November 2018

Page B4 NOVEMBER 2018 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on B (800) 4-HEARSE 4hearse.com 4 more info visit: When we acquired Pairpoint Glass andCrystal in 2015, we had a dual mis- sion: preserve the company’s pedigree heritage and standard of excellence— spanning almost two centuries—while recognizing changing consumer needs. One way we are realizing our vision is by responding to new demand with ex- citing new pieces, including personal- ized, elegant glassware that honors the memories of loved ones. According to the National Funeral Di- rectors Association, national cremation rates have already surpassed burials, and they are expected to reach 80 percent by 2035. However, as traditional funerals are changing, so too are cremations, as more consumers are opting to have their remains cremated and memorialized in more personal and elegant ways. Partnering with Funeral Parlors Pairpoint works directly with funeral homes, helping them profit from the cremation mar- ket. We provide them with cus- tom pieces at wholesale prices, and, in addition to increased revenue, we have found it is an advantage for funeral parlors to have these piec- es on display in their offices to promote con- sumer awareness and to meet increased demand for this service. It is important for funeral direc- tors to remember that opting for cremation does not necessarily preclude first having a funeral and viewing, as many families go this route. Revitalizing an Ancient Tradition With cremation, about seventy-five percent of the time a person’s remains are returned to the families or buried. While the ashes are typical- ly placed inside urns or scattered in sentimen- tal places, families are increasingly choosing to separate the ashes and share them once they are infused in various forms of glass art. Examples include urns, vases, paperweights, and countless keepsakes of all sizes. Consumers appreciate the ability to personalize these pieces with inscrip- tions and images that capture the loved one’s memory—for instance, flowers, a fishing rod, a piano, a cookbook, or golf clubs. They also like the idea of sharing these pieces with family and friends, many of whom may live far away from the local cemetery. By putting the glass art on display, perhaps on a fireplace mantel, the person’s memory is ever-present. While glass memorialization is becoming more popular, there is ironically limited awareness of this option among Preserving Age-Old Traditions While Responding to Changing Demand through Personalized Glass Memorialization By Jeffrey and Gary Tulman, Owners, Pairpoint Glass and Crystal many consumers, collectors, funer- al homes, stores, and other institu- tions. Actually, the history of glass memorialization dates back many centuries, when bone ash was used in cremation memorials. Of course, ancient glass-making was crude, and technology has advanced dra- matically over the years. Today, glass-blowing is very so- phisticated at reputable manufac- turers, though quality varies. What separates Pairpoint, for example, are the exceptional skills of our master glass-blowers in our modern facility in Sagamore on Cape Cod. These professionals infuse ashes in the glass, creating uniquely pat- terned bubbles that result in indi- vidualized works of art that conform to the requested specifications. In addition, Pairpoint uses lead-free crystal versus lead crystal, and our large-scale produc- tion exceeds the volume of any other glass manufactur- er in the county. Societies have always honored their ancestors. To- day, more options exist than ever before. At the end of the day, it’s all about accommo- dating the changing needs of the public in meaningful ways. Memorialized glass prod- ucts are a great way to accomplish this. Jeffrey and Gary Tulman are co-own- ers, or “stewards,” of Pairpoint, the old- est operating glass company in the Unit- ed States. Located in Sagamore, MA, Pairpoint was founded in 1837. Today, Pairpoint serves thousands of customers and businesses around the world. Their pieces are purchased by consumers, col- lectors, funeral homes, jewelry stores, museums, casinos, architectural firms, sports organizations, and corporations and used for weddings, sporting events, as home décor, and more. Pairpoint’s heirloom-quality products are featured in more than 30 museums nationwide, and Pairpoint has produced trophies for the Boston Marathon and the Ladies Professional Golf Tournament in addi- tion to many others. Pairpoint is also a destination stop on the Cape Cod Railroad. For more informa- tion or to schedule a tour of our showroom and view live glass-blowing, call 800-899-0953, email info@ pairpoint.com, or visit pairpoint.com. ABILENE,TX— Passare ®, Inc is pleased to announce a new direct integration with Bass- Mollett’s Director’s Print Suite software, which pro- vides memorial printing so- lutions for funeral homes. For customers who are not yet using Director’s Print Suite, Passare will continue to offer an export file optimized for Bass- Mollett’s legacy memorial printing system. “Passare is proud to partner with Bass-Mollett to help fu- neral directors save time and streamline their processes by offering a direct integra- tion,” said Passare executive vice president and CEO, Jay Thomas. “Funeral di- rectors can now sync the fi- nalized obituary, photos, service information, vital sta- tistics, and much more to their Bass-Mollett software with just the click of a but- ton, eliminating the need for duplicate data entry into two different systems.” Passare launched its collab- oration platform in 2015 to help funeral homes and fam- ilies connect and collaborate in an interactive, online envi- ronment designed to simpli- fy the funeral planning pro- cess. Since then, Passare has become the professions most innovative and forward- thinking collaboration plat- form with integrated case management. Built in the cloud, Passare is accessible to funeral professionals and the families they serve anytime, anywhere, using any device. “Our goal is to be the fu- neral director’s complete printing resource,” said John Flowers, CEO of Bass-Mol- lett Publishers. “Integrating our two systems together will help further that objec- tive. We are pleased to part- ner with Passare.” “This integration with Bass-Mollett’s Director’s Print Suite software will help our mutual customers save time, reduce errors, and sim- plify their processes,” add- ed Jay. “Our goal is to create the best-in-class experience for our funeral home cus- tomers and the families they serve. As Passare integrates with more and more funer- al home systems, our funer- al home clients are finding that they are able to reduce the time they spend on back- end processes and instead, reinvest that time into serv- ing families. That is what we are all about.” Passare is the funeral indus- try’s only cloud-based collab- oration system with integrat- ed case management. With Passare, funeral directors can connect and communi- cate with families anytime, anywhere, using any inter- net-connected device. Pas- sare features a variety of in- tegrations with some of the funeral profession’s leading providers such as ASD, CFS, funeralOne, Messenger, Frazer Consultants, Bass- Mollett, Federated, Funer- al Directors Life, and many more, which allow funeral professionals to save time, streamline processes, and collaborate as a team on cas- es. To learn more about Pas- sare and request a free demo, visit www.passare.com or call 800-692-6162. Passare ® Releases New Integration with Bass-Mollett Matthews International Announces Purchase of Gasser-Olds Company Assets and Continuity for its Customers PITTSBURGH,PA— Matthews Inter- national Corporation (NASDAQ GSM: MATW) has announced the company has acquired assets of Gas- ser-Olds Company, Inc., based in Vernon, CA, including the patterns and designs required to serve its cus- tomers and provide them with con- tinuity of service. Gasser-Olds has ceased doing business effective Octo- ber 1, 2018. Owned by the Efurd family, Gas- ser-Olds was a manufacturer of high- quality, custom bronze plaques and memorials. Founded in 1909, the company served its current custom- ers from its foundry in Southern California. “We are pleased to have reached an agreement authorizing Matthews to begin producing cus- tom products using Gasser-Olds pat- terns and designs,” said John Efurd, Gasser-Olds president. “We are con- fident Matthews will continue our tradition of manufacturing these products with exceptional quality and will provide our customers with seamless continuity of service.” “We are happy to begin serving all the foundry needs of Gasser-Olds cus- tomers,” said Matthews Cemetery and Architectural Products president R. Michael Eddy-Herrera. “Gas- ser-Olds had a heritage of producing high-quality products, and as the in- dustry leader in metal signage and memorialization, we are immensely proud to be able to manufacture them moving forward. We look forward to providing their customers with conti- nuity of service and offering them an outstanding customer experience.” Matthews customer solutions’ team will immediately begin serv- ing the needs of Gasser-Olds cus- tomers. Customers should call The- resa Mowry at 1-800-628-8439 Ext. 2015630 to place an order or open a Matthews account. Matthews International Corporation is a global provider of brand solutions, memorialization products and indus- trial technologies. The SGK Brand So- lutions segment is a leader in providing brand development, deployment and delivery services that help build our cli- ents’ brands and consumers’ desire for them. The Memorialization segment is a leading provider of memorialization products, including memorials, caskets and cremation equipment, primarily to cemetery and funeral home customers that help families move from grief to remembrance. The Industrial Technol- ogies segment designs, manufactures and distributes marking, coding and industrial automation technologies and solutions. They have more than 11,000 employees in more than 25 countries on six continents that are committed to delivering the highest quality products and services.