hold them long and strong, and others are new to understanding and believing who they are and why they feel as they do.

When it comes to religion, many of us belong to a group that has a name that describes their faith. Some are Christians, others are Jews, still others are Muslims, and a list too long to name and be fully inclusive. As a group, there are subgroups to many of the religious followers that distinguish their group among the others. Yet, one commonality across all groups is an agreement to agree on faith as a practice of worship, following traditional values and tenets as history has carried them through.

For as many years as there has been agreement among groups with similar faiths, there have been groups equally as loud protesting that those same groups are wrong, misguided, and in fact, harmful. To a child learning about Christian Easter, Jewish Passover, and Muslim Ramadan, though, none of this is important. Not yet. The capacity of a child to understand faith is 100% learned by the example of the parents or loving adult caregivers of that child, who model what it is to believe in that faith.

For those who are raised in a church setting, it usually involves bringing your child to a church nursery while you worship in the sanctuary. After that stage, the youngsters old enough to begin to learn the lessons of life and loss and love begin to find understanding with each year. In the Christian faith, it might appear that the Easter bunny has ushered in a concept of “good news.”

In the 13

th

century,

magazine tells us, is when people place the beginning of decorating eggs. During the Lenten season, congregants were asked to give up eating eggs. So, at the conclusion of Lent, eggs were decorated and exchanged. In the 1700’s, German immigrants arriving in America taught children to make little “nests” for where the bunny could lay its eggs. The baskets were decorated as were the eggs. Chocolate and candy soon followed.

In our family we are still at the basket, bunny, and the story in the Bible will follow as Rowen grows older. As eggs at one point represented new life, the color of purple represents the Lenten season and new life in Christ. Symbols representing God’s love abound throughout our daily lives. As we are in church, our children see our habits and patterns and respect for the traditions their parents taught them.

Every year we celebrate our holidays, as ours does Easter, we give ourselves a chance to be thankful to God for His son, for bringing us to know that beyond this life is a rejoining of love from our loved ones to be reunited with them, and to have everlasting life. It’s a gift to us, and it’s free for the asking. We get a clean slate each year with Easter as we can resolve to start over and try again in those areas of our life that might need attention.

We can take time to say “Good job” to our children to let them know we see their progress. We can say “thank you” to them each time they try to show you they want to please you. And most of all, we can listen when they want to chat. There’s nothing more precious than the voice of your child sharing love and laughter with you.

May this Holy season bring you closer to hearing God’s voice that guides you on your journey ahead. May there be peace and quiet and may any discontent be dissolved by reason rather than loud anger. May we experience healing in all the areas of our world that need it. May we know we are blessed with the gift of life we have been given each day. Happy Easter to all of you and your families from our family.

Cody D. Jones ‘02

Owner & Community Member

Now that our son Rowen is two years old, Chelsea and I are beginning to introduce him to the elements of a regular church worship service that occur with regularity each year. True, one can only make a preliminary impression on a youngster with respect to helping him or her understand the rituals we as adults have grown up with, all of our lives. The occasion of Palm Sunday gives us a chance to help Rowen know that on Palm Sunday, we are going to be seeing everyone we know waving a large palm frond as we come into the church.

As Sunday School classes make their way into the main church building, teachers and volunteers will hand them a palm frond or two. Excitedly, they will line up, wearing little pressed shirts and blouses and bright, happy smiles, thrilled to be doing something that the adults are doing.

In preparing for this event, we explain to Rowen that this is the week where Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. He knew what this week would mean as the end of His life here on this Earth. Then, we tell him that this week we celebrate each year as “Holy Week,” the week in which it would mean that God would take his Son, Jesus, to be with Him in Heaven. When we do that, it means that, at least to our little man at age 2, we will all be together again in Heaven.

This fact of reassurance is extremely important to both Chelsea and me, because it was the very afternoon of the morning that we had a memorial service for my grandmother, Dian Jones, that I went to the hospital so the doctor could deliver Rowen that same day. In this most poignant example of the precious circle of life, the celebration of a new life ahead of us—our life with Owen—was made possible on the very same day that we had to acknowledge the passing of my dear grandmother.

As adults it is easy to forget when and how we first begin to understand and look forward to the hope of everlasting life beyond this Earth. Yet, in fact, it is when, as children, we begin to greet the beginning of Holy Week and the onset of Easter and life together again with God in Heaven that we have hope for every day of our lives ahead on this Earth.

So, as you have a chance to see the faces of the little cherubs holding their oversized palm fronds, waving them and smiling at you, keep in mind that you are seeing one of the very first steps toward their being Christians.

With your help, prayers, and encouragement, they will become amazing adults of faith in years to come. Help them shout and sing, “Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest!”

Election Week Special | FFFW 211

DISCLAIMER: None of the F’s in FFFW stand for “facts.” Enjoy the jokes and satire.

Y’all- it’s November. And next week, a new president will be voted on. So this is our election week special. That being said- you know how we roll here… we keep it light and fun. Presidents will come and go, but the FFFW is here to stay. So, we’re going to keep focusing on our main policies here:

Our policies include the following:

– A WEEKLY PROVISION OF SATIRE, AND LIGHT-HEARTED FUNERAL CONTENT

– FREE GIFs FOR EVERYONE- THAT’S IT…

Days until Election: 3
Days until Thanksgiving: 27
Days until Christmas: 54
Days we’re promised: 0 – so let’s make the most out of this one!

Better live streaming for your families

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All you have to do is schedule a stream, share links with friends and family, and go live using your mobile phone! The best part? Your stream and recording are hosted directly on your obituary.

However, livestreaming your funerals doesn’t just impact your families; it helps your funeral home beat local competition with 10% more calls per year, more traffic to your website, and improved SEO.

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Could Funeral Pros Start Their Own Political Party? You’re Not as Far Off as You Think!

That’s right—imagine a world where funeral professionals have their very own political party. You might think that sounds a little far-fetched, but niche political parties have been shaking things up for years! Let’s take a look at a few unusual parties that have paved the way for the kind of unique movement only funeral pros could bring.

We’re in Good Company: Some of America’s Strangest Political Parties

The Rent is Too Damn High Party: Founded by New York icon Jimmy McMillan, this party champions affordable rent as the root cause of many of our social problems. Jimmy’s memorable mustache and rallying cry (“The rent is too damn high!”) made him a viral sensation, proving there’s room in politics for some personality.

The Birthday Party: Founded by Kanye West (yes, that Kanye), this short-lived 2020 party was all about celebrating individuality and spiritual renewal. Kanye’s slogan? “Yes, we will.” Though it fizzled out, The Birthday Party lives on as proof that sometimes politics is just about standing out.

The Guns and Dope Party: Proposed by author Robert Anton Wilson, this “party” promotes the radical concept of freedom for all—guns for those who want them, dope for those who want that, and minding your own business for the rest. It’s an “anything goes” platform in its purest form, and who knew it would resonate so widely?

The Lemonade Freedom Party: Believe it or not, there’s a movement to free the lemonade stand from red tape! The Lemonade Freedom Party advocates for the right of kids everywhere to sell lemonade without interference. It’s a sweet reminder that every issue, big or small, has a voice.

The Pizza Party: A party for pizza lovers everywhere, this movement aims to bring people together through shared love of pizza. While it’s mostly a spoof, The Pizza Party has amassed a cult following as a slice of levity in the political world. If pizza can unite us, anything can!

Naming the Funeral Party

Now, what would we call our hypothetical funeral profession political party? Here are a few names that are up for debate:

• The Final Farewell Party – Prioritizing dignity, tradition, and transparency in all policies.
• The Rest in Peace Party (RIP) – Because who wouldn’t want to vote RIP?
• The Celebration of Life Party – Advocating for personalized services and remembrance.
• The Funeral Freedom Party – Pushing for choice, affordability, and maybe even a little pizza at every service.

Final Thoughts
So there you have it. Maybe a Funeral Freedom Party is just what the world needs to start rethinking funeral service, community, and good old-fashioned humanity. After all, if a Pizza Party can go viral, why not give The Final Farewell Party a shot?

Trivia

Which president had the largest attended funeral?

(Click the correct answer, and you’ll get a video of a puppy. Click the wrong answer, and you’ll see someone hurting themselves.)

Answer Choices:

A) George Washington
B) Abe Lincoln
C) Ronald Reagan

You Otter Be Proud

Here’s some good news going on in the profession.

1. North Minneapolis funeral director sees his job as a calling
2. Old Lick Cemetery in Roanoke cleaned, repaired with help of national expert
3. Fifth-generation funeral director Jeff Monreal helps families grieve, celebrate loved ones