The family-owned funeral home is a dying industry

[samhexum]

She paid $15,000 for mom’s final arrangements — and now worries Brooklyn funeral home stored remains on unrefrigerated U-Haul truck

 

 

A Brooklyn woman says that weeks ago she paid a funeral home $15,000 to handle her mother’s final arrangements — and now wonders if she was one of the rotting corpses police found in unrefrigerated U-Haul trucks.

 

Tamisha Covington had questions Thursday for the Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home in Flatlands.

 

“What’ve you all been doing to our mom? The whole time, she’s just been sitting in a truck?” Covington said she’d like to ask. “How do we know? We don’t know,” Covington said.

 

State health department officials have opened a probe into the “unacceptable conditions” at the funeral home, located on Utica Ave. and Ave. M.

 

Cops on Wednesday found dozens of coprses stacked in two U-Haul trucks and a U-Haul van, along with several more bodies in two refrigerated trucks.

 

Mayor de Blasio on Thursday blasted the funeral parlor’s treatment of bodies amid a wave of deaths in New York City during the coronavirus pandemic.

 

“This horrible situation that occurred with the funeral home in Brooklyn — absolutely unacceptable,” de Blasio said during a briefing Thursday. The home “shouldn’t have let it happen.”

 

Covington, who showed up at the funeral home Thursday demanding answers, the situation wasn’t just unacceptable — it was heartbreaking.

 

Her mother, Deborah Harris, 60, died of a heart attack, possibly from coronavirus complications, in her Brooklyn home April 7. The funeral home took her body on April 9.

 

After two weeks of ducking her calls, she said, someone from the funeral home called her sister earlier in the week and gave her a funeral date, May 12.

 

Covington said she would have understood if the funeral home staff had told her they couldn’t handle the overflow and that a viewing wouldn’t be possible.

 

Instead, she said, the funeral home stayed mum.

 

“Be a little respectful for us. We’re mourning. We’re grieving," Covington said.

 

"Have a little courtesy for the dead,” she added. “And don’t be robbing us, cause we’re getting robbed.

 

"Why are we paying $15,000? Nobody can explain that. Can somebody tell us why they’re ripping us off instead of helping us, and now they got our loved ones in U-Hauls?”

 

The city said last week that bodies of some coronavirus victims will be temporarily frozen to reduce strain on hospitals and funeral homes with limited space to preserve the dead.

 

Somehow the effort didn’t cover the Andrew T. Cleckley home.

 

On Wednesday, people walking by the trucks saw leakage and smelled the odor of death from one of them, said law enforcement sources. “I saw 15 bodies in the U-Haul box truck stacked up on one another, and more in the other,” one officer at the scene told The News.

 

Other witnesses said they’d been watching corpses loaded onto the trucks for days.

 

De Blasio said Thursday what happened was “unconscionable” and that he was “very disappointed” the funeral home didn’t contact the city or state or reach out to the NYPD for help.

 

“I’m sorry, it’s not hard to figure out. If nothing else is working, call the NYPD,” the mayor said. “It was an emergency situation.”

 

The state Health Department, which regulates funeral homes, hasn’t determined what penalty the funeral home owner may face. The home’s operator, Andrew Cleckley, could be fined, be temporarily suspended from the business, or have his license revoked, , state officials said.

 

The bodies found in the trucks are being brought to a morgue in Brooklyn, officials said.

 

Cleckley, who refers to himself as “The Undertaker" on his Facebook page, did not return messages seeking comment Thursday. A woman answering the door at a relative’s Queens home yelled, "He’s not here, do not come here, he’s not here!”

 

Families and funeral homes who can’t immediately collect and handle bodies can ask the city medical examiner’s office to temporarily store the dead until arrangements are made.

 

Coronavirus victims will only be buried at the city’s potter’s field on Hart Island if they cannot be identified or next of kin hasn’t been reached about 15 days after death.

 

During the pandemic, the city is transferring some victims’ bodies from morgues and refrigerated trailers to freezer trucks to ensure they don’t decompose.

 

But once a funeral home collects remains, they can’t be returned to the medical examiner’s office.

 

Asked if funeral homes should be able to send bodies back to the medical examiner if they run out of space and take on too many remains, de Blasio said he didn’t know the details about the city’s handling of the situation.

But the mayor said funeral homes have an “obligation to the people they serve to treat them with dignity.”

 

De Blasio said the city should organize a bereavement committee as proposed by Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

 

The committee would include representatives of the medical examiner’s office and the city’s funeral homes. Adams said the idea is to help funeral home directors overwhelmed in the pandemic.

[Kippy]

Dozens of bodies found in U-Haul trucks outside NYC funeral home

 

Police found dozens of bodies being stored in unrefrigerated trucks outside a Brooklyn funeral home and lying on the facility’s floor Wednesday, law enforcement sources told The Post.

 

Between 40 to 60 bodies were discovered either stacked up in U-Haul box trucks outside Andrew Cleckley Funeral Services in Flatlands or on the building’s floor, after neighbors reported a foul odor around the property, sources said.

 

The corpses were stacked on top of each other in the trucks. Fluid leaking from inside created a terrible smell and caused neighboring store owners to call the police, according to sources.

 

NYPD detectives were joined by several other city agencies investigating the trucks at the Utica Avenue facility Wednesday evening, with the section of the street closed off to the public.

 

John DiPietro, who owns a neighboring property, said he had observed cadavers being stored in the trucks for at least several weeks during the coronavirus pandemic.

 

“You don’t respect the dead that way. That could have been my father, my brother,” he said. “You don’t do that to the dead.”

 

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams was on the scene, but could not confirm any details of the storage. Adams said the city needed to ramp up staff for a “bereavement committee” to deal with the surging deaths due to the coronavirus.

 

“We need to bring in funeral directors, morgues, [medical examiners], clergies … when you find bodies in trucks like this throughout our city, treating them in an undignified manner, that’s unacceptable.”

 

Police called in the state Department of Health. A spokesman at the agency said the department is actively looking into the matter, but couldn’t comment further.

 

In addition to the two U-Hauls holding corpses, the facility had two more refrigerated trucks also storing bodies and a third box truck of empty caskets, police sources said.

 

The funeral home told officers that the bodies were supposed to be going to a crematorium but they didn’t come and pick them up, sources told the Post.

 

Corpses began being stored in the trucks after the company’s freezer stopped working correctly, an anonymous official told the New York Times.

 

The owner of Pemco supplies, a kitchen appliance parts supplier nearby the funeral home, called the situation a “disaster.”

 

“They were storing them in U-Haul trucks; we knew what was going on but not the extent,” the owner said.

 

“One thing to be [killed] by the coronavirus, another to be treated inhumanly.”

 

Calls to the funeral company, went unanswered Wednesday afternoon.

 

Workers, some not wearing protective equipment, could be seen taking bodies from the facility into the night.

 

A tarp was extended from the building to shield the process as Dodge Caravan minivans backed up onto the sidewalk to receive the corpses. A gentle wind occasionally blew the tarp back to reveal the body bags as they were wheeled into the minivans on gurneys.

 

“You don’t see this all over the city — especially in a residential neighborhood,” one shocked cop told The Post. “Never seen anything like this.”

 

 

Sweet Jesus, this cop is cute!

 

Kipp

[samhexum]

John Golden, owner and operator of Martin A. Gleason Funeral Homes, says that the changing industry is not beneficial to the communities they serve. Golden has worked at Gleason since 1981 and bought the business from original owners John and Marty Gleason in 2000.

 

“The phrase ‘family-owned and -operated’ evokes a warmth,” Golden said. “Typically, family-owned and -operated businesses had proprietors and employees who lived in the communities they served. They were accountable to the community and were integral to the fabric of what made a community function as such.”

 

John Golden, owner and operator of Martin A. Gleason Funeral Homes, said their funeral homes in northeast Queens never had to turn families away — then came COVID-19.

 

“We don’t have the capacity to handle all the families that are calling us,” Golden told QNS. “We’ve served double the normal amount of families we serve in a month. At one point, we had to turn 100 families away.”

 

But the Gleason Funeral Homes — with locations in Flushing, Bayside and Whitestone — are far from the only funeral homes in New York City dealing with an influx of families and their deceased loved ones due to the novel coronavirus.

 

Although COVID-19 is believed to have reached its peak, funeral homes, crematoriums and cemeteries are still dealing with great volumes of families needing funeral arrangements as New York City’s death toll reaches almost 13,724 confirmed deaths to the coronavirus and 5,383 probable deaths, as of Tuesday, May 5, according to the Department of Health.

 

The city and state implemented some ways to help the mortuary system — such as setting up mobile morgues and allowing crematoriums to work around the clock — but the industry is still adjusting to the devastating losses.

 

The Gleason Funeral Homes funeral directors go where the deceased are, which can be in refrigerated trailers outside of hospitals, hospital morgues, houses and nursing homes.

 

Golden said the medical examiner has a new system that lets them know where the deceased are, but, he added, “Everything has slowed up and become more difficult.”

 

He said that their funeral homes offer embalming, which allows them to safely hold deceased bodies until burial in the absence of a refrigerator.

 

But Gleason Funeral Homes, which has served Queens for over 100 years, have limited their number of funerals, as they try to keep from overwhelming and overextending staff members. Golden said that one day, a secretary had to turn away a family, and as soon as she got off the phone, she couldn’t help but cry.

 

“This has taken an emotional toll on all our staff at Gleason Funeral Homes, but we’re still working to send off the deceased and their families as best we can,” Golden said.

 

And for families, the grieving process has become even more of a challenge.

 

Right now, there are no wakes at Gleason, and cemeteries have limited visits to 10 people. Crematories currently are not allowing visitations. Some have allowed grave site recordings to send to families with their permission.

 

Golden said they were able to record graveside prayers for a nun who passed away to send to her convent.

 

He mentioned there are some Catholic churches in the area conducting memorial masses virtually, where there’s no one in the church except the priest so families can access it online. In one instance, St. Andrews in Flushing had a priest go outside of the church and bless the casket from the car.

 

But Golden said it’s still a very difficult situation for families who weren’t able to see their loved one in the hospital, and can’t have a ceremony.

 

Several weeks ago, the city was only holding deceased for 48 hours before burying “unclaimed” bodies on Hart Island, which Golden said caused families to feel “panic.”

 

“We were able to intercept some, and now the medical examiner has extended the hold indefinitely,” he said.

 

But Golden said the system as a whole is still “backed up.”

 

Many of the cemeteries they work with have limited burial times and visitations. For instance, the next available date for a burial at Mount St. Mary Cemetery in Flushing is May 25.

 

St. Michael’s Cemetery in East Elmhurst temporarily closed visitation and is restricting internments attendance in order to protect their staff.

 

Golden said they previously wrote letters asking Gov. Andrew Cuomo to let out-of-state funeral directors come and help, which Cuomo did in the first week of April.

 

That has helped, Golden said, but now he thinks cemeteries may need help getting workers or independent contractors to open grave sites.

 

Golden said he suggested the city bring in military embalmers with experience handling deceased bodies and set them up in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, along with the out-of-state funeral directors. He believes more help caring for those who have died due to COVID-19 may lessen the burden.

 

Public Advocate Jumanee Williams recently sent a letter to New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker calling for Section 4144 of New York State Law — requiring that all bodies be removed by a licensed funeral director — be temporarily exempted or amended to allow any paid employee of a funeral home to perform body removal.

 

Williams argued the measure would vastly increase funeral homes’ capacity to empty the city’s overcrowded hospitals and morgues.

 

“With this change in place, more families would be granted the dignity of giving their loved ones an individual burial, and strain upon our hospitals and morgues would be reduced,” Williams wrote in the letter.

 

But Golden believes that it’s better to have licensed funeral directors removing bodies, especially when dealing with a contagious disease like COVID-19.

 

“You don’t want someone who isn’t OSHA trained doing this,” he said. “You need a licensed funeral director because they know how to pick up the deceased. You have to make sure you get the right deceased body as well.”

 

He said the problem, again, is that the system is backed up, not that there aren’t enough funeral directors.

 

Golden, who’s worked as a funeral director for more than three decades, said the amount of death they’re experiencing only compares to 9/11 — but it’s much harder to navigate the current health crisis.

 

“In normal times, the most gratifying thing was shepherding families through the steps as they mourn — accompanying them to crematories, helping them grieve,” Golden said. “And then COVID-19 arrived.”

[+ g56whiz]

John Golden, owner and operator of Martin A. Gleason Funeral Homes, said their funeral homes in northeast Queens never had to turn families away — then came COVID-19.

 

“We don’t have the capacity to handle all the families that are calling us,” Golden told QNS. “We’ve served double the normal amount of families we serve in a month. At one point, we had to turn 100 families away.”

 

But the Gleason Funeral Homes — with locations in Flushing, Bayside and Whitestone — are far from the only funeral homes in New York City dealing with an influx of families and their deceased loved ones due to the novel coronavirus.

 

Although COVID-19 is believed to have reached its peak, funeral homes, crematoriums and cemeteries are still dealing with great volumes of families needing funeral arrangements as New York City’s death toll reaches almost 13,724 confirmed deaths to the coronavirus and 5,383 probable deaths, as of Tuesday, May 5, according to the Department of Health.

 

The city and state implemented some ways to help the mortuary system — such as setting up mobile morgues and allowing crematoriums to work around the clock — but the industry is still adjusting to the devastating losses.

 

The Gleason Funeral Homes funeral directors go where the deceased are, which can be in refrigerated trailers outside of hospitals, hospital morgues, houses and nursing homes.

 

Golden said the medical examiner has a new system that lets them know where the deceased are, but, he added, “Everything has slowed up and become more difficult.”

 

He said that their funeral homes offer embalming, which allows them to safely hold deceased bodies until burial in the absence of a refrigerator.

 

But Gleason Funeral Homes, which has served Queens for over 100 years, have limited their number of funerals, as they try to keep from overwhelming and overextending staff members. Golden said that one day, a secretary had to turn away a family, and as soon as she got off the phone, she couldn’t help but cry.

 

“This has taken an emotional toll on all our staff at Gleason Funeral Homes, but we’re still working to send off the deceased and their families as best we can,” Golden said.

 

And for families, the grieving process has become even more of a challenge.

 

Right now, there are no wakes at Gleason, and cemeteries have limited visits to 10 people. Crematories currently are not allowing visitations. Some have allowed grave site recordings to send to families with their permission.

 

Golden said they were able to record graveside prayers for a nun who passed away to send to her convent.

 

He mentioned there are some Catholic churches in the area conducting memorial masses virtually, where there’s no one in the church except the priest so families can access it online. In one instance, St. Andrews in Flushing had a priest go outside of the church and bless the casket from the car.

 

But Golden said it’s still a very difficult situation for families who weren’t able to see their loved one in the hospital, and can’t have a ceremony.

 

Several weeks ago, the city was only holding deceased for 48 hours before burying “unclaimed” bodies on Hart Island, which Golden said caused families to feel “panic.”

 

“We were able to intercept some, and now the medical examiner has extended the hold indefinitely,” he said.

 

But Golden said the system as a whole is still “backed up.”

 

Many of the cemeteries they work with have limited burial times and visitations. For instance, the next available date for a burial at Mount St. Mary Cemetery in Flushing is May 25.

 

St. Michael’s Cemetery in East Elmhurst temporarily closed visitation and is restricting internments attendance in order to protect their staff.

 

Golden said they previously wrote letters asking Gov. Andrew Cuomo to let out-of-state funeral directors come and help, which Cuomo did in the first week of April.

 

That has helped, Golden said, but now he thinks cemeteries may need help getting workers or independent contractors to open grave sites.

 

Golden said he suggested the city bring in military embalmers with experience handling deceased bodies and set them up in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, along with the out-of-state funeral directors. He believes more help caring for those who have died due to COVID-19 may lessen the burden.

 

Public Advocate Jumanee Williams recently sent a letter to New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker calling for Section 4144 of New York State Law — requiring that all bodies be removed by a licensed funeral director — be temporarily exempted or amended to allow any paid employee of a funeral home to perform body removal.

 

Williams argued the measure would vastly increase funeral homes’ capacity to empty the city’s overcrowded hospitals and morgues.

 

“With this change in place, more families would be granted the dignity of giving their loved ones an individual burial, and strain upon our hospitals and morgues would be reduced,” Williams wrote in the letter.

 

But Golden believes that it’s better to have licensed funeral directors removing bodies, especially when dealing with a contagious disease like COVID-19.

 

“You don’t want someone who isn’t OSHA trained doing this,” he said. “You need a licensed funeral director because they know how to pick up the deceased. You have to make sure you get the right deceased body as well.”

 

He said the problem, again, is that the system is backed up, not that there aren’t enough funeral directors.

 

Golden, who’s worked as a funeral director for more than three decades, said the amount of death they’re experiencing only compares to 9/11 — but it’s much harder to navigate the current health crisis.

 

“In normal times, the most gratifying thing was shepherding families through the steps as they mourn — accompanying them to crematories, helping them grieve,” Golden said. “And then COVID-19 arrived.”

Thnx @samhexum.

[samhexum]

Local funeral home business is also in decline because fewer people are opting for casket and visitation. Increasing in popularity is green burial where there is no embalming and burial is in a body wrapped in a shroud.

Interesting concept. Hope your state allows it.

this is how i want to be buried. my mother has expressed similar interest.

errr.. rather she wants a green burial too.. she likes the idea of a tree sprouting from her remains.

Cremation is the only option.

The biodegradable burial pod that turns your body into a tree. I plan on doing this when my time comes.

https://www.companyofmen.org/threads/going-out-in-style.152981/#post-2050134

[samhexum]

[MRB43]

What a totally weird thread.

[samhexum]

What a totally weird thread.

Well, as @WilliamM recently shocked me by telling me WITH NO SPOILER ALERT!, we all die sometime.

[marylander1940]

What a totally weird thread.

 

is part of its charm

 

Well, as @WilliamM recently shocked me by telling me WITH NO SPOILER ALERT!, we all die sometime.

 

here's another advice. Write a will!

 

width=969pxhttps://learn.mywishes.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Writing-will-GIF.gif[/img]

[JayCeeKy]

While we're on this grave subject, you may not know that Federal law requires funeral homes to accept caskets that consumers have purchased from another source, such as an online retailer. You may also build your own casket, if you prefer. Costco has great prices on caskets - you might even catch them on sale and get one dirt cheap.

 

https://www.costco.com/funeral.html

Edited March 18, 2021 by JayCeeKy

[samhexum]

While we're on this grave subject

 

tee-hee

[DallasClient]

I used to be a mortician several decades ago. Even back then, Service Corporation International was busy buying funeral homes from people, keeping the name and staff in place so as not look like anything changed to the community. Many sold because the owners' children had no interest in keeping it going. Others sold because it allowed them to retire. Once sold, the corporation decided on the chemicals and other supplies used by the funeral homes.

[samhexum]

I used to be a mortician several decades ago. Even back then, Service Corporation International was busy buying funeral homes from people, keeping the name and staff in place so as not look like anything changed to the community. Many sold because the owners' children had no interest in keeping it going. Others sold because it allowed them to retire. Once sold, the corporation decided on the chemicals and other supplies used by the funeral homes.

 

Ain't it amazing the kind of expert advice and knowledge you can get on this forum?

[Bargara Leatherboy]

My husband has worked as a funeral celebrant and with a couple of small family run funeral companies. He has done everything from arranging to body collection, body preparation, etc.

 

In Australia we have lots of funeral companies but many are owned by an American Company called Invocare (https://www.invocare.com.au/).

 

This company owns many brands, Simplicity, White Ladies, Guardian etc. They work out of warehouses, and there is no continuity of customer service.

 

So your arranger wont be at the funeral, the staff working the funeral will have not met the family, might not have got the notes for what you want, may forget important things like flowers to place on the coffin during the service etc etc etc etc.

 

I have been to many funerals in the last 15 years, some I have worked as an extra when the business has needed an extra pair of hands, I know a well run funeral when I see it. I have sat at funerals of friends loved ones, who have chosen to use another company like the ones mentioned above, and been embarrassed for them when little things go wrong. there is not dress rehearsal, only the one off performance, and everyone deserves a well run funeral.

 

Also these companies charge a fortune, we used to charge lets say $5K for a basic but respectful service, a decent looking casket, without ripping off the family, and we made a reasonable profit on them too. The other companies mentioned might charge 10-15 or even 20K for the same service.

 

Work it out for yourself.

 

Newspaper notice are expensive in Australia, we always charged the family the exact amount charged to us by the newspaper, we would pass the invoice onto them. A standard notice would cost about 250-300. A colleague of mine had a charge for her dads for 1200. One phone call or fax to the newspaper and you charge a fee of 900.

 

Nice money if you can make it!!!

 

So if you have to arrange a funeral for a loved on, be careful who you choose and get everything in writting

[samhexum]

While we're on this grave subject, you may not know that Federal law requires funeral homes to accept caskets that consumers have purchased from another source, such as an online retailer. You may also build your own casket, if you prefer. Costco has great prices on caskets - you might even catch them on sale and get one dirt cheap.

[BtmBearDad]

I just recently settled my arrangements for when my time comes, which I hope is not for many decades ??I’ve had a number of deaths this past year, tho none from Covid, and I kept hearing “I hope this is what he/she wanted” from the bereaved. As a single man, I realised I better sort out what I want to save the headache when I’m gone.

 

The arrangements are with the same family owned funeral home here in NYC that’s been handling the wakes, and funerals for my family for over 110 years. Picked out my casket, memorial cards, type of wake, songs and readings for the funeral, where I’m to be buried, etc.. I’ll be waked there, funeral mass at our family church, and burial in my father’s family plot - there’s four or five generations there, and I’ll be the last one to be gathered to my forebears.

 

My oldest friend (we met in kindergarten!) is also my lawyer, and now executor (as well as an enthusiast of the hobby we all share here), and he has all the details, as well as who will be pallbearers, do the readings, eulogy, what I’ll wear, what to bury with me, and most importantly, he’s to make sure there is a big luncheon after all the rites are concluded with a full open bar.

 

It may not be a pleasant task - planning one’s funeral - but as we get older, and especially if you’re single, it is something that has to be done.

[kingsley88]

 

My oldest friend (we met in kindergarten!) is also my lawyer, and now executor (as well as an enthusiast of the hobby we all share here), and he has all the details, as well as who will be pallbearers, do the readings, eulogy, what I’ll wear, what to bury with me, and most importantly, he’s to make sure there is a big luncheon after all the rites are concluded with a full open bar.

 

It may not be a pleasant task - planning one’s funeral - but as we get older, and especially if you’re single, it is something that has to be done.

 

I need to do that at some point. Thx for sharing. That's awesome your oldest friend is gay too!

Plus your post reminded me of this scene from the 90s movie Next Best Thing with Madonna, Neil Patrick Harris, and Rupert Everett. It really is important to have these arrangements done in writing before one's death especially if single or unmarried.

Edited March 20, 2021 by kingsley88

[BtmBearDad]

I need to do that at some point.

 

I highly recommend it! I’d also recommend sorting out a Medical Proxy, and a POA. If you’re single and/or not close (emotionally or geographically) to your family, I cannot emphasise how important it is to have someone you know and trust, who knows what you want, to have the authority to make medical decisions for you if you cannot. Same when it comes to paying bills, and such when you cannot. Of course, all this should go hand in glove with drafting a Will.

 

Yes, it is pretty cool knowing someone for 45 years who is gay too. There have been a few funny moments thru the years where we’ve shared stories only to find out the other had either been there already, or the other had no idea a mutual friend enjoyed m2m time on occasion. With this hobby, we also share recommendations of certain providers we’ve enjoyed. We’ve joked about winding up moving in together in our declining years, and scandalising the neighbours with our younger, hunky visitors! ?

[samhexum]

You can sleep like the dead at this short-term rental. 

A set of three macabre buildings in Worcestershire, England have gotten second lives as overnight lodgings. 

After buying the abandoned trifecta of spooky structures — a funeral home, a well house and a small church with an adjoining graveyard — owners Stuart and Victoria Dudley decided to maintain their ominous charm by converting them into vacation houses. 

Each is now available as a one-bedroom cottage, rentable for $220 a night. Inside the former funeral home, holidaymakers are treated to thematic decor including a line of coffins that read “Funeral Director” and embalming tables in the kitchen. 

unfortunately, U.S. funeral homes don't tend to be as old or as charming. so I don't think this will be a realistic path for others whose businesses are struggling.

[BSR]

15 hours ago, samhexum said:

You can sleep like the dead at this short-term rental. 

A set of three macabre buildings in Worcestershire, England have gotten second lives as overnight lodgings. 

After buying the abandoned trifecta of spooky structures — a funeral home, a well house and a small church with an adjoining graveyard — owners Stuart and Victoria Dudley decided to maintain their ominous charm by converting them into vacation houses. 

Each is now available as a one-bedroom cottage, rentable for $220 a night. Inside the former funeral home, holidaymakers are treated to thematic decor including a line of coffins that read “Funeral Director” and embalming tables in the kitchen. 

unfortunately, U.S. funeral homes don't tend to be as old or as charming. so I don't think this will be a realistic path for others whose businesses are struggling.

The pictures of the rentals look beautiful and historic, not really spooky.

 

[Rudynate]

On 3/20/2021 at 10:10 AM, BtmBearDad said:

 

I highly recommend it! I’d also recommend sorting out a Medical Proxy, and a POA. If you’re single and/or not close (emotionally or geographically) to your family, I cannot emphasise how important it is to have someone you know and trust, who knows what you want, to have the authority to make medical decisions for you if you cannot. Same when it comes to paying bills, and such when you cannot. Of course, all this should go hand in glove with drafting a Will.

 

Yes, it is pretty cool knowing someone for 45 years who is gay too. There have been a few funny moments thru the years where we’ve shared stories only to find out the other had either been there already, or the other had no idea a mutual friend enjoyed m2m time on occasion. With this hobby, we also share recommendations of certain providers we’ve enjoyed. We’ve joked about winding up moving in together in our declining years, and scandalising the neighbours with our younger, hunky visitors! ?

And don't forget a trust.  Modern estate planning almost always involves a trust and a pour over will.  Settling an estate in which the assets are owned by a trust is much simpler and prevents the estate from going into probate.  Additional essential docs are a health care proxy, a HIPAA authorization and a power of attorney.  The power of attorney can be a durable power of attorney or it may be structured only to take effect in the event of incapacity.  

[spider]

This whole thing just makes me sick. Fry the body as quickly and inexpensively as possible, and then spend the money on a big party. I don't need to be shot into space, or turned into jewelry (I think that SUPER gross) or even scatted at sea, just quick and fast.

[pubic_assistance]

On 10/14/2022 at 11:16 AM, spider said:

This whole thing just makes me sick. Fry the body as quickly and inexpensively as possible, and then spend the money on a big party. I don't need to be shot into space, or turned into jewelry (I think that SUPER gross) or even scatted at sea, just quick and fast.

I saw a website where they plant a small tree in your ashes. I'm going that route.  Circle of life.

[TorontoDrew]

When my mother passed 15 years ago we did the full funeral.  Overpriced casket, visitation at the funeral home and a church service with a lunch afterwards.  We did it because that's what people did at the time where she lived. She died relatively young and that's what her friends and extended family needed for closure.

When my mother in law passed last year we did a simple cremation and a celebration of life for a fraction of the cost.

I don't know how any funeral home, let alone a family owned one, can survive any more.

[+ augustus]

23 hours ago, TorontoDrew said:

When my mother passed 15 years ago we did the full funeral.  Overpriced casket, visitation at the funeral home and a church service with a lunch afterwards.  We did it because that's what people did at the time where she lived. She died relatively young and that's what her friends and extended family needed for closure.

It was a sign of reverence for her.