Our Staff | Askew-Houser Funeral Homes Inc. (2024)

FAQs

Who is the largest owner of funeral homes? ›

Service Corporation International (SCI) is the largest funeral home company in the world, with a network of over 2,000 locations across the United States and Canada.

Morticians and funeral arrangers (also known as funeral directors or, historically, undertakers) plan the details of a funeral. They often prepare obituaries and arrange for pallbearers and clergy services. If a burial is chosen, they schedule the opening and closing of a grave with a representative of the cemetery.

A funeral assistant, also known as a funeral attendant, assists the director of a funeral home. As a funeral assistant, your responsibilities include assisting in planning the events of the funeral, escorting each guest and family member to the service, and potentially helping with the preparations of the remains.

This collection is an index of information taken from online obituaries published by cemeteries and funeral homes in the United States between 1847 and the present. Many of the obituaries were found on funeral home websites, and the index may include links to the original sources.

The most expensive part of a funeral is typically the basic services fee of a funeral home. The median cost of basic services fees is about $2,300. If you choose a traditional funeral and burial, your highest cost will likely be a metal casket. Metal caskets can cost around $2,500.

The most important thing to remember is that embalming is a very personal choice and by no means compulsory. If you're still unsure on whether you would choose embalming for your loved one, please contact your local Co-op funeral director who would be more than happy to answer any questions.

In some states funeral directors are required to hold both a license for embalming and funeral directing. In other parts of the country the two roles are licensed and performed separately. Skills that are identified as desirable in a funeral director include a knowledge of science and mathematics.

An embalmer is someone who prepares bodies for burial by sanitizing and preserving them. A mortician is someone who works with the bereaved, helps plan funerals, and oversees the burial process.

Crematory Operator, Funeral Assistant, Funeral Attendant, Funeral Greeter, Funeral Home Assistant, Funeral Home Associate, Funeral Home Attendant.

What is a morgue assistant called? ›

Also called mortuary assistants or mortuary technicians, they assist morticians and pathologists with autopsies and preparing bodies for funerals and burials. Depending on their career paths, morgue attendants may perform some tests or prepare specimens collected during these practices.

Funeral Directors Assistant / Mortuary Assistant.

Three large corporations now own 15% of the 23,000 homes in the funeral home industry. Service Corporation International (SCI), based in Houston, is the largest of the three, followed by Loewen Group Inc., based in Vancouver, Canada and Philadelphia, and Stewart Enterprises Inc., based in New Orleans.

Homes near cemeteries may be more affordable.

Because a certain percentage of the population would not want to live next to a cemetery, homes nearby typically are more affordable. A buyer may be able to afford a nicer, larger home near a cemetery than if the house was a few blocks away.

columbaria), also called a cinerarium, is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns holding cremated remains of the dead. The term comes from the Latin columba (dove) and originally solely referred to compartmentalized housing for doves and pigeons, also called dovecotes.

Three large corporations now own 15% of the 23,000 homes in the funeral home industry. Service Corporation International (SCI), based in Houston, is the largest of the three, followed by Loewen Group Inc., based in Vancouver, Canada and Philadelphia, and Stewart Enterprises Inc., based in New Orleans.

Service Corp. International owns more funeral homes, cemeteries, and crematories than any other company in North America. At last count, the company operates 1,254 funeral service locations and 372 cemeteries in 43 states, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Germany.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for funeral home managers is $72,110 per year (as of May 2022). The median annual salary for morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers was $51,570 that same year.

But, of course, that's all fiction. The Addams family doesn't actually exist, but the Blumberg family in Dresden, Ontario, comes pretty close! The family behind the Discovery+ show We Bought a Funeral Home have shown the world their spooky side, turning an old funeral home into an incredible work of art.