As of July 27, 2017, funeral directors in Massachusetts must comply with the recently revised state regulations about Pre-Need Contracts. “The provisions of 239 CMR 4.00 shall apply in full to all Pre-Need Funeral Contracts which are established on or after…

National Public Radio (NPR) aired a two-part program February 7-8 reporting on deceptive pricing in the funeral industry. NPR found that SCI, the largest funeral company in the world, routinely charges high prices, but also conceals the fact that they…

Caitlin Doughty has produced a Youtube video about Direct Cremation, with advice for consumers. This video is part of her “Ask a Mortician” series, which combines humor with good education about death-care topics.  As a young funeral director in Los…

We have revised, again, our handout about local options for cremation services and have chosen cremation as the theme for our next Annual Meeting Program, which will be held October 23, 2016. Many questions have surfaced this year, triggered especially by…

On Tuesday April 26, 2016, over 35 people came to a “Death Café” hosted by the Granby Free Public Library, Granby, MA.  Refreshments were served and we gathered in small groups at different tables to talk about death. The conversations were…

Discussing Mortality:  A Community Conversation.  During March and April 2016 many libraries in Franklin and Hampshire Counties are participating in a regional program coordinated with staff from Cooley Dickinson Hospital and inspired by Dr. Atul Gawande’s bestselling book, Being Mortal.  The…

Five (or More) Shades of Green is the topic of our Program on Sunday October 18, 2015. Five panelists will discuss environmental aspects of final arrangements.  How “green” are the choices?   • Carol Coan – How green? Burial pod, cremation urn with seed, vertical…

A joint report prepared by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the Funeral Consumers Alliance (FCA) documents difficulties in obtaining funeral pricing information. These two organizations request that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) update the Federal Funeral Rule to…

The Massachusetts Board of Registration of Embalming and Funeral Directing welcomed us today (June 16, 2015) and received our comments about the revision of their rules and regulations.  Carol Coan, Susie Maddern and I traveled to Boston in response to this invitation…

“A Project to Turn Corpses into Compost” is the headline on an article published in the Science section of the New York Times on April 13, 2015. It describes the work of Katrina Spade, a woman who studied sustainable agriculture…