Standing, from left, New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association President Ryan M. Buckland and NJSFDA Secretary/Treasurer John K. Baltz. Seated, from left, NJSFDA President-Elect Samuel C. Arnold and NJSFDA Executive Director and CEO George R. Kelder Jr., CFSP.

The New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association Board of Directors has approved a three-year contract extension for NJSFDA Executive Director and CEO George R. Kelder Jr., CFSP.

The renewed agreement, signed at the September 9, 2025 meeting of the Board, will take effect on January 1, 2026, ensuring continued leadership stability for the association as Kelder begins planning for his eventual retirement.

Kelder, a licensed funeral director since 1980, has served the association in various capacities since 1989.

Over the past 35 years, he has worked alongside members and affiliated boards to advance the mission of the NJSFDA and for the last decade has led the organization as CEO and executive director.

The Board’s approval of this contract reflects its continued confidence in Kelder’s leadership along with his vision for the organization’s future and provides assurance for transitional continuity as the association navigates the years ahead.

Governor Phil Murphy has signed the natural organic reduction bill into law, creating a new option for New Jersey residents when it comes to their death care.

Murphy signed the measure, A-4085/S-3007, on September 11, 2025 after it was passed by the Legislature earlier this year. Murphy’s signature makes New Jersey the 13th state to legalize the natural organic reduction process.

The legislation received broad bipartisan support for the bill, which will allowing consumers to elect to undergo the natural organic reduction process upon their death.

NOR offers families an environmentally friendly option that aligns with shifting generational values, particularly among those seeking sustainable alternatives. NOR requires oversight by licensed funeral directors and will be regulated as a mortuary process–not a form of final disposition.

The involvement of funeral directors in the process will ensure safety, health, professionalism and consumer protection. Its increasing demand reflects the public’s interest in greener, innovative funeral practices.

Consumers in New Jersey have expressed interest in alternative options to traditional burial or cremation whether it be because it is conceptually appealing, more environmentally friendly or less costly.

The natural organic reduction law will go into effect 10 months following Murphy’s signature. The process now heads to the State Board of Mortuary Science of New Jersey to promulgate the regulations.

The New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association supported the measure.

Join us at the 2025 Funeral Directors Convention and Expo on September 16 and 17 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City to learn more about the natural organic reduction law and meet with NOR exhibitors. On-site registration is available.

Dirk Van Emburgh, a member of the Bergen Funeral Directors Association, died on September 9, 2025. He was 81.

Since 1971, Dirk had been the president and CEO of C.C. Van Emburgh Funeral Home in Ridgewood, a business that was founded by his family in 1895. The funeral home is still family owned and operated.

His son, Dirk Van Emburgh Jr., sister Marcy V. Sigler and nephew David Sigler are all members of the Bergen FDA.

Dirk was a graduate of Baldwin Wallace College in Ohio. He had served as the president of the Bergen County FDA and was an active member of the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association, chairing the NJSFDA’s annual golf tournament for two decades.

Dirk was known for his love of golf and was a director of the Ridgewood Country Club for four years in the 1990s. He also served on the executive board of the New Jesey State Golf Association and was a member of the New Jersey Seniors Golf Association.

Dirk is survived by his wife, Laura Paino Van Emburgh; his children, Beth, Dirk and Peter; stepchildren Heather Hermann and Robert Hermann; sisters, Marcy Sigler and Gretchen Van Emburgh; and several grandchildren.

Those wishing to honor Dirk can make a donation in his name to the New Jersey Golf Caddie Scholarship Foundation.

The troubling results of a study on how many funeral directors deal with families seeking a direct cremation of a decedent can be distilled down to two questions: Who are you and what do you want?

Those queries point to a massive disconnect between consumers and funeral directors when it comes to what families are seeking and what funeral homes are delivering in cremation cases, according to statistics gathered by Fortitude Research and Marketing on behalf of the Cremation Association of North America.

“There were not a lot of indications that funeral professionals are really listening,” a CANA summary of the study stated. “If the top two starters are ‘Who are you and what do you want?,’ there is concern that these folks may be jumping ahead to the deal–and leaving little room for conversation or personalization.

The study, many of the statistics of which were included in an earlier report published by Foresight, indicated that, when it comes to cremation, funeral homes are often neglecting what had been a key part of their businesses–memorialization. Establishing a rapport with families and genuinely exploring who the decedent was take a back seat to business considerations, the study found.

For example, 25 percent of funeral directors reported that they began conversations with families by asking about their relationship to the deceased. Another 22 percent asked whether consumers wanted a burial or cremation. That means that 47 percent of consumers are being faced first with those questions about identity and desire.

“Pleasantries” and condolences were cited by 20 percent of respondents as their opening, and 19 percent said they led with the demographics of the decedent.

The results, CANA said, raise questions about whether funeral directors are investing as much time in consumers seeking cremation as they do for those seeking full burial. That indicates a missed opportunity, CANA argued.

“Maybe most importantly–if consumers say they want cremation, then what? What are the follow-up questions that you answer or ask? What more do you need to know?” CANA asked. “Do you need to ask all the same questions that you would of the casketed burial customer? Do you need to spend the same amount of time with a cremation customer? We argue that you should–or that you might actually need to spend more time.”

CANA pointed to Foresight’s finds that only 37 percent of consumers surveyed said they were adequately educated about their options, while 76 percent of funeral professionals said that education was provided.

“If professionals are actually providing it, it’s clearly not effective because the consumer is reporting that they’re not getting the education they need,” CANA explained. “This creates an uncertain consumer.”

That uncertainty is leading to a loss of satisfaction with the funeral industry, Foresight reported. In 2021, about 64 percent of consumers said they were satisfied with the funeral profession. But 2025, that number had dipped to 61 percent. Foresight argued that, although, the drop in satisfaction seemed small, it indicated an unsettling trend.

Part of that downward trend is reflected in how funeral directors deal with cremation consumers. When asked about how many families will choose to have some kind of memorialization, funeral directors reported that about 60 percent of families said they would, and 40 percent said they would not.

Of that 60 percent, how many families would choose to have the funeral home assist with their memorialization plans? Again, about 60 said the funeral home would be asked to assist, according to the study. That means that approximately 36 percent of the funeral home’s entire customer base would use the funeral home’s services for memorialization.

CANA pointed out that other studies show that 100 percent of families plan to hold some kind of memorialization service.

“Cremation is an opportunity to [do it yourself], personalize and have a meaningful experience unlike previous experiences. This disconnect points to a huge missed opportunity,” CANA stressed.

The answer lies in education and connection, CANA said. While a first question from a consumer about cremation may focus on price, it is likely not the only question. Spending time with a family and talking to them about memorialization and how the funeral home can help is time well spent, the association said.

“Objections to cremation with service offerings can probably be overcome with better consumer education,” CANA reported.

Better education can also reduce the gaps between how funeral directors believe they are doing their jobs and how consumers see their work. That, in turn, could reap financial benefits.

“Addressing these gaps in understanding creates a force multiplier,” CANA said. “You are not only addressing a customer service need, you are uncovering potential revenue streams.”

Colorado authorities are now looking into the preneed contracts of a mortuary where more than 20 bodies were found hidden. After a cremation snafu, a family member calls for tighter funeral laws in the United Kingdom. And a Jewish convert describes what working in a burial society taught him. These stories and more are in the week in funeral news.

NEWS

Colorado Insurance Office Launches Inquiry into Preneed Funeral Contracts at Mortuary Where Bodies Were Found
By Zach Hillstrom (Pueblo Chieftain)
The Colorado Division of Insurance has begun an inquiry to assess preneed funeral contracts purchased from Davis Mortuary amid the ongoing criminal investigation into the funeral home owned by Pueblo County Coroner Brian Cotter. Read more here.

Colorado Corrections Department Had Cremation Contract with Embattled Former Pueblo Coroner
By Ashley Eberhardt (Yahoo!)
The Colorado Department of Corrections has confirmed it previously had a contract with former Pueblo County Coroner Brian Cotter. The CDOC said the contract with Cotter began January 1, 2024 and expired on June 30, 2025, adding it was not aware of any wrongdoing by Cotter until the allegations were made public. It’s unclear at this time if any of the more than 20 bodies discovered in August at the mortuary Cotter owned with his brother were inmates. Read more here.

Anger in Japan after Instagrammer Drinks Burial Site Offering
By The Japan Times
The Australian Embassy in Japan issued a warning to travelers to behave appropriately after an Instagrammer drank offerings from a Japanese burial site, provoking widespread anger online. In the most recent example of fame-seeking foreigners riling locals, Lochie Jones, reportedly an Australian tourist, posted a clip of himself swigging from a can placed on a headstone as an offering. Moments earlier, he's seen flipping a coin to decide whether to open the beverage, likely left as a gift for ancestors in a gesture common in Japan. He's then seen burping in front of the grave. Read more here.

Historic 173-Year-Old Oregon Cemetery Finally Opens to the Public
By Joni Auden Land (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
Scouters’ Mountain in Happy Valley, OR, offers a picturesque view of Mt. Hood and is crisscrossed with many forested trails. But tucked away from view off a private road lies a small cemetery, encompassed by a chain-link fence and dotted with a few headstones. It’s an eerily quiet place surrounded by a bustling suburban area. And for the first time in 170 years, the area surrounding the cemetery is open to the public, in an effort to share its history with Happy Valley residents and to ensure it doesn’t disappear. Read more here.

Texas Oil Heiress Loved Her Ferrari so Much when She Died in 1977 She Was Buried in It
By Ben Thompson (Supercar Blondie)
A Texas oil heiress loved her Ferrari so much that she was buried in it when she died in 1977. Sandra Ilene West was married to Texas oil tycoon Ike West, who passed away in 1968 and left her more than $5 million. In her will, Sandra requested that she be buried near her husband’s grave in a powder blue 1964 Ferrari 330 America. When she passed away in 1977 at the age of 38, she got exactly what she’d asked for. Read more here.

Family of Man Whose Body Was Found after Being “Cremated” Calls for Tighter Regulation in the United Kingdom
By Robyn Vinter (The Guardian)
The family of a man whose body was found in a funeral home in the United Kingdom after he was supposed to have been cremated have said it is “easier to open a funeral home than it is a sandwich shop,” as they urged the government to regulate the industry. Read more here.

He Quit His Six-Figure Tech Job in His 20s to Run a Funeral Business with His Wife; It Changed How He Sees Work and Life
By Lee Chong Ming (Business Insider)
When Leon Lim finished a computer engineering undergraduate degree at the National University of Singapore, his career path seemed set. In 2020, he joined a government tech agency, specializing in cybersecurity. Within four years, he was earning a six-figure salary and on track for a managerial role. But in 2024, he left to join his wife's family-run funeral business as an operations development manager. Watching his wife, Rachael Tay, up close–meeting families, managing operations, and modernizing the business–made him rethink the kind of impact he wanted to make. While he spent his days behind a screen, she was helping people through loss and running a company rooted in purpose and tradition. Read more here.

What I Learned about Life from Preparing the Dead
By Austin Albanese (Forward)
I first joined a Jewish burial society, known as a chevra kadisha, as a college student. At the time, I had recently converted to Judaism, and the work, preparing the dead for burial according to tradition, seemed like a profound way to connect with my new faith. But my motivations weren’t purely spiritual. I was driven by the idea that the dead can’t repay kindness, and not everyone can do this kind of work. I could, and I believed I should. What I didn’t expect was how the practice would deepen my understanding of life, death, and the enduring power of memory. Read more here.

An Indiana “death doula” can, for the time being, continue to assist clients following a federal appellate court ruling that a state cease-and-desist order claiming she provided services restricted to funeral directors likely violated the doula’s First Amendment rights.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh District, while not ruling on the merits of the case, argued that the statute the state relied on to for its cease-and-desist order was a “poor fit” and refused to lift an injunction placed on the order by a U.S. District Court judge.

The appellate panel remanded the case to the District Court for a full hearing on the lawsuit itself.

“In light of the state’s articulated interests and the statute as applied to the plaintiffs, the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their First Amendment claim,” the judges wrote.

Lauren Richwine and her company, Death Done Differently, offered services to families dealing with an impending death that included providing information about different forms of disposition, after-death rituals and the types of services of remembrance that could be crafted. The Indiana State Board of Funeral and Cemetery Service, acting on a complaint filed by someone within the funeral industry, crafted an order stopping Richwine and her business from providing these services, claiming they violated a state law restricting those activities to a licensed funeral director.

Richwine, however, sued in federal court, claiming the order violated her First Amendment rights. A District Court judge granted her an injunction, but the state appealed. The appellate panel upheld that ruling.

In the appellate ruling, judges repeatedly castigated the state for crafting a law that “clearly burdens speech that is protected by the First Amendment.” While acknowledging the state’s interest in protecting public health and preventing fraud, the judges said Indiana’s regulatory dealings with Richwine and her company were overkill.

“The approach furthers the state’s interest the way an atom bomb would further eradication of a residential ant infestation,” the judges wrote. “It goes much too far. We do not see how preventing the plaintiffs from telling a client about his or her options for the final disposition of their loved one’s remains furthers the state’s professed interests.”

The judges also scoffed at the state’s argument that Richwine was acting in ways restricted to funeral directors, saying the death doula was protecting “consumers who are likely to benefit from the perspective of an individual who has no financial stake in the purchase.”

“Contrary to the state’s assertion, the plaintiffs are not providing the same service as the funeral home. Funeral homes have a financial stake in the purchases consumers make. The plaintiffs have none,” the judges wrote. “Both Consumer Reports magazine and car dealership salespeople help car shoppers select cars, but no one would claim that they provide the same service.”

The federal First Amendment case brought by Richwine and Death Done Differently present a direct challenge to state laws restricting certain activities to funeral directors. The appellate panel’s ruling stated that Indiana’s law governing funeral service did not withstand First Amendment scrutiny.

Given the court’s acknowledgement of a legitimate state interest in preserving public health and protecting consumers, the case underscores the importance of crafting strong laws that withstand constitutional scrutiny, said New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association Executive Director and CEO George R. Kelder Jr., CFSP.

"Indiana’s experience shows what happens when dated laws collide with modern constitutional scrutiny. By passing our recent licensing reforms, New Jersey has already taken steps to avoid these pitfalls–ensuring that our statute protects consumers without overreaching into First Amendment territory," Kelder said.

The NJSFDA will continue to closely monitor this and similar cases to ensure New Jersey remains a national leader in protecting both the industry and the families it serves.