Wawrzyniak

Our sincerest condolences to West Jersey Funeral Directors Association member Sandra Wawrzyniak on the death of her mother Lorraine Wawrzyniak, who died on December 8, 2024.

The information contained in this column is a report of the actions taken by the board members who were present during the open public session portion of the meeting only. It is not a transcript of the official board minutes or an official record of attendance. It does not address board member attendance or actions taken during the executive session that typically follows the open session and is closed to the public.

December 12, 2024

Members Present

Paul Desbiens, Chair; Debbie Santangelo, Vice Chair; Linda McGloin; Jeffrey Kasko.

Five vacancies remain on the board: three professional, one public, and one community affairs designee.

Staff Present

Quin Archer, Executive Director; Dan Roman, Deputy Attorney General; Maria Rojas Letchford, Deputy Attorney General; Nicole Parelli, Regulatory Analyst.

Public

George R. Kelder Jr., CFSP, and Samantha L. Link, New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association, and 11 other members of the public were present.

Approval of Meeting Minutes

The Board approved the minutes of the October 17, 2024 meeting.

Old Business

• Greenwood Cemetery (CA# 28), bulk sales to Brooklyn of Fun Association and Jamil Foundation was moved to executive session for advice of counsel.

New Business

• The regulations overseen by the Cemetery Board are sunsetting in April 2025. While a committee is currently reviewing the regulations to make any necessary updates or changes, the Board voted to readopt the regulations “as is” to avoid expiration.

For Your Information

• S-3720, an act allowing for the operation of crematories at locations not situated on cemetery grounds or funeral home properties, was introduced in the Senate on October 7, 2024. DAG Dan Roman reminded Board members that at the last meeting they voted to send a letter of opposition on this bill, which Mr. Roman stated was drafted as a joint letter of opposition from the Cemetery and Mortuary Boards. The opposition statement is under review by Deputy Attorney General Wendy Faulk.
• Marlboro Memorial Park has signed a settlement agreement for its violation of N.J.S.A. 45:1-21a. The settlement agreement will be posted to the Board’s website in the near future.

Public Comment

Judy Welshons former New Jersey Cemetery Association executive director, inquired if the Legislature is now in a lame duck session and if so, couldn’t S-3720 move before the next board meeting in February.

Patrick Stewart, an associate with Public Strategies Impact, advised that the Legislature is only halfway through the legislative session which will not reorganize until January 2026.

There being no further public business, the Board adjourned its Public Session until February 13, 2025 and entered Executive Session.

With the beginning of a new year rapidly approaching, it’s time to give some thought to your end-of-year charitable giving.

The New Jersey Funeral Service Education Corporation, dedicated to assisting those actively working to enter funeral service in improving their craft and helping the families they serve, urges you to consider the NJFSEC in your plans.

The NJFSEC provides scholarships for the next generation of funeral directors, holds continuing education seminars, both online and in person, to help licensees meet CE requirements set by the State Board of Mortuary Science of New Jersey and supports the work of suicide prevention counselors and those who work in crisis and grief management.

This year, the NJFSEC has made it easier than ever to donate. Those seeking to give can now do so online here. All you need is to have your credit card handy and fill out the simple form that can be found on this page.

If you prefer to still make your donation by check, you can download a fillable donation form here. Once the form is filled out and printed, you can write your check and mail your contribution to:

New Jersey Funeral Service Education Corporation

P.O. Box L
Manasquan, NJ 08736-0642

With the help of your donations, the NJFSEC has contributed more than $100,000 toward ensuring a strong, vibrant and ethically-focused profession in New Jersey.

Your gift to the NJFSEC will help the corporation continue that mission.

The NJFSEC thanks you for your continued generosity and support.

In observance of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association office will be closed on the following days:

• Wednesday, December 25, 2024
• Wednesday, January 1, 2025

New Jersey Prepaid Funeral Trust Fund participants can access account information online at www.njsfda.org/picklist while the office is closed.

The NJSFDA office will reopen at 9:00 a.m. Thursday, December 26, 2024 after the Christmas holiday and at 9:00 a.m. Thursday, January 2, 2025 after the New Year’s holiday.

Trust Closing for Year-End Processing

The Trust will be closed for transactional processing on Tuesday, December 31, 2024, for its annual year-end preparations. During this time, Trust administrators will be available to answer your questions by telephone at 800.286.3628 or by email at choices@njsfda.org.

Online account creation, online claims and paper forms received by 3:30 p.m. Monday, December 30, 2024 will be processed that day. Forms and claims submitted after that time will be processed on Thursday, January 2, 2025.

The NJSFDA officers, management and staff wish you a safe and healthy holiday season. You have our heartfelt appreciation for all that you do.

New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association CEO and Executive Director George R. Kelder Jr., CFSP, has been recognized for his 35 years of dedicated service to the association.

NJSFDA President Tara M. Scarponi-Danniballe, speaking at the association’s Board meeting on December 10, 2024, paid tribute to Kelder’s extraordinary milestone. Since joining the organization on December 1, 1989, Kelder has been an integral part of the NJSFDA and its related organizations, services and products, embodying the values and mission that drive our work as funeral directors.

Kelder has held the role of CEO for the past nine years, during which time he has consistently demonstrated expertise, leadership and unwavering commitment to the association and funeral service, both in New Jersey and nationally. Over the years, Kelder and his staff have contributed to numerous significant projects, fostering innovation and excellence that have left a lasting impact on the organization and funeral directors throughout the state.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have George as a part of our association, Scarponi-Danniballe said. “His dedication, professionalism, and passion have been a cornerstone of our success, and the NJSFDA is grateful for his 35 invaluable years of service.”

There is little doubt that alternative forms of disposition are gaining popularity in the United States.

Among these alternatives are green burials, natural organic reduction, water cremation and mushroom suits. But which of these choices are the most intriguing to those searching for something different than traditional burials or cremation?

A recent informal study by Healthnews shows that the most popular forms of alternative disposition differ from state to state, with states generally accepted as the most “green” leading the way in queries about different methods.

Green burials, for which embalming is not performed and metal caskets and vaults are not used, remains the most popular alternative, according to the study. The second most popular is water cremation, also known as alkaline hydrolysis, in which the decomposition of a body is accelerated by placing it into a pressurized chamber and flooding it with a heated alkaline solution. Coming in third is natural organic reduction, also called human composting, which is the process of controlled supervised decomposition of a human body through the contained and accelerated conversion of human remains into a soil-like product.

The methodology used by Healthnews was not scientific. The publication conducted an analysis of Google Trends to find the most popular search terms for alternative forms of disposition over the past five years. What it found was that people in 39 states searched most often for some form of green burial. Among those states were New Jersey and all the other states in the Northeast.

Alkaline hydrolysis was favored in 11 other states, mostly in the Southeast and West.

The most interest in alternative forms of dispositions were registered in Vermont, Maine, Oregon, Colorado and the District of Columbia, according to the study.

With concerns about pollution and the ecological footprint left by traditional burials and traditional cremations, more people are considering alternative forms of disposition. The options for people in some states, including New Jersey, are currently limited, but acceptance of alternatives is gradually growing. New Jersey, for example, is considering legalizing natural organic reduction, which is currently allowed in at least 12 states. Legislation to legalize the process is pending in several other states as well.