Wall Street Journal on the Undertakers vs. the Monks

Friday, 27 August 2010 14:48

8/27/2010— The Wall Street Journal has an excellent piece on the Louisiana Funeral Board's embarrassing crusade to put the Benedictine Monks out of the casket business. Some LA undertakers offered some choice quotes:

"They're cutting into our profit," says Leonard Dunn, the owner of Serenity Funeral Home, located a short drive from the abbey. He adds. "I don't think the monks are actually making the caskets—I think it's a marketing gimmick."

Boyd Mothe Jr., a member of the fifth generation of his family to run Mothe Funeral Homes outside New Orleans, says Louisiana's law should remain on the books because licensed directors have the training to sell caskets—transactions he calls "complicated." For instance, he says, "a quarter of America is oversized. I don't even know if the monks know how to make an oversized casket."

Some in the industry complain that Funeral Consumers Alliance unfairly smears the industry's reputation. We don't need to, since funeral directors are doing such a competent job themselves.

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 02 March 2011 22:51 )

Comments (3)

By trying to hide behind an incredibly self serving law, the LAFD's created a brilliant marketing plan for the Monks. I'm guessing their casket sales will go through the roof now. What mastermind thought that a bunch of funeral directors would win a battle of public opinion against an order of Monks?

I worked in the funeral profession since I was 16 yo. Funeral Directors and what they do are managed by state boards that are usually ALL funeral directors. The one or two at large civilian members are nothing more then tokens. They are self serving and self managing. During the Bush years, the service corp international gave plenty of dough to keep things there way...For a funeral director to make statements that the monks are cutting into their profits, GOOD FOR THE MONKS!

It is high time these guys feel it where it hurts them the most. PROFITS.
I remember being paid $20.00 bucks in the 60s for about 55 hours of work..THe funeral director held on to the check until I gave thanks for his teaching me the business...Caskets are marked up 100 to 2000% in some businesses. I know what they paid for them. Its time america smarts up, One casket, Card board, partical board, wood or metal. They ALL do the same thing. Its like burying your money. Although I have a great deal of respect for the profession, I would like to see things go back about 75 years. Simple coffins. The price you pay for a casket or funeral, the amount of flowers, etc. DO NOT MEAN THAT YOU LOVED THE DECEASED MORE THAN THE NEXT GUY. Wake up folks. If you want to give your hard earned money away, Give it to the politicians . Oh sorry, you're doing it indirectly anyway!

If your going to do cremation, just go direct from either the hospital or the bed the person died in right to the cemetary crematorium. No casket needed - you can get a free burn crate from the crematorium. And you can also haul the crated body yourself, a minivan works great for that. You just need the proper paperwork for pickup and delivery.

None of my grandparents ever did the open casket thing at a funeral, all of them had rememberance ceremonies at the church that served in place of a funeral, and the body & casket were nowhere near the place. I've always felt the idea of viewing a dead body in a casket to be disgusting anyway. Remember the person while they were alive, not what is left behind after they die.