The New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association is urging its member firms to participate in the 2025 Biennial Pricing Statistics Survey so the association can obtain data vital to the operation and financial health of funeral homes throughout the state.

An increased number of responses is needed so that the data gathered is statistically sound. If you have not yet submitted your 2025 survey, please do so immediately. The survey takes only 10 minutes to complete and can be done by any staff member.

Our revised deadline for participation is Monday, April 7, 2025.

The results of the survey, in which funeral homes are asked for information regarding their pricing structures, are used by the association to advocate for New Jersey funeral homes and directors with the state’s executive and legislative branches of government.

The 2025 survey is especially important because of the uncertainty surrounding the future of Medicaid funding that the federal government funnels to states to offset the cost of healthcare for those less fortunate.

NJSFDA Executive Director and CEO George R. Kelder Jr., CFSP, said that potential cuts to Medicaid funding and the procedures that govern availability could affect the hard-won increases in the Work First New Jersey program that funds funerals for some Medicaid recipients who have no assets and no prepaid arrangements. The 2021 biennial survey was instrumental in proving the need for an increase in the reimbursement for WFNJ funerals.

Survey responses are completely anonymous.

How to Complete the Survey

The survey can be completed in one of TWO methods:

Online. Respondents can access the survey through an email sent to all REG1 members on March 17, 2025. They should complete each field on every page before submitting the document.

OR

By email. If respondents prefer, they can complete a fillable pdf, which can be found here. Once each area of the pdf is complete, the document can be emailed to pricingsurvey@njsfda.org. 

Only one response per funeral home should be submitted.

Funeral home owners and managers are urged to complete the survey as soon as possible in order to provide the NJSFDA with information needed to continue effectively advocating for your businesses and the future of the funeral industry.

Cases of a potentially dangerous fungus mostly found in hospitals and other healthcare facilities continue to rise in New Jersey, with confirmed instances of exposure increasing nearly 60 percent between 2023 and 2024, according to state Department of Health statistics.

The DOH is urging healthcare professionals to be vigilant and report cases of Candida auris, also known as C. auris, because the fungus is drug resistant and can cause serious infections in those who are exposed to it. The fungus is carried on the body and spread to others and surfaces where it can enter an exposed person’s bloodstream through open wounds and ears, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The fungus is found “particularly in long-term acute care hospitals and nursing homes that take care of patients on ventilators,” the DOH stated.

“Patients can carry C. auris on their body, even if it is not making them sick,” the DOH continued. “This is called colonization. When people in hospitals and nursing homes are colonized, C. auris can spread from their bodies and can get on other people or nearby objects, allowing the fungus to spread to people around them.”

The CDC said that C. auris is generally not considered a threat to healthy people, but those with underlying medical conditions in need of medical care can face serious consequences if they are affected by the fungus.

First reported in the state in 2015, yearly cases of the fungus have grown steadily over the decade. Reaching 150 in 2019 and spiking to 384 in 2023. The number of cases rose to 613 in 2024, according to the DOH.

The CDC warns that C. auris can stay live on patient’s skin for a long time. Those delivering care to those suspected of having C. auris should frequently was their hands with alcohol-based hand sanitizer. If alcohol-based hand sanitizer is not available, hands should be frequently washed with soap and water. As with all cases, funeral directors should use personal protective equipment when handling remains.

The president and chief executive officer of the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science has resigned from the school after a nine-year tenure.

Jack E. Lechner Jr., a former New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association member, had been the leader of the school since 2016. The college’s board of trustees appointed Poul Lemasters to serve as interim president and CEO, according to a press release issued by the college. A search for a full-time replacement will begin, the college said.

Lemasters had been a member of the board of trustees for the past six years. A 1996 alumnus of the college, he resigned from the board to become the interim president. In addition to being a licensed funeral director and embalmer in several states, Lemasters is an attorney who has lectured on funeral industry and deathcare issues throughout the country.

Lechner, the college said, “helped to expand and enhance the CCMS curriculum, transforming deathcare education.” In 2024, the college opened a fully operational crematory, where students were able to participate in cremations, handle paperwork and establish and ensure proper chain of custody and identity of remains.

“Students didn’t just see PowerPoint slides about cremation; they actually perform cremations,” Lechner said at the time.

In early 2025, though, Lechner was the target of a petition circulated among students that called for a “vote of no confidence” in the college’s leadership, according to a WXIX article. The firing of several members of the college’s staff, including two instructors, was cited as the reason for the petition.

The college, however, said in response to the petition that students would “receive the same level of dedication, professionalism, and expertise from the current instructors delivering the same curriculum,” WXIX wrote.

New Jersey mortuary school students who are seeking financial help with the costs of their education should submit an application for a New Jersey Funeral Service Education Corporation scholarship.

The NJFSEC offers up to $7,500 in scholarships annually to New Jersey resident mortuary school students. The scholarships help mortuary students with their education costs. Students must be enrolled in an American Board of Funeral Service Education accredited mortuary program.

Complete applications must be emailed to scholarships@njsfda.org by the close of business on June 27, 2025.

Dedicated mortuary students who could benefit from the scholarship should make sure to download and submit a complete NJFSEC 2025 Scholarship Application. Scholarship applicants continuing or beginning their mortuary school studies during the fall of 2025 are eligible to apply for this year’s scholarship.

All applicants must:

• Be a New Jersey resident who intends to become a New Jersey licensed funeral director
• Be currently registered as an intern with the New Jersey State Board of Mortuary Science
• Be registered in or attending a mortuary science program accredited by the ABFSE for the fall 2025 semester
• Maintain a 3.0 grade point average on a scale of 4.0 in college/university programs. (Individuals who attended more than one college/university must have a combined average for all institutions of 3.0)
• Submit a completed application and all corresponding materials by the application deadline. Incomplete, late and/or handwritten applications will not be considered
• Participate in an in-person interview

If you know of a student in need of a scholarship, please encourage them to apply. More information on eligibility and the application process can be found here.

In-person interviews will be scheduled after the June 27, 2025 application deadline. The final selection of scholarship recipients will be made no later than August 15, 2025. All applicants will be notified by email.

Scholarship recipients must attend the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association General Session, held during the 2025 Funeral Directors Convention and Expo in Atlantic City. The date of the General Session is Tuesday, September 16, 2025.

NJFSEC scholarships allows students to concentrate on their studies and preparation for a career in funeral service rather than on rising tuition costs. The scholarship decreases the amount of loans students need to complete mortuary school. NJFSEC has awarded scholarships to mortuary students for nearly two decades.

Disclosure: Scholarships are awarded at the discretion of the NJFSEC. Awards are based on completed applications. The decision of the NJFSEC is final. The NJFSEC reserves the right not to make an award if applicants do not meet scholarship standards. The NJFSEC also reserves the right to split awards.

The NJFSEC treats scholarship applicants without regard to race, creed, sex, age, color, national origin or ancestry, religion, disability or handicap, affectional or sexual orientation, marital status or NJSFDA member or non-member affiliation.

Another Scholarship Opportunity

Those seeking financial help with their mortuary school education may also want to consider applying for a Monmouth and Ocean Funeral Directors Association 2025 Scholarship.

The MOFDA scholarships are awarded to those currently enrolled in an ABFSE-accredited mortuary program. Students beginning their school in the fall 2025 semester are eligible to apply.

More details on criteria, as well as the scholarship application, can be found here. The deadline for application is June 1, 2025. They be mailed to mofda2019@gmail.com. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Interviews will be scheduled following the application deadlines, and applicants will be notified of awards by telephone or email.

Disclosure: Scholarships are awarded at the discretion of the Monmouth and Ocean Funeral Directors Association. Decisions are based on completed applications. The decisions of the MOFDA are final. MOFDA reserves the right to not make an award if no applicants meet the scholarship standards.

MOFDA treats scholarship applicants without regard to race, creed, sex, age, color, national origin or ancestry, religion, disability or handicap, affectional or sexual orientation, marital status or NJSFDA member of non-member affiliation. Those with questions should contact mofda2019@gmail.com.

Three New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association member firms have been nominated for the Order of the Golden Rule’s Professional Service Awards.

The nominees have “exhibited outstanding compassion for the families they serve and a commitment to their community,” a release from OGR states.

Brunswick Memorial Home was nominated for the 2025 Community Service Award, which is given “in recognition of a funeral home’s outstanding community service as demonstrated by activities benefiting local organizations or community events.

In addition, Freitag Funeral Home, Oliverie Funeral Home and Brunswick Memorial were nominated for the OGR’s 2025 Exemplary Service Award, which is given to firms that provide “outstanding customer service” to families.

The nominees will be honored at the Golden Circle Celebration on May 7, 2025 at an event in Riverside, CA.

A Pennsylvania funeral home is under investigation for allegedly mishandling decedents’ remains. A burial site uncovered in England appears to predate Stonehenge. And a British funeral director calls the lack of memorialization for COVID-19 victims a “great shame.” These stories and more are in the week in funeral news.

NEWS

How Innovative Cremation Services Are Giving a New Spin to the End of Life
By Alix Strauss (New York Post)
I recently landed in Santa Fe, NM, looking forward to meeting the stones. Not the aging but somehow still performing “Rolling Stones,” but the rare gray and robin’s egg blue stones that were once the cremains of Mark Cessarich, a 64-year-old second-grade teacher-turned-economist, who passed away in July from a heart attack and diabetes complications. His ashes were delivered by his daughter and son to Parting Stone, a company helping define the post-cremation space–a category in the funeral industry that’s become unexpectedly popular and plentiful. Read more here.

Lawsuit Claims Pennsylvania Funeral Home “Mishandled” Corpses; Charges Expected
By Gary Sinderson (WJAC)
The district attorney in Centre County, PA, says criminal charges are expected soon in a case involving a local funeral home. Officials say one lawsuit against the funeral home claims that a corpse was left there for six weeks, instead of being cremated. Read more here.

Could This Prehistoric Burial Site Have Influenced the Construction of Stonehenge?
By Eli Wizevich (Smithsonian Magazine)
Researchers have found that a prehistoric burial site called Flagstones is one of the earliest known large circular enclosures in Britain. Located in Dorset, Flagstones dates to around 3200 B.C.E., about two centuries earlier than experts previously thought, according to a new study published in the journal Antiquity. That makes it older than Stonehenge, its more famous counterpart. Read more here.

Funeral Home Accused of Giving Wrong Body to Family
By Madisen Keavy (KMAX)
A shocking funeral home mix-up took place in California. A lawsuit filed this week accuses a funeral home in Sacramento of shipping a stranger’s body to a family in El Salvador. Francisco Quintanilla died in November 2024 in Sacramento. Read more here.

COVID-19

COVID-19 Lives Weren't Celebrated, Funeral Director Says
By Liz Saul and Craig Buchan (BBC News)
A funeral director has expressed his sadness that people who died during the Covid pandemic were never "celebrated" by their families. Many people were unable to hold services to say goodbye to their loved ones due to public health restrictions on gatherings that were in place at the time. Michael Lawrence, the owner of Family Funeral Service in Kent, said: “After that period, people were not inclined to revisit that death and try to gather everyone back together again.” People who died “just disappeared quietly into the darkness and it is a great shame,” he added. Read more here.

OPINION

If You Know You Are Going to Die, Don’t Wait to Celebrate Your Life
By Jann E. Freed (Fortune)
Too often we wait until it is too late to tell people how much they matter to us. When a friend of mine found out her mother was diagnosed with a sudden illness with no cure, I suggested she have a celebration of life while her mother was still alive. Read more here.