News & Events

New Directory

We are pleased to announce an improved and updated directory of funeral home locations in Western Massachusetts. The directory is now in a sortable table, making it easy to sort the list by County, or Town, or Funeral Home Name….

Continue reading
News & Events

DIY Coffins

The Wall Street Journal has published an informative article about building your own coffin. It is on the front page of the July 19, 2022 print issue. Here is the link to the digital version posted 7/18/22, with audio. One…

Continue reading
News & Events

Consumer Fact Sheet for Funeral Planning

A revised Consumer Fact Sheet for Funeral Planning is now posted on Mass.gov, linked from this page. This 6-page document from the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Embalming and Funeral Directing (“EM Board”) can be viewed directly at https://www.mass.gov/doc/em-board-consumer-fact-sheet/download Our organization…

Continue reading
News & Events

New Report on Price Disclosure Practices

Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, June 21, 2022, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the Funeral Consumers Alliance (FCA) released the results of a new consumer survey on the public’s attitudes towards funeral price disclosure and other funeral services. CFA…

Continue reading
News & Events

Holyoke Public Library talk

On Tuesday, June 7 at 10 AM the Holyoke Public Library will host “Choices in Final Arrangements” with FCAWM speaker Sandy Ward. The public is invited to come in person (Community Room, 250 Chestnut Street, Holyoke) or view it online….

Continue reading
News & Events

Spring Newsletter is ready

We invite you to read our Spring 2022 Newsletter, which includes news of progress in 2022, some history to put our 60 years in context, and an article by our president about lessons learned from two recent deaths in her…

Continue reading
News & Events

Shop Before You Drop

The national Funeral Consumers Alliance (FCA) invites the public to a workshop on basic funeral planning, Monday, May 23, 3:00 pm Eastern Time, via Zoom. You’ll learn: How to find a reasonable price by shopping around All the things you…

Continue reading
Sandy's Blog

No Fooling!

Today, April 1, 2022, is a day to be cautious. You might be tricked by an April Fool’s joke. But the news article published today in the Daily Hampshire Gazette about our organization is no joke. The headline “Funeral Consumers…

Continue reading
News & Events

Greenfield Recorder

We appreciate the article in this week’s Greenfield Recorder publicizing our 60th anniversary. Five members of the FCAWM Board of Trustees gathered for a luncheon in March 2022 celebrating the 60th anniversary. Greenfield Reporter photographer Paul Franz stopped by to…

Continue reading