Grave Concerns For Funeral Homes

Local mortuaries suffering in bleak economy

Funeral home cash registers are as quiet as the grave in this tough economy, forcing Florida morticians to dig for ways to save money.

According to the CIA FActbook, about 6,800 people die each day in the US, and though accomodations have to be made for them in the afterlife, that doesn't necessarily mean big payoffs at the funeral parlour.

According to the National Funeral Directors Association, more people are opting for cremations and less expensive caskets and services, which is killing revenues at mortuaries. 

"It doesn't matter what type of business you're in. Everybody is facing the same crisis," funeral director Patty Ralph, of T.M. Ralph Funeral Homes, told the Miami Herald.

Ralph, who runs homes in Weston and Plantation, is trying to cut down on gas and other travel expenses, just one of several ways businesses from across the country are cutting costs.

New hearses, which cost upwards of $80,000, aren't being purchased. Facility renovations either aren't being done or are performed in-house. And sheets and towels used to move bodies are being laundered at the homes.

U.S. funeral costs averaged $7,323 in 2006, the latest year figures are available. The rising costs coupled with the lousy economy is forcing families to make tough decisions, including cremations which may not have been part of the deceased's plan.

"We hear people all the time say my father died -- and I lost my job," David Lowery, president of Panciera Funeral Homes in Pembroke Pines. "I heard that several times last month."

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