From left NJSFDA Executive Director and CEO George R. Kelder Jr., CFSP, U.S. Representative Mikie Sherrill, NJSFDA President Tara M. Scarponi-Danniballe, NJSFDA President-Elect Ryan M. Buckland and NJSFDA Director of Government Affairs Samantha L. Link.

U.S. Representative Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in the 2025 election, stressed affordability and government efficiency in a wide-ranging discussion with New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association members and staff recently.

Sherrill, appearing at a meet-and-greet at the NJSFDA’s Wall office, touched on everything from the costs of utilities and housing to an aging and inadequate transportation infrastructure. But, in keeping with her role as a four-term congresswoman, she stressed that a bill signed by President Donald J. Trump that radically restructures spending and taxation in the U.S. would hurt New Jerseyans.

“We give $70 billion more to the federal government than they return to us. And so if they are not going to run the programs that they are on the hook for, send the money back, and we will run those programs,” Sherrill said.

In particular, Sherrill referred to Medicaid, cuts to which could dramatically change the way funeral directors conduct business in New Jersey. The NJSFDA has warned that cuts to Medicaid could harm people’s desire and ability to prefund funerals during the spend-down process and could force cutbacks in the already underfunded Work First New Jersey program, which reimburses funeral directors for handling services for Medicaid patients who die without prepaid funeral arrangements.

Sherrill’s main opponent in the November election is Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a former state assemblyman and businessman. Ciattarelli is scheduled to meet with NJSFDA members and staff in August.

Sherrill also addressed the NJSFDA’s concerns about the efficiency of the Division of Consumer Affairs, which includes numerous professional oversight boards, including the State Board of Mortuary Science of New Jersey. Slow response times, inadequately trained personnel and backlogs for everything from consumer complaints to licensing have plagued the division for years.

“I've heard from people that they couldn't understand why they couldn't get through, and then they find out that the one person that can give them their permit is on maternity leave,” Sherrill said. “I mean, that makes no sense, right?”

In some ways, she said, it doesn’t feel as if Trenton “is running as a professional organization.”

She discussed instituting a tracking program so people could find out the status of permitting and licensing, not unlike the FedEx system for tracking packages, which she said could help with business planning. Sherrill also discussed allowing good employees to innovate and holding unproductive workers more accountable.

“So we need to kind of remove the blocks. remove the people that aren't serving the public very well and get this functioning well so we can move forward,” Sherrill said.

Expanding the use and supply of clean energy could also help small businesses such as funeral homes, Sherrill said.

“We talk a lot about home energy and utility costs, but obviously, as you guys know, it's also really about business costs as well,” Sherrill said.

Another significant expense in New Jersey is property taxes, and Sherrill broached the subject of municipal and school consolidation as a way to achieve some savings.

“We have a lot of different redundancies that are really driving up costs. I think we can share services and municipal courts. We can share some of the administrative costs for schools,” Sherrill said. “I think some of our counties, some of our best schools in the state, our county run magnet schools, I think we should do more of that to defray some of the school costs of our towns.”

A space burial capsule crashed in the Pacific Ocean, taking with it the cremated remains of 166 people. Cavers in Mexico discover a 500-year-old burial chamber deep in a mountain in Mexico. And an Australian man reflects on the 10,000 people he’s buried during a decades-long career. These stories and more are in the week in funeral news.

NEWS

Eight Weird Things about Dying in the Netherlands
By Heather Slevin (Dutch Review)
So, you’re planning on dying in the Netherlands. Well, not so much planning as… you know, planning the unplanable. Death plays a significant role in many world cultures, and like cultures, there are certain differences you’ll notice. Let’s just say reaching your final destination in the land of cheese, krentenbol, and toilet calendars has its own quirks. Read more here.

Space Burial Capsule with 166 People's Ashes and Cannabis Seeds Lost in Pacific Ocean Crash
By ABP Live Science
In a dramatic turn of events, a space capsule carrying the ashes of more than 160 people and a batch of cannabis seeds met a tragic end after plummeting into the Pacific Ocean during its return to Earth. Read more here.

Cavers Find 500-Year-Old Burials Hidden Deep inside Mexico Mountain
By Aspen Pflughoeft (Miami Herald)
Reports of looting led archaeologists to explore an easily overlooked cave in northern Mexico. Eventually, the team found several 500-year-old burials in a hard-to-reach chamber of the cave. Read more here.

Inside the 2005 London Bombing Response: “You Just Kept Going”
By Charlotte Andrews (BBC News)
In the days after the 2005 London bombings, urgent efforts were made to identify the 52 victims. Twenty years later, the BBC hears what life was like for one of those tasked with helping. Read more here.

Honoring Mother Earth Through a Placenta Burial
By CBC News
Placenta is the greatest gift you could give back to Mother Earth, according to Elder Jeannie Bartiboque of Esgenoôpetitj First Nation in New Brunswick, Canada. Bartiboque recently led a placenta burial ceremony for Shelly-Ann Robichaud, Tyler Strang and their nine-month-old daughter, Sage. They buried the placenta with sacred medicine–cedar and natural tobacco–and planted a tree over it, a physical marker of their daughter's connection with Mother Earth. Read more here.

“Ephraim Will Know:” The Man Who Buried 10,000 People Has Lessons on Empathy, Loss and the Majesty of Memory
By Katia Ariel (The Guardian)
It’s a cool summer morning in the last days of 1959 and a teenager is riding his bike through Rookwood cemetery in Sydney, Australia. As he glides across the grounds, he notices the signs of dawn. The dew is melting off the grass. A fox leaps behind a bunya pine, and as if out of nowhere, a few of its cubs follow. The soil is firm beneath his tires, and he can smell it warming, roused by the sun after a night of slumber. Read more here.

New Jersey funeral homes are required to submit an annual Regulated Medical Waste generator report by July 21, 2025, a deadline set by state regulation.

The reports must be filed electronically, a requirement since 2022. No paper copies will be accepted.

Generators of more than 200 pounds of regulated medical waste each year are required by state law to submit the RMW generator report, but even funeral homes that produce fewer than 200 pounds (considered Category 1 and Category 2 generators) must submit an abbreviated report. The reporting period is from June 22, 2024 to June 21, 2025.

The state has provided detailed instructions on submitting the reports. Further information on filing the reports can be found here and here. Other instructional information, including video training on submitting the RMW reports, can be found here

To file the generator reports, funeral homes will need their myNewJersey site login (the same login used to access VERI-NJ). This login will be used on the DEP Online Business Portal. Reminder: Your myNewJersey account must be for an individual and not a business entity. If you do not have an online account, click here to create one.

Once logged into the site, you must enter your generator ID number (either a six-digit number or a seven-digit number with a zero as the first digit).

If you cannot find your ID number, go to https://www.nj.gov/dep/dshw/hwr/medwaste.htm to look it up in the database of generators.

IMPORTANT: Funeral directors will not be able to file the RMW generator report if they are using Microsoft Internet Explorer. They must use either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, preferably the latest versions of those browsers.

By regulations, the burden of proof is upon each funeral home that generates RMW. See the Burden of Proof provisions at N.J.A.C. 7:26-1.13(a). Through the execution and certification of the electronic submission, funeral homes can annually and easily satisfy the burden of proof requirement.

If you have specific questions regarding the submission of your 2024 RMW Annual Generator Report, please contact the NJ Department of Environmental Protection–RMW Report Unit via email at rmwgeneratorannualreports@dep.nj.gov or call 609.292.7081 and press 4 at the prompt.

Registration Bills Mailed

The state Department of Environmental Protection has also emailed notices informing funeral homes that their Annual Medical Waste Generator Registration Fee is due. The fee covers the period ending July 21, 2026.

Funeral homes can pay the fee online with a credit card or e-check at https://njdeponline.com/. Those responding should click on “Pay a Paper Invoice” under “Non-Registered Services.” Your invoice number will be included in the DEP email, which came from mebinfo@dep.nj.gov.

Those who wish to pay by mail should receive a paper bill from the Department of Treasury within three weeks of the DEP email notification. If you have already paid your bill online, ignore the paper bill.

John D. Marsellus, who led a renowned company that produced what had been called the “Rolls Royce of caskets” used by politicians, sports figures and other notable figures, has died. He was 86.

Marsellus worked his way up from a sales trainee at the Marsellus Casket Company, which was founded by his great-grandfather in Syracuse, NY, in 1872, to become the firm’s chairman. The company was known for its high-quality caskets that were used for the funerals of U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy, Richard M. Nixon, Harry S. Truman and Ronald Reagan, as well as sports figures such as legendary football coach Vince Lombardi and baseball icon Mickey Mantle.

For Marsellus, the manufacture of caskets was something he felt compelled to do, “since my name was on the sign.” But the “family” business, extended to more than just his blood relatives. Even the company’s building on Richmond Avenue in Syracuse, was family to Marsellus.

“It took on a human quality, anthropomorphic, for me,” Marsellus told the Syracuse.com. “I could reconstruct it. Every brick had a story to tell. That’s where the soul of the company developed.”

Marsellus Casket Company was eventually sold to Batesville, which still produces some Marsellus designs.

Marsellus, who lived his entire life in the Syracuse area, was as devoted to his community as he was to the company that bore his name. Known as a philanthropist, he served in leadership positions at several civic organizations, believing that giving back was “in his DNA,” he told Syracuse.com.

Marsellus is survived by his wife, Candace; a daughter, Bettina; a son, Derrick, and several grandchildren.

The New Jersey Prepaid Funeral Trust Fund has created a video tutorial to aid funeral directors participating in the Trust in setting up CHOICES accounts online.

The video can be found by visiting New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Online Account Creation was unveiled by the Trust in October 2024 as part of an ongoing commitment to providing a seamless and convenient experience for prearrangement families.

The REG 1 member affiliated with your funeral home automatically has access to Online Account Creation, but other licensed staff will need to be added. REG 1 members can grant access to other licensed staff by completing this Trust Access Authorization Form.

A printable user manual for Online Account Creation is also available here, but some participants may prefer the convenience of the video tutorial embedded below:

Those funeral homes that have yet to begin using Online Account Creation should be aware of the following advantages of this feature:

Online Account Creation

• Easily set up your Funeral Planning Choices Trust account from the comfort of your arrangement office.
• Our user-friendly interface guides you through the process step by step, ensuring a smooth and hassle-free experience for both families and funeral directors.
• Compliant and required paperwork can be printed in office at the conclusion of the prearrangement.

Secure Online Funding

• Families may safely and securely fund their account electronically with just a few clicks.

Convenience

• Create accounts online without dealing with delays often caused by the post office that could jeopardize SSI/Medicaid eligibility.

Security

• Our Trust system continues to use the latest security protocols to protect your families' personal and financial information.

Peace of Mind

• Ensure your prepaid funeral arrangements are in place and funded (typically opened and funded within 24 business hours), providing comfort and reassurance to you and the families you serve.

These new optional features are sure to enhance your prearrangement experience with Funeral Planning CHOICES, making it easier than ever to initiate, fund and make additional deposits.

Those with questions can call Trust administrators at 800.286.3628.

The 2025 Funeral Directors Convention and Expo, held from September 16 to September 18 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, will feature a varied and interesting array of speakers for attendees.

The seminars, which are all approved for one elective continuing education credit toward licensure, will delve into relevant topics such as the growing market for green funerals, digital marketing methods designed to promote your funeral home and handling the funerals of law enforcement officials who die in the line of duty.

Each seminar will be held twice during the Convention, which allows those attending the event some flexibility in scheduling their activities. All seminars have been approved for one elective CEU toward licensing renewal.

This article will outline the three of the six continuing education seminars scheduled during the Convention. A second article in a future edition of The FORUM will feature the other three speakers.

In Green Light on Green Funerals, Darren Crouch will explore the rising preference for environmentally responsible funeral options and how funeral homes can successfully adapt.

Crouch is the cofounder, president and CEO of Passages International, which helps funeral homes meet the needs of less traditional consumers, including the growing clientele that chooses cremation, scattering or more natural end-of-life rituals. He has been published in several funeral industry magazines and has spoken at national and international conventions.

Crouch holds a degree from the Manchester Metropolitan University in Manchester, England, and is the president of the Green Burial Council.

This seminar will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 16 and from 9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, September 17.

John Horan will present Final Salute: The Funeral Director's Role in Line of Duty Deaths, which will give attendees a roadmap for navigating the legal, ceremonial and logistical responsibilities following the death of a police officer in the line of duty.

The owner of funeral homes in Colorado, Indiana and Kentucky, Horan is the cofounder and board member of the Colorado Fallen Hero Foundation which coordinates law enforcement officers’ line-of-duty death funerals. Horan has led or assisted on more than 30 line-of-duty funerals.

Horan holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado and an associate’s degree from the San Francisco College of Mortuary Science. He is senior vice president of the Park Lawn Corporation in the Denver area.

This seminar will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 16 and from 9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, September 17.

In Staying Ahead of the Game: Using Digital Marketing to Generate Preneed Leads, Glenn Gould III, MS, will provide marketing strategies that funeral service practitioners can apply to managing a deathcare business, with the goal of long-term profitability.

Gould was CEO of MKJ Marketing for 35 years. The deathcare industry marketing firm served funeral homes, cemeteries and death care industry vendors in areas of digital marketing, market research, advertising and training programs.

Through MKJ, Gould assisted funeral homes and deathcare industry vendors in establishing marketing and advertising plans. Gould holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees. His articles appear regularly in funeral service publications, and he has written two books that are used at mortuary colleges nationally.

This seminar will be held from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday, September 16 and from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 17.

To take advantage of these informative seminars, register for the 2025 Convention. Visit convention.njsfda.org/speakers for more information on these seminars and others.

Descriptions of more speakers and their seminars will appear in a future edition of The FORUM.