May 2021

Page B11 MAY 2021 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on B the natural childbirth movement (having both of her children in her home bedroom) she explains, “this was a natural transition for my third chapter career keeping with my Spiritual practice of being of service to the people of the Natural World.” During her time at Fernwood it was be- coming apparent that people who had for- merly chosen cremation as the most sus- tainable end of life choice were converting to natural “green” burial. “As soon as they found out that all they needed to be bur- ied in was a shroud!” says Kent. Seeing that there were no shrouds on the market, Kent’s designer skills kicked in and she used her own experience of wrap- ping, lifting, carrying and lowering into a newly design shroud product. “We needed something strong. Some- thing you could carry with leakage pro- tection, and it had to be beautiful to look at. I just attached the caskets straps to the shroud itself and added a board hidden in- side the spine so the head would stay lev- el while carrying. It had to be simple for busy funeral directors to wrap and had to be something that cemeteries could feel confident was not going to fall apart,” Kent adds. Wanting secular natural shroud burial as a viable option for others, her generation of baby boomers in particular, for years to come, she created the Kinkaraco brand. The Kinkaraco shrouds were designed to be strong and practical. Production took place locally with biodegradable natural fabrics to guarantee quality. Featuring ab- sorbent lining, a board and attached low- ering straps, the design looked like a sim- ple wrapped shroud. After 16 years not one negative event has been experienced while carrying or lowering a Kinkaraco shroud. The 20th century funeral industry aes- thetic for decades had been a selection of hard wood, cold steel and concrete. Dark paneled funeral homes with a distinctly masculine look and feel, hushed, somber and depressing. Kent set out to change the way funerals looked, felt and smelled! “After a while people using our herbal lined shrouds and 100% Natural Green Burial Wash™ distilled from flowers start- ed to comment that these services looked more like a wedding than a funeral! That’s when I knew it was working!” says Kent. Kinkaraco® products aim to keep tradi- tional to the cultures from whence they came. 100% Linens, Cotton Muslin and Silk are all ancient fabrics used for centu- ries. “You will never see a gingham or tie- dyed shroud from this company!” In 2009 Kent designed the first crema- tion shroud, named after Varansi, the Holy city of outdoor cremation in India. Although designed for observed crema- tions, the Varansai™ can be used for green burials as well as conventional burial in- side caskets. “We live in the Bay Area where many cultures in the tech industry come from countries that traditionally use shrouds like Sikhs, Hindus, and Bahai. Many countries in Latin America also tradition- ally use shrouds. “Our line has products from the most basic Muslin to the most elaborate Mort Couture line of 100% em- broidered silk. The male funeral directors tend to sell the most basic, while the fe- male funeral directors do well selling the high end styles like the silks,” says Kent. The Varanasi™ cremation shrouds trans- formed into the new line of Varanasi Jew- els™ available in requested jewel colors such as Blood Ruby, Ivory Pearl, Lapis Sapphire, Ever Emerald and Ultra Amethyst. Accord- ing to Kent these are popular with families who purchase according to birthstones or favorite colors of loved ones. “We recently introduced our Peacock shroud featuring Peacock feathers. We were pleasantly surprised to see it has become a national favorite,” says Kent. “Even in Nebraska!” “Kinkaraco’s line of shroud products now has imitators, but don’t be confused. A shroud is not just a long piece of cloth. Our designed and constructed shroud product is now what people think a shroud is! We’re like Kleenex!” adds Kent. Made for the 21st Century and unlike caskets Kent explains, “These products are very portable, can be put in a suitcase and flown to a funeral. They are less expensive than any casket. They are often purchased pre-need by couples and can be stored in closets or trunks for years.” Shrouds are not all Kinkaraco has to of- fer. In 2014 a postcard was sent as an ad- vertisement to promote the shrouds. It featured a photo from Moles Green Acres inWashington showing the shroud in pro- cession on top of an antique hand drawn funeral caisson. Surprised by the response, “All the green cemeteries wanted to know where to get the funeral caisson. So I de- cided to make them!” Working with someone who built props and wagons for the film industry Kent created the Kinkara-Kart™ Processional . These caissons can now be found in 13 cemeteries in very different terrains across the country. Vehicles are limited to roads and parking lots. Green cemeteries feature trails, meadows, dirt, mud and sand. “The Kinkara-Kart™ is a masterpiece and one of the pride and joys of our cemetery burial process. I can’t imagine now what we did without it!” says Freddy of Prairie Creek Cemetery, Gainesville, Florida. “People love the experience of the pro- cession following the Kinkara-Kart™ to the graveside. They love the good feeling it gives them walking through the woods into the meadow of the Preserve with this Kart. They absolutely love it and they tell peo- ple their experience with our cemetery as a result. It was well worth it. It took awhile at first to convince everyone, but now they tell me they wish we had purchased it soon- er!” says Russ Burns of The Preserve at All Saints, Waterford, Michigan. Sixteen years ago, Esmerelda Kent nev- er set out to start a business. Her inten- tion to be of service to people by creating a brand of high quality 100% American made products invented out of necessity has captured the people’s attention and her desire to change the aesthetic of 21st Century funerals with products no one had ever seen before caught on. Kinkaraco products are ecological, eco- nomical and elegant out of respect for that as natural is our living, is our dying. Visit www.kinkaraco.com to learn more. Continued from Page B1 Kinkara-Kart™ Processional Kinkaraco ® Funeral Products of which he and his wife adopted. Having the desire to help people, he decided on be- coming a funeral director. He went to school, became a funeral director, and served his ap- prenticeship in Olean, NY. In 1974, Treusdell bought the Davis Fu- neral Home in Friendship and in 1978 bought the Murken Funeral Home in Bel- fast. They have both been renamed Treusdell Funeral Home. After 46 years as a funeral di- rector, Treusdell was asked about the biggest change he has seen in the funeral industry. He said, “cremations are the biggest change. When I started, cremations accounted for 1-2 percent and now about 50 percent of the business is cremation.” At the young age of 88, Treusdell is still working everyday with no plans for retire- ment. He said, “I’ll quit when I can no lon- ger do the job!” Treusdell still does his own removals using his hearse. About a year ago, he saw an ad in the Funeral Home and Cem- etery News for LoadAlone™. He called and spoke to the inventor DavidMurphy, who is also a licensed funeral director, to see if Load- Alone™ was available for his hearse. Murphy customized LoadAlone™ so that it would fit and work in Treusdell’s hearse which is now used for all of his remov- als and funerals. Treusdell said, “recently I had to pick up a body that weighed over 300 pounds. I went at night, some people offered to help me load the body into my hearse. I thanked them and said I didn’t think I needed the help because I have this device called LoadAlone™. They stood there and watched as I pressed a button and this over 300-pound body loaded into my hearse without any lifting. They were amazed.” According to Treusdell, LoadAlone™ has made removals a one-man job. Before Load- Alone™, Treusdell would need to hire some- one to help him with removals. Now he says, “LoadAlone™ has saved me money because I can do the removals alone.” Treusdell said to Murphy, “Couldn’t work without help before this. This has made all the difference this past year, I really appreciate you, David, and what you have done for us.” Treusdell applauds LoadAlone’s customer service calling it excellent. In addition to cus- tomizing LoadAlone™ for the hearse,Murphy also installed a cable and LoadAlone mecha- nism so that Treusdell can use the LoadAlone device to pull the caskets and stretchers into the prep room without lifting, making Treus- dell Funeral Home a lift free environment. Developed by Mortuary Transport and Trade Supplies, LoadAlone™ is an affordable automated mortuary cargo loading system. Already accepted as a solution that helps pre- vent back injuries, the patent-pending system provides an additional layer of personal pro- tection to funeral directors who do removals from hospitals and nursing homes. The load- ing system fits most standard SUVs, vans, and hearses. It is easily installed and can be removed whenever necessary. Many funeral homes can claim Load- Alone™ as an equipment expense and some funeral homes may qualify for a tax credit. Funeral homes are advised to con- sult their tax accountant. A demo of the LoadAlone™ solution can be seen at https://youtu.be/NAebhtjB-6E or online at www.loadalone.com. Richard Treusdell praises Customized LoadAlone TM FRIENDSHIP,NY— Rich- ard Treusdell, owner of Treusdell Funeral Home with locations in Friendship and Belfast, NY, has been in the funeral business for over 46 years. How he became a funeral director is an interest- ing story. Treusdell’s first ca- reer was in a machine shop. At age 42, his doctor told him he needed a change of careers. Mr. and Mrs. Treus- dell had 6 natural children and 9 foster children, many Pierce Chemical welcomes Outbound Sales Manager Sherrie Welch Sherrie Welch DALLAS,TX—Lance Ray, executive vice president of Pierce Chemical, has an- nounced that SherrieWelch will join the organization as the outbound sales manager. In his announcement, Lance remarked “I feel so fortunate to have attracted top talent like Sherrie to the Pierce Chemical sales team. We discussed this new posi- tion last year at the start of the Covid pandemic to ex- pand our marketing efforts. She brings a strong back- ground in sales and market- ing to our team and there is no doubt in my mind she will help us reach customers and expand our footprint across more regions.” Welch will be focused on customer solutions, college outreach and convention marketing. She will also seek ways to collaborate with Pierce ac- count managers to identify and engage prospects who have not used Pierce fluid in the past. “I know being part of the Pierce team is a great fit for me,” Welch commented. “I have always had an interest in funeral service, and I am very excited to finally be in the industry.” Welch has been in the healthcare industry for al- most seven years and the manufacturing world for three years prior. She holds a Bachelor of Science de- gree in Marketing. She has been married to her husband for 14 years and they have an 11-year- old son. When she is not decorating her home, she enjoys crafting, the beach, relaxing by the pool and of course, she never misses a baseball or basketball game for her son! For more infor- mation, call 913-345-2120. CMC’s New Division Continued from Page B8 Our personalization servic- es add another dimension to our product offerings. Cur- rently we are capable of en- graving directly on the vast majority of our urns. We have a line of high-quali- ty bronze and silver name- plates that can be attached to urns that cannot be en- graved. As we move into the future, we are committed to bringing unique, one-of-a- kind personalization services that will give new meaning to “Celebrating Cherished Memories Forever”. To learn more about CMC’s new funeral and cremation products, visit www.cmc- carrier.com or call toll free at 866-881- 7391. Product catalogs are now available.