Governor Phil Murphy has signed a bill into law that would modernize the practitioner of mortuary science licensing structure in New Jersey to better align with changing consumer preferences and the needs of the industry.

A-3940/S-1635 introduces the title of “Practitioner of Mortuary and Embalming Science” while preserving the title of “Practitioner of Mortuary Science,” allowing for new entrants into the industry who opt not to embalm due to religious, cultural, or personal reasons to obtain licensure.

The new law, which has been two years in the making, was crafted in collaboration and with the input of the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association Board of Directors and Legislative and Law Committee, legislation sponsors, legislative leadership and internal and external stakeholders, to ensure the measure best meets current and future needs of the funeral industry.

The bill had significant support in both the Assembly and Senate, with a nearly unanimous vote in both houses, as the state seeks to identify avenues for industries to address workforce shortage issues and changing dynamics of work/life integration expectations now demanded by newest entrants employees.

This new structure comes at a time when the industry has continued to see a rise in cremation as the choice of disposition, with more than 50 percent of New Jersey decedents being cremated. The Cremation Association of North America predicts the national average could rise to nearly 80 percent in the next decade. The cremation rate, coupled with New Jersey’s rise in religious populations that prefer no embalming prior to disposition, also affects how the need for every licensee to also be an embalmer no longer exists, while the need for new entrants into the industry is a necessity.

The law neither diminishes licensure requirements nor lowers academic standards. Funeral service students will still be required to obtain an associate or bachelor's degree and attend an accredited funeral service education program to be instructed in arts and sciences. Non-embalming students will still be required to pass classroom instruction but will be exempted from the clinical embalming coursework.

The law also addresses other barriers to entry into the field by once again making the National Board Exam voluntary for reciprocity purposes. With a large attrition rate, the NBE significantly diminishes the pool of new applicants each year. This new law alleviates testing redundancy while students will continue to prove competencies in their craft by testing out of funeral service school, taking the State Jurisprudence Exam and through practical training.

Now funeral home owners and managers will have the flexibility to hire licensees who are, or are not, licensed to embalm based on their funeral home’s individual needs.

Other changes made by this law are:

Requiring that a registration manager can only be a Practitioner of Mortuary and Embalming Science.

Establishing criteria for preceptors and interns that requires those interns that wish to embalm to be under the supervision of a Practitioner of Mortuary and Embalming Science preceptor and allowing those interns who do not want to be licensed in embalming to intern under either practitioner license.

Nationally aligning the number of embalmings required for interns to perform prior to licensure from 75 to 50.

Deleting and modernizing of antiquated language from the statute that has been unnecessary since 1952.

The law will go into effect 18 months after its enactment, making the effective date in the fall of 2026, just before the new licensing period will begin. The law now goes to the State Board of Mortuary Science of New Jersey where they will promulgate the necessary regulations.

At its recent annual meeting, the International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards requested that the American Board of Funeral Service develop an accredited funeral-director-only, non-embalming curriculum.

If you currently hold a “Practitioner of Mortuary Science” license, no action is needed from you. Your license will simply transition to a “Practitioner of Mortuary and Embalming Science” license upon the next license renewal in February 2027.

With registration for the 2025 Funeral Directors Convention and Expo open, those seeking to attend may also want to book their hotel rooms at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City when they register for the September 16-September 18 event.

Those booking a room at the Hard Rock, however, should be aware of third-party vendors who may provide either shoddy service or no room at all. Emails have already been sent to prospective Convention attendees advertising cut-rate rooms and urging people to book through them before their block of rooms runs out.

While some of these third-party companies are legitimate, others are scammers that provide substandard services or don’t book rooms but instead steal credit-card information.

The Federal Trade Commission acted in 2024 to stop some scams in which businesses, professional or trade organizations and governments are impersonated in order to take advantage of people such as attendees of various conventions.

“This type of scam is increasingly common and it’s not hard to see why,” a 2016 article on the travel site Frommer’s says. “In order to attract participants, conference planners regularly post the names of speakers and attendees on their websites, along with their affiliations and the complete schedule for the gathering. The level of detail makes it simple for scammers to convince conference attendees they’re part of the event.”

Those seeking to entice attendees with cut-rate room deals are often called “poachers.” Poachers may book rooms for attendees that are not at the hotel where the event is located or provide other substandard accommodations that leave the attendee at a disadvantage.

Book Your Room Through the Hard Rock

The best way to avoid falling victim to a hotel booking scam is to use the links on the Convention registration page to book your hotel room.

By booking your reservation through the NJSFDA-provided links, you will save yourself disappointment and guarantee that your room will be waiting for you when you get to the Convention.

All room reservations for the Convention should ONLY be booked directly with the Hard Rock’s online booking page, which can be found here, or by telephone at 609.449.6860. When booking, make sure to use the Convention code GNJF925 to get a discounted rate.

If you have any questions regarding this year’s event, please contact Convention Management at 800.734.3712 or via email at convention@njsfda.org.

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.

May 6, 2025

Members Present

Charles F. Bechtold, CFSP, President; Bruce Van Tassel, Secretary; Garrett C. Jones; Kim Nesbitt Good; Eleanor Rudolph; Kara L. Whigham.

Staff Present

Quin Archer, Executive Director; Dan Roman, Deputy Attorney General; Maria Rojas Letchford, Deputy Attorney General.

Public

George R. Kelder Jr, CFSP, Executive Director and CEO, and Samantha L. Link, New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association, and nine members of the public.

Approval of the April 1, 2025 Minutes

The Board approved the minutes as corrected.

Executive Director’s Report

The Board received one complaint in April for a total of 15 complaints received in 2025.

Annual elections of Board Officers will be held at the June meeting.

Executive Director Archer congratulated board member Kim Nesbitt Good on receiving a community service award.

Approved Internships

• Von Lawrence Arienda Aborde, Gleason Funeral Home
• Jonathan Casillas, Ippolito-Stellato Funeral Homes Inc.
• John-Ethan Drialo, Saul Colonial Home
• Danasiah Johnson, Stanley’s Memorial Chapel
• Paige Konar, Costello-Runyon Funeral Home
• Mahogany Robinson, Carl Miller Funeral Home
• Taylir Sanchez, Hennessey Heights Funeral Home & Cremation Service LLC

New Licensees

By Application

• Frederick H. LaGarde
• Daisy Lima

By Credentials

• Amelia Gallegos
• David W Wolf

Licensed by Application for 2025: 6
Licensed by Credentials for 2025: 2

New Funeral Home Registrations

• Baylor Memorial Home, Trenton; Manager, Alameen Spells

The Board registered one mortuary in April and eight mortuaries in 2025.

Continuing Education Report

The Board approved the courses listed on the meeting agenda, with multiple exceptions, and will post the approved courses on the Board’s website under the licensee tab.

Correspondence

On January 14, 2025, William Sampson IV, Shanique Speight and Sterley Stanley sponsored Assembly Bill No. 5165, which requires the Division of Consumer Affairs to hire staff to alleviate professional license application backlogs for 2026, 2027 and 2028. President Bechtold voiced his concern that this bill would only be a temporary fix to the backlog of licensees, asked what happens in three years when the funds run out and recommended that the Board take no position but remain neutral.

George R. Kelder Jr. recommended that the Board support the bill because it keeps the funds at the division where it is needed rather than have millions of dollars in licensing fees reallocated away from DCA annually. The bill calls for a 36-month program on investing the money back into DCA, but it can always be requested again following these initial 36 months.

Garrett Jones agreed with Mr. Kelder saying that it was a good idea to support the bill citing frequent complaints from interns and licensees and believed more staff could help alleviate the issue.

The Board voted unanimously to support A-5165.

On April 10, 2025, Assemblyman Sterley Stanley from District 18, sponsored Assembly Bill No. 5572, which establishes quorum standards for professional licensing entities under certain circumstances.

Kelder was asked to also weigh in on this legislation stating that this bill affects other professional licensing boards more than the Mortuary Board and that the intent of the bill is for professions requiring board approval for licensure to limit the waiting period for licensure to no more than 90 days regardless of a quorum of the Board being present at a meeting.

The Board voted unanimously to support A-5572.

Disciplinary Actions

The following disciplinary actions were made public in March and April:

Individual settlement offers have been accepted by Kristen Affrime, Kellie Bender, James G. Cochran and Gerianne Bates for violating N.J.A.C. 13:36-10.3, failing to complete the minimum requirement of 10 continuing education credits for the 2021-2023 licensing period. Each licensee has been ordered to pay a civil penalty in the amount of $100 per each incomplete credit and to complete within two months additional continuing education credits in Board-approved courses that they are missing for the previous licensing cycle.

A settlement offer was accepted by Willy P. Lavrin and Lavrin Funeral Home for violation of N.J.A.C. 13:36-4.9, having an unlicensed person engage in the practice of mortuary science. The violation occurred when Charles Brinson, who is neither a registered intern nor a licensee, arranged a funeral, including providing the general price list, preparing funeral arrangements and then threatening to withhold copies of the funeral services contract until payment was made for selected services. The Board deems this to be professional misconduct under N.J.S.A. 45:1-21(e).

Further, the Board found that the funeral home placed a box containing the decedents organs in the casket during the funeral service with the family present. When asked by the family to open the box, the funeral home refused as the box contained the decedents post-autopsy viscera. The Board finds this to be professional misconduct under N.J.S.A. 45:1-21(e).

Mr. Lavrin has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $2,500 for the first violation, and $2,500 for the second violation. Lavrin’s Funeral Home was also cited $2,500 for the violation.

Alameen Spells, manager of The Final Lay Funeral Home, has entered a settlement agreement with the Board for violation of N.J.A.C 13:36-5.12, N.J.A.C. 13:36-11.14(c) and N.J.S.A. 45:7-90. The violation was uncovered when the Board reviewed a Facebook posting that announced that The Final Lay Funeral Home is powered by Cooper & Sons Funeral Advocate Services which will be providing a free casket to every family that they advocate.

The first violation is of N.J.S.A 45:1-21(e) professional misconduct, as it pertains to the   phrase “powered by Cooper & Sons Funeral Advocate Services.” The entity is not a registered mortuary nor is it in the process of becoming one. Additionally, they refer to a free casket without providing a make or model of the free casket that is being provided. The Board requires that all such phrases be removed from all advertisements.

As the manager of The Final Lay, Alameen Spells is responsible for the direction, management and control of all work emanating from the establishment and ensuring that all licensees, owners and representatives are complying with the law in accordance with N.J.A.C. 13:36-4.8(b). Spells agreed to pay a $500 civil penalty for the violations.

A settlement offer was accepted by John B. Houston for a second violation of failing to properly train and supervise an intern pursuant to N.J.A.C. 13:36-2.13(a)1. Following an investigation where registered intern Frederick LaGarde identified himself at a Paterson City Council meeting as a funeral director, it was determined that the intern made funeral arrangements while not under the direct supervision of a preceptor. John B. Houston agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1,000 for allowing an intern to engage in the unlicensed practice of mortuary science and is suspended from being a preceptor for two years.

Public Comment

Kyle P. Ledford Sr., CFSP, advised the Board that as of April 1, 2025 he is no longer the Funeral Service Education Program Director of Eastwick College and that the new Program Director will be Tara Scarponi-Danniballe. The Board wished him well on his new endeavors.

Next Board Meeting

The Board moved into Executive Session at 9:50 a.m. and noted that the next Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at 9:30 a.m. via Zoom.

The Northeast Funeral Service Partnership has scheduled a one-hour live webinar to discuss the partnership’s recent survey on funeral industry trends at both a national and regional level.

The webinar, scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Thursday, May 22, 2025, will review the results of the survey, provide perspective on the answers given and explore potential business decisions funeral homes can incorporate to meet the changing demands of the industry. Those attending the webinar will earn one elective CEU toward the renewal of their mortuary practitioner license.

The survey, conducted among members of the funeral directors associations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, was conducted in early 2025. The results provided a comprehensive look at funeral service from a variety of perspectives. The survey queried respondents on topics such as the declining number of full-service funerals, burials, cremations, religious traditions and the emergence of alternative methods of dispositions.

Experts have been warning that dramatic change is coming to the funeral industry, which has long been reliant on full-service funerals, coupled with religious rites, and a burial with a casket and vault. But an ongoing shift toward cremation for disposition and the increasing secularization of society has upended the business model for funeral homes. The webinar, through the survey results, will explore the effect these changes have had on funeral service among the partnership’s five states.

This is the third survey conducted by the NFSP, and the previous surveys will provide context for the 2025 responses.

The webinar will be conducted by New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association Executive Director and CEO George R. Kelder Jr., CFSP, and New York State Funeral Directors Association Executive Director Michael A. Lanotte, with input from association leaders in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

The NJSFDA encourages its members to sign up for this informative webinar to keep abreast of the changes in the funeral industry and their potential impact on business. Those interested can sign up here. The deadline to register for the webinar is 5:00 p.m. May 16.

More information on the agenda for the webinar can be found here.

A West Virginia community has sprung into action to find the families of unclaimed cremated remains. British Columbia, Canada, is struggling with a lack of cremation capacity and laws that do not allow alternative methods of disposition. And researchers have discovered that ancient tombs in Ireland served as gathering places for local communities.

NEWS

Unclaimed Urns at Local Funeral Home Spark Community Effort to Find Rightful Families
By Bailee Tucker (WCHS)
Time ticks by on earth while 27 temporary urns sit in the Elk Funeral and Cremation Services in Charleston, WV, with no final resting place. After seeing a post with the names on Facebook, Dayje Parsons was stunned to see someone close to her was one of them. Read more here.

Civil War Soldier to Receive Hero’s Burial
By Greg Williams (The Sentinel)
Even as the Civil War raged on, Union soldiers erected monuments to mark where they fought and where the fallen were buried. Now, Pennsylvania’s Juniata County Historical Society is recognizing a valiant Civil War veteran with a memorial service. Read more here.

Ireland's Iconic Megalithic Tombs May Have Had an Unexpected Function
By Christa Leste-Lasserre (New Scientist)
Ireland’s megalithic tombs might not have been burial grounds for elite dynasties, as some thought, but rather places of community bonding. Read more here.

After His Burial, Visitors Flock to Tomb of Pope Francis
By Don Gonyea and Scott Detrow (NPR)
The line to see Pope Francis' tomb begins behind the basilica. Police and security guards herd visitors behind silver, red and white barricades which snake back and forth through the plaza and then around the side of the church. Some people are here intentionally for Francis. Others just happened to plan a trip to Rome that ended up falling in the middle of a papal transition. Read and listen here.

Texas Halts Operations at Houston Mortuary amid Health Violations and Staff Assault Incident
By John Becker (Hoodline)
The saga of Richardson Mortuary continues to unfold with the Texas Funeral Service Commission now having stepped in to stop the facility from operating amidst serious health and safety concerns. After a viral video surfaced depicting the mortuary's disturbing conditions, the state took action. Read more here.

Grieving Daughter Confronts “Deadbeat” Dad at Her Mom’s Funeral Wake After She Died of Cancer
By Brian Anthony Hernandez (People)
A grieving daughter is “suspicious” about the way her estranged father acted at her mom’s funeral wake after she recently died of cancer. The adult daughter detailed why she confronted her “deadbeat” dad during the wake on Reddit, and now she’s wondering if she overreacted for “standing my ground after my estranged father pretended like he was there through sickness and health.” Read more here.

Cremation Capacity Strained as British Columbia, Considers Alternatives
By Stefan Labbe (Burnaby Now)
Increasingly popular ways to lay to rest a deceased loved one, from water cremation to organic reduction in a box of soil, are not allowed in British Columbia, Canada, even if conducted outside of the province. Current provincial law dictates there are no legal end-of-life measures beyond burial or flame cremation for managing human remains, according to direction recently provided by Consumer Protection BC to industry. Read more here.

The NJ Sharing Network’s annual 5K walk/run is approaching quickly, and the organization is seeking teams and runners to participate in the event.

The fundraising event was first held in 2011 and has since raised more than $13 million for the organ donation foundation. Since 2011, 25 events have been held with more than 100,000 participants and greater than 195,000 miles logged by runners and walkers, according to the NJ Sharing Network.

In 2025, there are two events scheduled. The first walk/run will be held in Ocean Grove on May 17. Participants will gather on the Ocean Pathway beginning at 7:30 a.m. The runners’ race begins at 8:30 a.m. and the walk begins at 10:00 a.m.

The same time schedule will be used for the second walk/run, to be held on June 8 at the NJ Sharing Network’s headquarters in New Providence.

At both events there will be music, entertainment, dancing giveaways, kids activities, refreshments and more.

Information about registering or donating can be found here.

The NJ Sharing Network was founded in 1987 and has facilitated the donation and transplants of thousands of organs, skin, tissue and other body parts. It is a registered 501(c)3 organization.