April 2021

Page A2 APRIL 2021 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A Published Monthly by: Nomis Publications, Inc. PO Box 5159, Youngstown, OH 44514 1-800-321-7479 FAX 1-800-321-9040 www.nomispublications.com info@nomispublications.com Subscription: United States $25.00 - Canada/Mexico $50.00 Circulation 21,000 per issue. Overseas rates available. Deadline for Press Releases: 5th of the Previous month. Advertising: Display Ad rates sent upon request. Classified and Shipping Directory rates published in each issue. All advertising must be received by the 5th of the previous month. Due to the vast amount of sources, the publisher is not responsible for the content of any news articles or advertisements. Nor is the publisher responsible for any loss of revenue by failure to insert an advertisement. The contents of any advertisement submitted for publication are only the publisher’s responsibility if the error is made by the publisher’s typesetting department, and then only to the extent of the typesetting charges. Advertisers are responsible for adhering to individual state regulations regarding advertising. The contents of any news article submitted for publication is subject to editing and is published at the sole discretion of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to refuse any news article or advertisement. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced, in whole or part, without the exclusive consent of Nomis Publications, Inc. Editor: Margaret (Peggy) Rouzzo © 2021 by Nomis Publications, Inc. ISSN 1944-1126 Funeral Home & Cemetery News Online at www.nomispublications.com MONTHLY FEATURES Classified Ads . .............................................................................................. B13 Shipping Directory ........................................................................................ B10 Calendar of Events ........................................................................................ B2 Association News . ......................................................................................... A35 Deaths ............................................................................................................. A38 Educational News .......................................................................................... A30 Suppliers News ................................................................................................ B1 COLUMNS: Aftercare by Linda Findlay. ................................................................................ A8 Appropriate to Greatness by Alice Adams and Jim Kurtz. ............................... A34 Embalming 101 by Wally Hooker...................................................................... A16 Facebook Made Easy by Jason Troyer PhD..................................................... A10 The Foundations of Success for Funeral Directors by Mark Bowser............. A18 HearseHub by Mike Jamar. ................................................................................ B6 Memoires des choix des Jacque by Kate Frediani-Gorman. ........................... A32 Observations by Steven Palmer....................................................................... A12 Powerhouse Marketing With Welton by Welton Hong....................................... A6 Random Musings by Nancy Weil. ...................................................................... A4 Rest In Peace Mr President by Todd Van Beck................................................ A22 Working With Widowers by Fred Colby and Herb Knoll .................................. A20 NOTICE The FUNERAL HOME AND CEMETERY NEWS is now sent in two parts. Section A, which in - cludes pages A1-A40 and Section B, which contains the Classified Advertising and consists of pages B1-B20. If you do not receive both sections please call 1-800-321-7479 or email info@nomispublications.com. FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Online Directories US & International Funeral Homes • Supply Companies Cemeteries • Pet Memorialization Companies Trade Associations • Plus Much More... www.nomispublications.com Like Us On FRONT COVER c/o Nomis Publications, PO Box 5159, Youngstown, OH 44514 Funeral Home and Cemetery Directory 1-800-321-7479 www.nomispublications.com 2022 FEATURING HERE No Charge to Submit Submit your photograph or line drawing , along with your firm’s name , address , phone number , contact person , and a short description of your facility Send to: Be Featured on the 2022 Front Cover “It is truly an honor that our family owned and operated funeral home was chosen by Nomis Publications as the featured funeral home for the cover of the 2021 Directory. I have read the monthly newspaper since it was first published in 1974 and we depend on the directory for our out of the area needs.” – Dean W. Kriner, President, Dean W. Kriner, Inc., Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Bloomsburg, PA, 2021 Cover “We are truly pleased that Nomis Publications has selected our funeral home as the cover of the 2020 directory. This publication has been on my desk as long as I have been in funeral service and it is humbling to have been given this honor” – Matthew R. Bailey, CFSP, B.C. Bailey Funeral Home, Wallingford, CT, 2020 Cover For more information, call Kim 800-321-7479 kim@nomispublications.com • www.nomispublications.com were ready to fly back to California.” Adams points out that in New York City appointments for cremations were a week and a half out, but at Vale, turnaround time was one day. Families couldn’t go into the hospitals to visit dying loved ones, and then they were having to wait to get the remains. “It was double the hardship,” says Zuckerman. “If we could’ve had more retorts, we would’ve taken more bodies just to take the pressure off of New York City,” he adds. The crema- tory made sure to take care of local families, as well. The board was extremely happy with the work of the staff during a stressful and uncer- tain time. “The staff did a phenomenal job handling everything that was going on. My people bend over backwards,” Zuckerman says. “I can’t praise the people who work here enough.” In the fall of 2020, when Vale added their third retort they also added a drive-through facility. The serendipity of this decision wouldn’t be realized for months. However, when the pandemic hit, the drive-through became a necessary blessing. Families and friends were able to use the drive-through say their last goodbyes. “Many people wanted to see the body go into the re- tort as a way to say goodbye,” says Zucker- man, adding that with no more than ten peo- ple allowed at a gravesite, the drive-through really allowed families an opportunity to see the body one last time in a period when they wouldn’t otherwise have that chance. Funeral directors also liked to use the drive-through, because it could be used in any weather. The numbers at the crematory truly show the grim reality that Covid brought to New York. In March of 2020 alone, Vale handled 369 bodies. In 2019, the crematory han- dled 2100 bodies, but in 2020, that number jumped to 2832. “This is the first we’ve seen a downturn in bodies,” says Zuckerman. For the longest time, he says, the Sunday obituary held page after page of death. Zuckerman feels that a lot of the death was caused by depression and lack of social inter- action. “As human beings, we need eyeball to eyeball conversations and physical con- tact. Now that they are opening up nursing homes and hospitals, we are turning a cor- ner,” he says. Vale Cemetery was dedicated in 1857 and was designed as part of a movement to create rural cemeteries that moved away from the typical crowded church graveyards to sprawl- ing, park-like places. Built on 100 acres that featured a ravine with a stream, plenty of trees, as well as ponds, gardens, and scenic trails, Vale became an area visited by families who wanted to enjoy the fresh air away from the city. In 1863, the Colored Cemetery on Veed- er Avenue moved to Vale Cemetery and is known today as the African American An- cestral Burial Ground. Through the years, numerous religious, fraternal, and military groups have had members buried at Vale, in- cluding the First (Dutch) Reformed Church, German Methodist Church, Union Col- lege, the Congregational Church, the Grand Army of the Republic, the Congregation Gates of Heaven synagogue, and Ahmadi- ayya Muslim community. Vale is included in the National Under- ground Railroad Network to Freedom pro- gram of the National Park Service and the site of the annual Juneteeth celebration com- memorating the Emancipation Proclama- tion. In 2004, the cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Vale Cemetery is a certified wildlife habi- tat and Level I Arboretum, and a local com- munity college’s zoology department holds classes and labs on the grounds. The Dell, which opened in 2014, is one of only a few green burial sites in New York state. Sheep and goats, confined by a solar-powered fence, have been brought from a nearby agricultur- al college and eliminate the need for gas or diesel mowing of the area. Vale Urban Farm, part of Transitions of Schenectady, has of- fered agricultural education and training to families and students since 2012. Vale Cemetery’s history and grounds as well as the help provided to area funeral homes throughout the pandemic led to them receiv- ing the 2020 Cemetery of Excellence Award presented by American Cemetery & Crema- tion Magazine and Kates-Boylston Publica- tions. Civil War Tour Annual Juneteeth Celebration Vale Cemetery’s Crematory Continued from Front Page Gordon Zuckerman, Pres- ident of the Board of Direc- tors, spoke with the Chief Medical Officer in New York City. “There were plenty of burial spots. They didn’t have a backlog there. But they were eight to ten weeks be- hind at crematories.” Vale began taking three bodies from Long Island and four to six from Queens on alternating days with even more Covid-related cases over the weekend. They in- sisted that all bodies be dou- ble bagged in a box to be safely handled by their staff. “We made sure that ev- eryone had PPE so no one was exposed to Covid,” says Zuckerman, adding that they were extremely busy during this time. “We were running seven days a week, accepting bodies on Satur- day and Sunday.” The cre- matory continues to accept bodies over the weekend to help out families who need services during that time. Bodies were going into a re- tort as late as 11:00 at night and not finishing until 3:00 in the morning. “Turnaround is very quick,” says Zuckerman. He tells of a family that flew in from Cal- ifornia and had a 10:00 AM viewing. “We took them out to lunch, and they had the remains by the time they