Mortuary Mayhem

Join us as Lanae Strovers discusses the Final Salute.  A non-profit she started in her home state of Iowa, that buries the cremated remains of veterans as well as civilians and children.  This great initiative draws a crowd she never thought would be possible.  Dignity and respect for the dead is at the core of being a funeral director.  The Final Salute was something that Lanae started with her funeral home in Iowa that turned into an anticipated event for the community and has attracted the attention of funeral directors in other states seeking to bring this tribute to their area.

If you missed Terracon 2025, here is the recap of the worlds Natural Organic Reduction conference.  With experts flying into Tacoma Washington from all over the United States and World, we learned science, legal regulation, legislation and immersed ourselves in an experience.  After three days of surrounding ourselves with some of the most dynamic friends and colleagues we all said the same thing, I felt like I was at a retreat.  Hear personal testimonials from Daniel Holland of BYND, Inc out of Grand Rapids Michigan, Ashlee Shelton of Napa Califorina, Cleo Duponcheel of Croque-Madame from Brussels, Belgium and Jessica Wakefield of Better Place Forests from San Rafael California.  Join us as we talk science, legislation and most importantly dig deep into the heart of what terramation (Natural Organic Reduction) is all about.   

We have very exciting news, renowned speaker and restorative art educator Dominic Astorino can now add author to his titles.  Dominic's first book, Postmortem Restorative Art, Principles, Methods and Applications will be released on January 16th in time for the spring 2025 semester.  If you have not adopted his Restorative Art book yet, now is your chance.  Students will receive e-book access to start the semester if their book will not arrive in time.  This restorative art book brings real life examples into the classroom, color photographs and step by step instructions on difficult restorations.  This RA book takes our learning to a new level.  Your host Prof. Shea has been honored to teach with the preliminary version of this book all semester.  Great for both students and experienced practitioners alike.  To order your book visit Cognella publishing at https://titles.cognella.com/postmortem-restorative-art-9781793587473?srsltid=AfmBOoox6La5xQ-pLPH2j1-kuKPdGatbeveEpnarud7gSZyCKiD0GSsy. 

We sat down with Chase Downs of Gather, one of the industries premiere funeral home softwares that is on the cutting edge of what the industry needs.  Join us as we discuss how funeral home software provides value and how the industry has changed and what features you should be using to keep up and be efficient.

Did you miss the NFDA convention this year, get a quick recap of some of the seminars and vendors.