Sacred Rituals – The Morte Girls

Redefining Influence in Funeral Service

There was a time when being a funeral director carried a quiet reverence. We served as stewards of grief and guardians of legacy. Now, when asked what we do, we hesitate—not out of shame, but because public perception is changing, and not always for the better. What troubles us most is seeing social media posts…
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Repackaging Funeral Traditions with Trendy Alternatives

These days, traditional media and social media are filled with accounts of funeral trends, one more outlandish than the next. You can turn your loved one’s cremated remains into a diamond ring or a painting, shoot them into space, or incorporate a portion of the cremains into ink for a tattoo. Instead of a burial,…
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Heartwarming Farewell: Horse and Carriage Funeral

I recently served a family at my funeral home, Jurek-Park Slope, who rented a horse and carriage for their mother’s funeral. It was the first time in all my years in business that one of my families requested this special touch. The woman’s daughter told me that her mom had always wanted this unique tribute,…
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Understanding Poor Information Choices in State Associations

This week, an Ohio funeral director made the news for all the wrong reasons. He plans to obtain a liquor license so that he may serve mourners in the funeral home. He said he wants to be able to “provide guests with a livelier vibe if that’s the way they want to celebrate their loved…
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The Art of Personalizing Funerals: Creating a Meaningful Goodbye

Funeral services have long been seen as traditional and standardized. However, in recent years, personalization is becoming increasingly important for many people. This trend highlights the desire for a more intimate and meaningful farewell, one that captures the essence of the person and celebrates the person’s life. The trend is driven, in part, by the…
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A “Contemporary” Funeral Home

We’ve noticed, recently, several funeral homes billing themselves as “modern” or “contemporary.” They claim to have a new way of doing things; that they are bringing a new awareness to death and making it less sad. Really!? Light and airy reposing rooms will not change the abject sorrow felt by a family whose daughter has…
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How We Remember

I was honored to be asked to contribute an essay to NFDA’s ‘Director’ magazine in observance of the somber 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. I chose to write about a few of the many 9/11 memorials to be found in cemeteries around the country. One of my favorites is in the Cemetery of the…
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A Dying Business

One upon a time, a young woman walked into a funeral home in Queens, New York. She needed an after-school job to earn some money, while she worked her way through college, and the funeral home was hiring. She had dreams of one day becoming a great writer. Well, if not a great one, at…
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I Want to Watch

An essential component of our role as funeral directors is to maintain the sanctity of our work and protect the privacy of those in our care. Something that continues to trouble me is the prurient interest some have in the most private part of funeral service. “I want to watch. Can I?” It is an…
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Five Things

Five Things I’ve learned in my long career as a funeral director I was pleased to share my view of funeral service with Life. Death. Whatever., gleaned from the work I’ve done, the experiences of my colleagues, and the perspective of the thousands of families I’ve served over the years. Despite what you may read…
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Category: Sacred Rituals