The death care industry incorporates the businesses and organizations involved in death-related services, such as funerals, burials, and cremations.
In the United States, these are largely small businesses, although there have been some significant consolidations. Practices in other countries and cultures may differ considerably. While cremation is prohibited in many cultures, the practice is becoming increasingly common in the United States, due, at least in part, to the progressive rise in traditional burial costs. Although embalming has long been the normal course of preparing a body for burial in the United States, this practice is not universal.
It is generally accepted that the practice of embalming corpses in the United States began during the American Civil War. As soldiers died far away from their homes, embalming aided in preserving the bodies until they could be transported for burial in home cemeteries. Early techniques were primitive and varied, as the first embalming school, the Cincinnati School of Embalming, opened in 1882, and the first mortuary schools in the United States were established in 1898, the year that the National Funeral Directors Association was founded.
Prior to this time, the dead were usually prepared, dressed, and displayed by their own family. Bodies were displayed in homemade or purchased caskets in the family's home, and some wealthier families had special rooms that held their finest possessions during viewings, including a separate door to remove the body.
Today, the death care industry in the United States is controversial due to the excessive and sometimes prohibitive costs associated with funerals. For this reason, some states and localities have passed legislation to allow for less expensive alternatives to funeral homes. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the average cost of a traditional funeral in the US is nearly $8,000.
Also known as funeral parlors or mortuaries, funeral homes are private businesses that provide burial and funeral services and may include a prepared wake and funeral and the use of a chapel for the funeral.
Funeral homes arrange services according to the desires of surviving family members unless there are advance directives from the deceased. Generally, funeral home personnel will take care of the necessary paperwork, permits, and other details, including making arrangements with the cemetery and providing obituaries to the news media. Today, most funeral homes post obituaries online, and some will create memorial websites using materials supplied by family members.
Traditional burial services often begin with a viewing, usually at the funeral home itself, followed by a funeral service at a place of worship or a chapel provided by the funeral home, and then a graveside service.
Direct cremation begins with the funeral home receiving the body and preparing it for the crematory, often owned and operated by the funeral home. After cremation, the family will receive the ashes in an urn or other container, to be retained by family members, scattered somewhere, or buried in a cemetery.
With direct burial, there is no funeral ceremony. Instead, the body is buried.
Customs for the disposal of the dead may vary considerably in different parts of the world, and, even in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, non-traditional means may be in place. Natural burials are a process in which the body is returned to the earth to decompose in soil naturally. Although natural burials are prohibited in some localities, they are becoming increasingly popular for environmental and religious reasons, as well as to cut the high cost of traditional burials.
A less commonly used method is alkaline hydrolysis, in which high water temperatures and potassium hydroxide dissolve human remains, after which the bones are crushed into a powder and returned to the family. Mushroom burial is a process in which the body is dressed in a bodysuit with mushroom spores woven into it. As the mushrooms grow, the remains are consumed. This is considered an eco-friendly approach.
Funeral homes are generally operated by a funeral director, who may be known as a mortician or an undertaker. In the US, license requirements are determined at the state level. These professionals are responsible for embalming the body, or cremation, as well as arranging for the funeral ceremony. When clergy is not present, the funeral director may perform these tasks, as well. Often, the funeral director is also the owner of the funeral home, or he may be an employee.
Most funeral homes have one or more viewing rooms, a preparation room for embalming, a chapel, and a casket selection room, as well as a hearse for the transportation of bodies. They may also have a flower car and limousines. Most funeral homes also sell caskets, urns, and other funeral products.
Recommended Resources
Stylized BeRemembered, this is a free online social networking service, where members can record how they want to be remembered by their families, friends, and loved ones, even after they leave this life. Members can record stories of their life, add timelines, and a bucket list. They can add photographs and videos, describe how they would like their funeral ceremonies to be, and even store private messages to be delivered to loved ones after death. Informational articles are included.
https://beremembered.com/
FTC: Shopping for Funeral Services
Provided by the United States Federal Trade Commission, this article (also available in Spanish) discusses the process of shopping for funeral services, including the FTC funeral rule, a funeral costs and pricing checklist, the types of funerals, choosing a funeral provider, buying a cemetery site, planning your own funeral, and a glossary of funeral terms with definitions. Links to other online resources, funeral providers, and where to file a complaint are included.
https://consumer.ftc.gov/shopping-funeral-services
Founded in 1963 and operating in the United States and Canada, the FCA is a non-profit federation of funeral planning societies and memorial societies. The Alliance offers online and print publications on funeral choices in order to increase public awareness of available options, including how to care for their own dead without using a funeral home. The organization also serves as a consumer advocate, gives advice on lobbying for changes, and serves as a source of information.
https://funerals.org/
Founded in 1998, the site is reported to be the largest commercial provider of online memorials in the world, hosting obituaries and memorials for more than 70% of all deaths in the United States, and hosting obituaries for more than three-fourths of the largest newspapers in the US. The site also offers online funeral pricing, local funeral homes, cremation providers, and estate information. Obituaries may be found by name, or browsed by high school, college, city, or newspaper.
https://www.legacy.com/
National Directory of Morticians, The
The Red Book, as it is also known, is a directory of morticians in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, with information continually updated by funeral directors through Red Book Agents. Its Online Funeral Home Directory provides a list of licensed mortuary and funeral home establishments that work with the general public or consumer, although those which specifically work in the funeral B2B market may not be shown. The published book may be ordered.
https://www.redbookfuneraldirectory.com/
National Funeral Directors Association
The NFDA is an association of funeral professionals. Memberships are extended to licensed funeral directors and embalmers, international funeral service professionals, retired funeral directors, current apprentices, and students enrolled in an accredited funeral service program. A membership value meter, a member directory, and recognition programs are featured, along with conferences, educational resources, and career information. Advocacy projects are also reported.
https://nfda.org/
National Home Funeral Alliance
Created in 2010, the non-profit, all-volunteer organization represents members from all fifty US states, five Canadian provinces, and seven countries, including licensed funeral directors, ordained ministers, educators, body workers, social workers, registered nurses, therapists, counselors, directors of non-profits, attorneys, and physicians, and its mission is to educate individuals, families, and communities about caring for the dead. Membership information is provided.
https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/
Founded in 1974, Nomis Publications compiles and publishes trade directories and a monthly newspaper for the deathcare industry. Its Funeral Home & Cemetery Directory was first published as The National Yellow Book of Funeral Directors in 1974, while The Buyer's Guide was introduced as The Catalog of Funeral Home & Cemetery Supplies in 1988, and Funeral Home & Cemetery News was first published as YB News in 1979. The corporation also operates Boardman Printing.
http://nomispublications.com/
Passare is a comprehensive, integrated funeral home software that includes a planning center, electronic signatures, reports, a dashboard for scheduling, accounting and financials, a mobile application, and integrations with several other applications, which are listed here. Its productivity, tracking, and reporting tools are highlighted, and a demo is available on request. Passare also offers ongoing support plans, customized training, tailored launch plans, and data transfers.
https://www.passare.com/
This is a directory of funeral homes and other funeral resources in the United States, sorted by state and city. For each listed funeral home, the address, a map showing its location, and a telephone number are provided. Also included are guides for arranging a funeral for each state, including the average costs of funerals and cremations. Green burials are discussed, with a list of designated green burial sites, as well as funeral shipping, and planning ahead.
https://www.us-funerals.com/
