Josh Slocum, Executive Director of the Funeral Consumers Alliance (FCA), spends his entire day on a soapbox telling people why funeral planning, advance directives and discussing your choices are important. You’d think he of all people would have his affairs in order.
Imagine his surprise in December 2010 when a heart attack struck him at the age of 36. Mortality rudely slapped his face and he was not prepared.
Given his lifestyle, a heart attack was not a complete surprise. Slocum was a heavy smoker and overweight by at least 60 pounds. The fact that he smoked endeared him to Lisa Carlson, the previous FCA executive director who also smoked.
The FCA produces Before I Go, You Should Know. This handy booklet is a planning kit illustrated with drawings by Edward Gorey. It’s a place to record your wishes regarding funeral or memorial services, facts useful for an obituary or death certificate, and the location of vital papers for handling your estate.
In the introduction to Before I Go, You Should Know, it says, “You have a duty to be sure that these things are understood, especially in a world where friends and family live some distance from you. Get it all in order and then be sure to tell others where you put it…. And don’t forget to take it when traveling.”
Slocum shared his story at the recent FCA Biennial meeting in Tucson and gave his okay to tell it here – as long as the humor is included.
He was at home in Vermont when he felt crushing chest pains. Carlson, who Slocum jokingly calls “the Queen o’ Death,” rushed him to the hospital emergency room. As soon as the EKG was read, medical personnel came running. “I knew it was bad when all those doctors came in,” he said.
He was having an acute heart attack, an experience he described as “a living nightmare.” He was promptly taken into the heart cath lab, where the doctors placed a stent that opened the clogged artery.
In recovery after the procedure, while he was swimming in a medication-induced haze, Carlson came in for a bedside visit.
She asked, “Where’s your Before I Go You Should Know kit?” Slocum admitted he didn’t know. “You asshole,” said Carlson.
He also didn’t have advance directives on file. “It took me being smacked in the face with my mortality, even though I do this for a living,” said Slocum.
He has since quit smoking and lost 40 pounds. And he also found his Before I Go, You Should Know kit. Does he carry it with him everywhere he goes? I’ll ask him that question when we both speak on a panel discussion at the Ohio Cemetery Association’s annual meeting in August.
Meanwhile, we can all learn a lesson from Josh Slocum’s experience. Don’t wait until you are smacked upside the head with your own mortality to get your affairs in order.
Wicker basket casket for green burial on display at the FCA Biennial Meeting provided by Final Footprint™ (www.FinalFootprint.com). 1 Comment so far Leave a comment
The photo below is a work of art in iron that no one will ever see. It’s a forged metal cover for an urn that was buried. The urn holds the cremated remains of Joe Whiton, one of the founding members of the Southwest Artists Blacksmith Association and a volunteer fire fighter who donated his body to science.
Joe Whiton retired from a career with the Air Force and became a blacksmith and an independent businessman. He was generous, intelligent, and a problem solver. He created devices, tools and jigs to help blacksmiths more easily make their handmade items. He could whip out puzzles made of nails in seconds flat. He was also a volunteer fire fighter.
His fire fighting training was lifesaving when fire broke out at his son Ken’s home in 2005. An electric short in the gas-fired hot tub caused a huge blaze in the middle of the night. Ken came to get Joe in his bedroom. Joe dropped to the floor and started crawling, staying as low as possible.
Ken had panicked. He was standing up, trying to pull his dad out of bed. The hair on Ken’s head was singed by the fire, but everyone got out of the burning house okay.
Joe Whiton died on December 9, 2009, just 11 days before his 88th birthday. His body was donated to IIAM, the International Institute for the Advancement of Medicine. As soon as the death was pronounced, Joe’s body was flown to Phoenix for tissue harvesting. What remained of his body was cremated and sent back to the family. This was all done at no cost to the family.
Shortly after Joe died, Ken and his wife Betty had a celebration of life reception at their house. After his cremated remains were returned, they had a graveside service where attendees shared memories and stories.
It was at this graveside service that the pictured handmade metal cover was last seen. The cover features Joe Whiton’s smith symbol and the stamped symbols of all the blacksmith artists who knew and admired Joe Whiton.
Here are the names of each artist, counter-clockwise from the lower left corner, with the lines leading to each of their smith symbols: Chad Gunter, Brad Gunter, Frank Turley, Leaf Gonnsen, Bob Curtis, Alex Ivey, Christopher Thompson, Kevin Dunlap, Bob Keers, Richard Rumpf, (top center) Joe Whiton’s symbol, Gary Bryant, Jack Beadersted, Gary Williams, Helmut Hillenkamp, Bruce Hansche, Mike Rufe, Robert Ulibarri, Ward Brinegar, Larry Kern, and Robb Gunter.
Even when a work of art is unseen, its quality shines through. And aren’t we as individuals a bit like that as well?
When we become unseen, our qualities still shine through via the impact we make on others. What kind of stamp are you putting on the people you know and love?
NPR Dead Stop: Animal Trainer Frank Inn Hollywood animal trainer Frank Inn and Higgins, who played Benji.
NPR’s Dead Stop cemetery story series today focuses on Hollywood animal trainer Frank Inn. He’s buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills.
Inn made stars out of dogs, pigs, camels, chimpanzees, snakes and other animals. He worked in both TV and film, making a star out of a pig called Arnold Ziffel on the 1960s hit series Green Acres and a shelter dog named Higgins, better known as Benji.
His love of animals was so strong, he wanted to be buried with the cremated remains of his most beloved creatures. Inn suffered from diabetes and obesity late in life, at one point weighing more than 400 pounds. So he and his daughter planned for an over-sized casket and burial plot.
At the time they made arrangements, they were assured the animal remains could be buried with him. But despite his wishes, that didn’t happen. Apparently, between the time they made arrangements and his death in 2002, the laws had changed.
Listen or read the full NPR story.
By the way, there is a cemetery here in Albuquerque called Best Friends Forever where the cremated remains of humans and their pets can be buried or placed in a niche together. It’s one of the few cemeteries in the country to allow side-by-side interment of pet and human ashes.
Today’s Dilbert cartoon has Dilbert saying, “When I die, I want my ashes scattered in outer space.” Dogbert replies, “Cool! I’ll bribe an Elbonian general to strap you to an intercontinental missile when they test it next week.” Dilbert says, “It’s better if the dying and the ash scattering are two separate events.” “Don’t be a burden on the living,” says Dogbert.
Over in the Lio cartoon, he’s fishing with the Grim Reaper. Catch of the day, anyone?
Meanwhile, an earlier Pearls Before Swine has the Grim Reaper getting into a T-shirt that has an awkward message:
The more things change, the more they remain the same. However, for the American funeral these are changing times.
One of the biggest changes is the preference of cremation over burial. Cost is the main factor. All crematories in Massachusetts are located on cemetery grounds.
The average charge for the crematory is about $450. The cost for an average private cemetery, a grave opening and grave box could cost on average $5,000.
Neither the crematory nor the cemetery pay commission to the funeral home.
The tradition of the funeral home coordinating all of the cemetery arrangements, then adding it to the bill — with no profit to them — is a mystery.
Recently, a woman purchased two graves in a very prestigious cemetery.
With the grave opening and vault the cost came to more than $16,000. The cemetery salesperson said, “Make sure you bring us a check the morning of the funeral.”
The person who purchased the graves believed the funeral home received 20 percent. This is untrue, the funeral home receives nothing from the cemetery.
When a family chooses cremation over a burial, there is no reason for the funeral director to push burial over cremation. The funeral home gets nothing either way.
More people are having a traditional service with a wake followed by a cremation. They have visiting hours and a priest or a minister presides over the wake service.
Another choice is direct cremation. After the person is removed from the place where they died, all the paperwork is completed and 48 hours later they are taken to the crematory. A memorial service follows at a church or some other location. The family makes its own plans and arrangements.
Should the family choose to put a death notice in the newspaper, they are responsible for writing it. The newspaper will call the funeral home to confirm that the person is deceased.
If people wish to scatter the cremated remains they do so at a location of their choice. Some people choose to have the cremated remains buried in a cemetery grave. The cemetery will charge an interment fee, which can range from $600 to around $1,200.
With fewer traditional burials, the cemetery has increased the cost for interring cremated remains to offset the loss of regular interment fees. In greater Boston, interment fees for private cemeteries begin at $1,600.
Each cemetery has its own price list of services and sets its own policy regarding what consumers are allowed to do. Prices and options vary.
Posted on 31 January 2012. Tags: Casper, cremation, funeral, international
By Joe Casper
More and more people have the desire to return to their homeland in the event of their death.
The old adage applies, “Home is where the heart is.”
With America’s ever expanding ethnic diversity, there are increasing numbers of people who want to repatriate to their homeland.
For many, funeral-shipping expenses can be restrictive and prohibitive. Too often, families are quoted international shipping costs that are way beyond their means; make sure to get a second quote. The difference in shipping quotes can run in the thousands.
Since consulate approval is mandatory, the first question a family must ask a funeral service provider is, “Are you a known shipper?” If their answer is “no” then move on, because that funeral home won’t be allowed to place the deceased on an international flight.
The receiving country must approve all international funeral shipping and regulations; requirements must be specific and clearly defined.
It is also essential that the quote obtained for international funeral shipping services is for a complete ship out. Make certain the quote obtained is complete and without additional charges. Trust, confidence and experience are so important in selecting an international funeral service provider.
Recently I went into an Asian restaurant and asked the young waiter, “My father loved chicken chow-mein. How is it here?” To which the waiter replied, “Old school.”
So what is new school?
Based on the waiter’s response, it was clear that this remains a choice, but more people are ordering new school.
There is a new school message that lots of people are using when faced with a funeral emergency and they have limited funds.
Old school is where a family chooses a funeral home, calls them, is given the cost and then pays for the services selected.
The new school way people deal with a funeral emergency is to get more choices and make cost comparisons.
They get second opinions because they want to be certain that they are making an informed decision.
Making any type of funeral arrangement, especially simple cremations, comes down to feeling comfortable with the person you are talking with is credible and giving you direct answers. You are, after all, making arrangements for someone you care about and is very important to you.
If the response to your questions is “maybe” then it should be a “no.”
People should choose wisely. Get a list of all of the costs and services which you are considering.
If you are comfortable, then proceed. If not, then start checking additional facilities to get second and third opinions.
You won’t know unless you double check. Do your homework.
6/20/2012—Montana's funeral industry just keeps on giving. Back in 2007 we wrote about the state trade association trying to strip families of their rights to perform their own funerals and attempting to legislate low-cost cremation businesses out of existence. Thankfully the state legislature caught on to the undertakers' racket and refused to play along. That hasn't stopped them, according to Bill Spoja, a retired lawyer and owner of Central Montana Crematorium, Inc. Spoja is the crematory operator targeted by the 2007 legislation, and his recent letter to Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer details what looks like another case of legal harrassment by his competitors (who, lucky them, sit on the state board regulating the funeral trade).
The board suspended Spoja's operating license after he testified before the legislature in late 2011. Spoja's crime? Removing pacemakers from bodies before they go into the crematory, a universal safety precaution in the cremation business and a legal requirement in the state of Montana. Pacemakers can explode under the intense heat, injuring staff and damaging equipment. The board claims—wait for it—that since state law doesn't specifically say crematory operators can remove pacemakers, that means they can't. Even though the very same state board that suspended Spoja's license wrote this rule:
"The crematory operator is responsible for the maintenance and safe operation of equipment used in cremations."
It's another case of Circling the Hearses. Whet your appetite for absurdity; Spoja's full letter is below.
May 24, 2012
Governor Brian D. Schweitzer Montana State Capitol Bldg. P.O. Box 200801 Helena MT 59620-0801
Dear Governor Schweitzer:
In a letter (attached) dated April 24, 2012, written to Roberta Borland, the following statement was made by Colleen White (Department of Labor counsel):
The source of the complaint against CMC was Mr. William Spoja testifying at the Economic Affairs Interim Legislative Committee on October 6, 2011 that at his crematory, CMC, ‘we remove a pacemaker or other such implant from a body before placing it in a crematory retort . . .’ It was on this basis that a summary suspension of CMC’s license was imposed by the Board because that particular task is not defined by the legislature to be within the scope of practice of a crematory operator.
From reading this explanation, one would never know that the following facts surround this issue.
Richard Brown, Chairman of the Funeral Board, filed several complaints against Central Montana Crematorium (CMC) and its operators in March of 2004, objecting to CMC removing pacemakers, among other things. CMC was forced to defend against these complaints. Ultimately, Mr. Brown’s complaints were dismissed and CMC continued removing implants for the next eight years, never once denying and often openly stating it was doing so.
What laws controlled this matter in 2004? The very same laws which govern this issue today. They are:
Section 37-19-705 (3), MCA, provides: “A body may not be cremated with a pacemaker or other potentially hazardous implant, as defined by the board, including any toxic or explosive-type sealed implants, in place. The authorizing agent is responsible for disclosing the existence of any pacemakers or other hazardous implants.”
Section 24.147.1101 (5), ARM, as adopted by the Board of Funeral Service, provides: “The crematory operator is responsible for the maintenance and safe operation of equipment used in cremations.”
Thus, unless one insists on only protecting the business interests of the morticians of Montana, the following conclusions are inescapable:
(1) No one may cremate a human body with a pacemaker or other implant in place in said body; and
(2) The crematory operator is responsible for the safe operation of the cremation equipment. The operator is therefore responsible for the state of the bodies to be cremated, and for obvious safety reasons, this necessarily includes the legal duty to remove hazardous implants. This language is from the administrative rules which govern crematories; it has nothing to do with morticians because morticians are not required to remove implants such as pacemakers when preparing bodies for burial.
In 2007, a Screening Panel of the Board (which included Mr. Brown) voted unanimously to abandon additional complaints lodged in 2005 against CMC and its operators for removal of pacemakers, among other complaints. However, despite this history, the Funeral Board decided again (in 2012) to file repeated complaints against CMC and me. This is doubly ironic when one considers the fact that the Board prosecuted the 2005 complaints as far as it wanted to and then ultimately realized – two years later – that the complaints did not state a viable claim – so the Board dismissed the complaints with prejudice.
The current complaints were initially filed in 2004 by the Chairman of the Board, Mr. Brown. The present complaints complain of the same matters, but were filed pursuant to a new “Board rule” which allows the Board, with Mr. Brown continuing to act as chair, to initiate complaints. Notably, Section 37-1-131, MCA, was amended last session to put an end to the precise facts present here – where a board member acts to restrain trade or competition. See 37-1-131(1)(a)(ii). CMC, however, has never had a single complaint filed against it by any patron – only by competing Board members, the local morticians and their accomplices. It is also ironic that my public service, in testifying before a legislative committee, has caused this most recent round of complaints.
The actions of the Funeral Board have made it impossible for us to do our business in a quiet and decent political environment. We fully expect to and intend to follow the law religiously; we do not believe, however, that we should be bedeviled at every turn by Board members who are competitors and whose only real interests are the business interests of the morticians.
Both Mary Helen and I are in our eighties. We have been fortunate to live good and full lives. However, the continued harassment by the Funeral Board has caused us serious health concerns and severe emotional distress – all at great expense to us incurred in defending against the same baseless claims.
I request that the present complaints be dismissed, like the previous complaints. The State’s continued prosecution of the complaints is highly offensive to not only me and my family and employees but also other law-abiding citizens who have gone out of their way to express their anger and frustration at this ongoing miscarriage of justice. To prove this point, I have attached several unsolicited letters to the editor of the Lewistown News-Argus.
Obvious reasons dictate that the State needs to put an immediate end to this highly egregious and oppressive conduct, which is at once malicious, discriminatory and anti-competitive. Although I am loathe to request that you take personal cognizance of this issue, after over eight years of abuse by the Funeral Board, I do not know what else to do.
Please help us.
Sincerely,
William A. Spoja, Jr. President, Central Montana Crematorium, Inc.
60 Minutes Features FCA #ja-header,#ja-mainnav,#ja-container,#ja-botsl,#ja-footer {width: 90%;margin: 0 auto;}#ja-wrapper {min-width: 100%;} Skip to contentSkip to main navigationSkip to 1st columnSkip to 2nd columnFuneral Consumers Alliance Home Membership/Donate BLOG- The Daily Dirge Find a Local FCA Bookstore Forum Conference About Contact Us 60 Minutes Features FCAThursday, 17 May 2012 23:25
60 Minutes viewers!—If you caught the recent story on consumer abuses at cemeteries you'll want to learn how to protect yourself:
—FCA's free Consumer's Guide to Cemetery Purchases
Everything you need to know about funeral and burial purchases is in the book the burialbusiness doesn't want you to read: Final Rights: Reclaiming the American Way of Death. Bonus—you can download the chapter that covers your state laws and consumer protections for just $5!
—Your local Funeral Consumers Alliance chapter is your best advocate for finding meaningful, dignified, and affordable end-of-life arrangements.
Set your Tivos! 60 Minutes will air a segment on rampant consumer abuses in the cemetery industry this Sunday, May 20, 2012, at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. The investigation will feature an interview with FCA executive director Josh Slocum talking to Anderson Cooper. FCA has worked with the 60 Minutes team for more than a year to represent the consumer's side of this grim story.
From cbs.com:
(CBS News) Problems at America's cemeteries, including exhuming bodies so plots can be resold, are raising questions about whether this part of the multibillion dollar "death-care" business needs more monitoring. 60 Minutes examines this largely unexamined industry, which in many cases is controlled by large corporations, and which consumer advocates believe may be taking advantage of people at a particularly vulnerable time in their lives. Anderson Cooper reports this story for a special edition of 60 Minutes Sunday, May 20 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.In one of the most egregious cases, workers at Burr Oak Cemetery near Chicago had been removing headstones and coffins and dumping bodies in mass graves so plots could be resold. Says Sheriff Tom Dart, "This was all about greed and overarching that is the fact that these areas are so horribly unregulated, it allows for that to happen," he says. "There was no record of anything...how many people are supposed to be buried here...and truly, in any cemetery do you know...who is under there?" asks Dart."It's sort of the Wild West," says Josh Slocum, executive director of Funeral Consumers Alliance, a non-profit watchdog group. Slocum believes more monitoring of cemeteries is necessary. He says that since 1984 the Federal Trade commission has required funeral homes to provide bereaved consumers with clear price lists and other disclosures. "You can think of that as a consumer bill of rights at the funeral home," Slocum says. "But those rights stop at the cemeteries."A number of the cemeteries featured in Cooper's report belong to Service Corporation International, or SCI, the largest provider of funeral and cemetery services in North America.At SCI's Eden Memorial Park Cemetery near Los Angeles, where plots average $8,000, groundskeepers have said they were ordered to cram new graves so close to old ones that existing burial containers were broken and bones were thrown out in the cemetery dump.60 Minutes also obtained recent video of engraved stones lying submerged in a pond at the edge of SCI's Star of David Memorial Park in North Lauderdale, Florida. The underwater video also reveals what appear to be parts of concrete burial containers that are used to line graves.SCI declined to give 60 Minutes an interview. Off-camera, company executives said the company acquired Star of David cemetery in 2006 and does not believe any human remains were dumped in the pond. At Eden Memorial, the company says it was only able to identify a handful of potential problems mentioned by its groundskeepers. It says extensive claims of wrongdoing are not justified.Cooper also speaks to a woman who says she had to pay twice as much as the cemetery salesman led her to believe she would have to pay for a plot at Mt. Olive cemetery in Chicago. To use the plot six years after she prepaid $2,500 for it, she says she was told she would have to pay another $2,550 to actually dig the grave and then bury the deceased.Paul Elvig, a former cemetery operator, regulator, and leading spokesman for the industry, tells Anderson Cooper, "I think any scenario you want to say probably has happened. I don't think it happens on broad scale, I really don't." Elvig doesn't agree with Slocum that there is lack of oversight in the cemetery industry; he says the problems and occasional scandals that arise need to be put in perspective to volume of burials being performed every day. "When you talk about 6,500 burials and cremations a day in over 45,000 possibly active cemeteries...it is very uncommon."But consumer advocate Josh Slocum tells Cooper. "I have no problem conceding that most cemeteries aren't digging up bodies, but...there are everyday, ongoing abuses that happen to funeral and cemetery consumers that are not headline-grabbing, and that desperately need attention."Last Updated ( Wednesday, 20 June 2012 16:28 ) Comments (17) 1 Sunday, 20 May 2012 21:38 Erica You could have reminded Cooper that there are other corporations that run cemetery's and funeral homes. 2 Sunday, 20 May 2012 22:04 Josh Slocum, FCA Exec. Director I'm sure you know, Erica, that lots of material from interviews stays on the cutting room floor and that the subject has no control over the final piece and what stays in. 3 Monday, 21 May 2012 11:33 Jennifer Kaplan, S.C.I. Employee As an employee of S.C.I./Dignity, I am compelled to say that the unfortunate few events that were featured in this segment, really have more to do with Individuals/management of those locations,NOT S.C.I.! The Funeral homes and Cemeteries I personally represent, I am PROUD to be a part of! S.C.I. The funeral homes and Cemeteries featured were once privately owned, and sold to S.C.I. And sometimes, unfortunately with past problems that came along with it! S.C.I., in no way, shape or form condones any of the precedures that were spoken of! The woman that claimed she purchased plots, and was then "tricked" into paying double by paying for Opening and Closingof the grave, unfortunately did not do her homework! Any cemetery, prmiv 4 Monday, 21 May 2012 11:35 Jennifer Kaplan Any cemetery private, or corporately owned charged for the property(plot) and also an opening and closing. That is common practice. Please, I encourage all to shop around, and I guarantee you will see the difference in the care I stand behind, you will receive with a Dignity provider! 5 Monday, 21 May 2012 11:43 Josh Slocum, FCA Exec. Director Your company uses unethical and predatory sales practices on grieving consumers around the country. The problem is very much with SCI as a company. Hopefully you'll one day find a position with an upstanding firm so you won't feel required to cheerlead for such a shady operation. 6 Monday, 21 May 2012 14:25 N/A Josh-You speak of high pressure sales tactics...however I see that you sell items on your website, meant to protect consumers. Now would it not make sense that you are willing to blast one company for the sensational story and to direct traffic to your website? When any story like this is told, it is best to look at both sides of the story. I have no interest in either side, except that the main problem in our country seems to be money. You stand to gain from what you are doing. More investigation would be nice. I am always hesitant to heed advice when it seems someone is blasting one person or one company in particular. It seems moreso there is a personal vendetta rather than public good in mind. 7 Monday, 21 May 2012 14:33 Josh Slocum, FCA Exec. Director 1. I fail to see how selling a few books on our site could be compared to high-pressure sales tactics at a cemetery. That's really odd. Do you think there's something immoral or illegal about a nonprofit selling modestly priced books to fund its budget? Given that the funeral industry amounts to about $15 billion a year in revenue it seems strange you're alarmed at a shoestring nonprofit with a budget of less than 200K a year.
2. I did not write, direct, or produce the story. 60 Minutes did. I was interviewed. If you dislike their focus your complaint is with them, not me.
3. You can plainly see for yourself on this site the voluminous material we've collected over the years (that's "investigation") on the industry. That we make freely available to consumers, just like you.
4. It's hard to believe that someone with no interest in this issue would come to the conclusion that Funeral Consumers Alliance has a personal vendetta against SCI. I suppose Consumer Reports has a personal vendetta against Ford when they rate one of their cars low? What a very strange conclusion to come to. 8 Monday, 21 May 2012 14:47 N/A Josh-First, thank you for taking the time to respond, as I am sure you are busy with this story, a topic that is very "touchy". Secondly, my concern is simply with anyone (news corporation, nonprofit organization, individual, service corporation, etc.) who, in my humble consumer opinion, seems to make it a point to denounce someone specifically. Again, as a consumer, I found the story very one sided. I have let CBS know my concerns as well as ALL involved. Again, this is coming from a consumer, the very person you are hoping and trying to educate and protect. I find that work very worthwhile and you should be commended. However, putting yourself out there in any way, shape or form, does open you up for criticism, whether negative or positive. Again, I am a consumer: the person you are trying to protect. I apologize if you take offense to anything I say; my comments are simply aimed at and end that I hope encourages people such as yourself to strive for accurate reporting. I just had alarms go off in my head when it seemed the story took aim at one person. Consumer Reports does car reviews on a regular basis, just as I am sure you do. I just found this story...lacking...I suppose.
Again, thank you for your time, as I know you are busy. 9 Monday, 21 May 2012 14:55 Josh Slocum, FCA Exec. Director Well, thank you for taking the time to comment. We've got an open door.
I'm not sure what bothers you so much about naming names. You may be personally averse to conflict but I'm afraid when companies and businesses break the law and abuse consumers they need to be named and shamed. I'm honestly having a heck of a time trying to understand your objection to that.
Are you watching a different story? Who is this "person" you think the story is aimed at? SCI is a Wall Street company. What am I missing here? And if it were a person, why would you be more upset at a ne'er do well being named for his misdeeds than you are at the *actual misdeeds by the ne'er do well?* Do you see why that set of priorities is. . puzzling? 10 Monday, 21 May 2012 14:57 Josh Slocum, FCA Exec. Director Also, why was the story one-sided? Did you not see the industry spokesman, Paul Elvig, who was given a chance to defend his business?
Did you not see that SCI refused to talk to 60 Minutes? What, pray tell, would you have them do?
Sometimes one side is wrong. Period. If you're used to mainstream journalism and its false "balance", whereby everyone's words are deemed to be equally truthful, then I suppose you might be shocked when a news program actually points out that one party is behaving very badly indeed. 11 Monday, 21 May 2012 15:07 N/A Josh-Again, thanks for responding. You are right that I am averse to conflict. I don't like it, as I don't believe anyone does. I am not trying to be rude at all, yet feel as though I am somehow being "bashed" for stating my opinion. After this statement, I have nothing more to contribute to this conversation. I know that SCI is a corporation, not a person, so I apologize for stating "person" towards the end of my comment. I think you knew what I meant, yet are somehow playing a semantics game at this point. I have my thoughts on this topic, and I can see now, that I am unwelcome here, regardless of your open door policy. I apologize for wasting your time. Thank you again for your time and the work that you do to protect consumers. 12 Monday, 21 May 2012 15:10 Josh Slocum, FCA Exec. Director I'm sorry you're upset, but you have a very thin skin indeed. Conflict is a part of life, and it can be constructive. Be thankful there are people out there willing to do the confrontational things you're not comfortable with. You enjoy consumer protection laws because of those people who do the work you want to believe doesn't help.
No one is bashing you, and no one is playing semantic games. 13 Tuesday, 22 May 2012 00:18 Jaime King The Media has a SERIOUS leftwing bias. The producers at 60 minutes and some of the reporters have all had trouble with accurately telling the truth. Lying, fibbing, twisting, shining light on a small speck, presenting things in a totally slanted manner is how they get paid for ratings. The story is based on incidents that are isolated, sensational, and in states where there is very little oversight, and during times of private ownership. Every GOOD industry has it's bad dark side. I wish there was more objective reporting, which states have proper oversight, statitics of the frequency on the incidents being reported against the total volume of transactions. Also, a producer will pick up interviewees that will support their BIASED angle. You Josh are that person. It's good work you are doing, there are a-moral people in the funeral business, but they are NOT the majority. Why weren't the families who seriously benefited from the cost savings and who avoided grief decision making (by doing Pre-NEED), instead of getting hammered during a time of need...why weren't they interviewed, to balance out the BIASED strong angle. I wish FOXNEWS would get ahold of this, and show the BALANCED version of this report and how off kilter alot of Anderson Cooper's reporting really is, I mean this guy comes from CNN and they are known to fabricate for ratings and not come full circle when they have made mistakes reporting falsehoods. 14 Tuesday, 22 May 2012 00:24 Josh Slocum, FCA Exec. Director Your concern is noted, Jaime. 15 Thursday, 31 May 2012 12:48 Victim I don't know about the one sideness of this issue, but know that it goes on everyday even to the point of me having to deal with it today. I have proof and am seeking counsel. 16 Friday, 15 June 2012 14:41 Family Sold Funeral Home to SCI- BAD MOVE WISHED WE NEVER DID As a family member that sold its funeral homes in the east to SCI I can honestly say it was the biggest mistake that our family ever did. I wish we did not seel our name because it is completly trashed with what this company has done to our business.
I get call all the time from friends. CI demands funds up front, Familys wait hours for their loved ones to be picked up when they pass. The funeral homes we trated like a church are now run down, dirty and just disgusting. I cring when I walk into my familys old funeral homes.
The people working there are all "company men/woman" until they are of no more use and thrown to the side. Some are arrogant and just plain lousy people to deal with.
I cant express my disgust more. STAY away folks there are so many mom and pop shops that will actually treat you as you should through a bad time this company WILL NOT and they will charge you through the NOSE. 17 Thursday, 21 June 2012 12:58 abel hurtado, mexic city I'm the embalsamador mas grande del mundo the best! yea ! my mail: hurtado.abel@hotmail.com
yes, the best of the word! Add your comment Your name: Comment: yvComment v.1.19.3 Main MenuFuneral FAQsMembership/DonateNews and BlogsBLOG- The Daily DirgeLegislative WatchNational IssuesYour Legal RightsBookstoreFree FCA PublicationsAffiliate ResourcesForumWeb LinksFCA Affiliate blogInformacion en EspañolLatest NewsVarious people in every country get the Drilling for Gas Under Cemeteries Raises ConcernsCemeteries: the insurance voidI would like to second the above questio$500 a minuteLogin FormUsername Password Remember MeForgot your password?Forgot your username?Create an account Connect!
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Get out a Phillips head screwdriver. Now unscrew a couple of hooks holding up pictures in your living. Now put them back. That probably took you less than two minutes. How much would you pay someone to do it for you? Sacrament Memorial Lawn (say it with me: "Which lawn are your parents buried in?") thinks it deserves $500 a minute to do the same job. It's extra-sensitive work, see, because they're taking the faceplate off a columbarium niche to retrieve your (cue organ music in a grim minor key) loved one's remains. Watch this report from the local CBS affiliate. . .some guy on the cemetery staff actually shows it takes less than two minutes by demonstrating it! The woman featured in the story wanted to take her father's ashes back to a family burial spot on her own property and couldn't believe it when the cemetery lawn wanted $1,026.
Bonus!---Now you never have to ask a Memorial Lawn to help again, because you're a DIY Memorialitarian!
"VERDICT---This book is a boon for those looking to simplify and personalize caring for the dead. The inclusion of a compilation of each state’s funeral laws, including statutory citations and guidance for those investigating home funerals and burials and body donation, make this an essential purchase for consumer-protection collections."— Library Journal Final Rights is the definitive book on the modern funeral industry. Written by FCA executive director Josh Slocum and Funeral Ethics Organization leader Lisa Carlson, Final Rights combines journalistic investigation with practical consumer advice. The only book of its kind, Final Rights unveils the tricks of the funeral trade (and how to avoid them) while calling out government regulators who dance to the $15-billion death industry's tune when they're supposed to be protecting you, the funeral consumer.
In eight states the law says you have to hire a funeral home, even if you want to care for a deceased relative privately. Almost $1 billion has been stolen from trust funds and insurance policies families paid for to ensure their last wishes were carried out. Where were the regulators?Interested in a formaldehyde-free funeral? Better be careful, as the conventional burial industry is finding creative ways to make your "green" send-off as pricey as possible.The Federal Trade Commission gives you specific protections when you buy from a funeral home, but they disappear when you get to the graveyard. Find out why, and how to watch your wallet at the graveside.Final Rights has a chapter on the laws in each state, written in plain English. Find out how well (or how badly) you're protected from funeral fraud, and learn where your state needs to reform!
Every American who plans to die (that's you) needs to read this book. Final Rights belongs on the bookshelf of every hospice worker, nurse, social worker, and elder-law attorney. Curious? Read the first chapter, Circling the Hearses, free.
Visit our bookstore to order Final Rights. Every copy you buy directly from FCA will put dollars behind our mission to protect the public from exploitation and funeral fraud.
Wicker basket casket for green burial on display at the FCA Biennial Meeting provided by Final Footprint™ (www.FinalFootprint.com).
Hollywood animal trainer Frank Inn and Higgins, who played Benji.
Home Membership/Donate BLOG- The Daily Dirge Find a Local FCA Bookstore Forum Conference About Contact Us 60 Minutes Features FCAThursday, 17 May 2012 23:25
Everything you need to know about funeral and burial purchases is in the book the burialbusiness doesn't want you to read: Final Rights: Reclaiming the American Way of Death. Bonus—you can download the chapter that covers your state laws and consumer protections for just $5! 
$12.00
