Funeral Consumers Alliance

Hello Ms. Carlson. In response to your question, I am not implying that most funeral directors do not know the identity of the bodies they have removed from the place of death. Unfortunately, identity mistakes are made at the institutions where the deceased are removed (e.g. hospitals and nursing homes). I did not make any admission of industry incompetence. Rather, I represent and support due diligence as well as carefully carrying out the duties of a funeral service practitioner. What you are not privileged to is the well-written explanation from Ms. Kathy Jackson explaining why her funeral home requires the identification. That explanation would have fully answered your question, as she provided an example of what can happen when the body is not properly identified. Unfortunately, Mr. Slocum (the original poster) is not a licensed funeral practitioner. While his watchdog crusading intentions may be pure, it is unfair of him to paint the funeral service industry with a brush of incompetence. It has been my experience that most families want to see their deceased loved ones before they are buried or cremated. [[NOTE FROM JOSH SLOCUM AT FCA - Monica, thanks for your comments. They're welcome here, even if I disagree. But please don't accuse me of things I didn't say. I certainly did not "paint the funeral service industry with a brush of incompetence." Please criticize me only for the things I did say. Further, I don't believe anyone is required to have a funeral director's license to comment on practices that affect all consumers.To satisfy your concerns, I'll add Kathy Jackson's comments to this thread]]. I am more than willing to answer any questions you may have about the funeral service industry. I can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Thank you for your question.