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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: funeral home

funeral home stories: 9 news summaries

 Wal-Mart Enters 
 Coffin Biz 

Funeral homes face competition from discount caskets

Oct 30, 09 2:08 AM CDT
(Newser) - America's leading big-box store is now also a pine box store. Wal-Mart has started selling a range of discount coffins on its website and plans to expand its death products to include pet urns and memorial jewelry. Prices start at just $895 for a steel coffin. Funeral home owners say... More »

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coffin • casket • retail sales • Wal-Mart • funeral home

Backyard Burials Alive
and Well

Families see economy, intimacy in caring for dead themselves

Jul 21, 09 12:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - A growing number of families are deciding against funeral homes and cemeteries, the New York Times reports. Many have decided to care for their dead at home, which they say gives them more dignity—and saves money in the process. “It’s organic and informal, and it’s on... More »

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recession • funeral • burial • funeral home • death midwife

 Final 'Green' Frontier: 
 Cemeteries 

Increasingly popular embalming- and casket-free option freaked locals out

Jan 2, 09 11:53 AM CST
(Newser) - As the green movement contemplates the afterlife, more funeral directors are seeing demand for a sendoff without the embalming and sturdy coffins of traditional burials, the Wall Street Journal reports. Natural burials won't necessarily put funeral directors out of business: Yes, simple shrouds are available, but so is a $300... More »

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coffin • casket • green products • burial • funeral home • cemetery

 Cell Phones Taken to the Grave 

And call me later

Dec 17, 08 6:15 PM CST
(Newser) - Rest in peace? Some would rather have eternity interrupted by their ringtone—by taking their cell phones with them to the grave, a trend that many in the funeral industry say is on the rise. A UK survey ranked being buried with a cell phone the No. 2 funeral rite... More »

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cell phones • death • funeral • burial • funeral home • King Tut

Fans Get Prime Seats for Eternal Extra Innings

Logo coffins, urns make case for 'long-term' devotees of Sox, others

Dec 1, 08 12:35 PM CST
(Newser) - Die-hard baseball fans can now continue showing their team pride even in the afterlife. A Boston-area funeral home is offering its first-ever Red Sox casket, emblazoned with the team’s logo and accented with baseball-bat-type wood. “It's really a beautiful thing,” the funeral-home director, a Sox fan himself,... More »

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MLB • Boston Red Sox • coffin • casket • New York Yankees • branding • funeral home

As Cremations Increase, So 
Do Options

Lower cost, greater personalization
appeal to families

Sep 7, 08 2:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - The cremation industry is booming, a reflection of tighter economic times and a push from consumers for more creative funeral options, reports the Washington Post. Cremations, cheaper than traditional burial, rose 7% nationwide in the past 5 years and made up 35% of the funeral market last year. Funeral homes... More »

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cremation • casket • business • death • burial • funeral home

Philly Corpse-Plundering Case Ends in Guilty Pleas

Masterpiece Theatre host among corpses

Sep 2, 08 1:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Two brothers who ran a Philadelphia funeral home pleaded guilty today to selling corpses, including that of Masterpiece Theatre host Alistair Cooke, to a company that trafficked in stolen body parts, the AP reports. They may get life sentences for allowing the remains of 244 clients to be dismembered for... More »

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crime • Philadelphia • court • funeral home • Louis Garzone • Gerald Garzone

 'Predatory' Funeral Industry 
 Comes Under Fire 

Big industry players take advantage of the bereft, says watchdog

Jul 5, 08 6:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - The funeral industry preys on bereft customers, artificially raising prices and taking custody of bodies it has no right to handle, argues a watchdog group. The Funeral Consumers Alliance aims to push fair and environmentally friendly death-care practices, Newsweek reports. “Funeral corporations use predatory sales tactics and aggressive marketing... More »

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environment • cremation • death • watchdog • funeral • burial • funeral home

Man Admits to Selling Stolen Body Parts

New Jersey dentist ran ring that harvested bones and tissue

Mar 18, 08 9:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - A New Jersey dentist who ran a business plundering body parts from corpses in funeral homes pleaded guilty in Brooklyn today, the Newark Star-Ledger reports. Michael Mastromarino, 44, admitted to removing bones and tissue from two dozen corpses, which were sold to tissue processors for use in transplants and other... More »

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New Jersey • corruption • transplant • medical records • Michael Mastromarino • Biomedical Tissue Services • funeral home • blood sample • grand larceny • forgery • body stealing

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