By Isabel Knight

I will be at the 2026 Funeral Directors Convention and Expo, delivering a seminar titled “Integrating Death Doulas into Funeral Service: Law, Ethics and Practice in New Jersey.”

This seminar will take attendees through a journey mapping exercise to see how death doulas can help bridge the gap between those who provide support before someone dies and the funeral directors who support after death.

The deathcare ecosystem is changing rapidly. Funeral service is experiencing an unprecedented staffing shift. The National Funeral Directors Association reports that by 2028, 60 percent of current funeral directors plan to retire, and funeral homes are looking for ways to compensate for this turnover.

At the same time, interest in becoming a death doula has skyrocketed in recent years, with celebrities such as actress Nicole Kidman and Chloe Zhao, the director of Hamnet, announcing their decision to become a death doula and TV shows such as The Pitt depicting death doulas as well.

Along with this explosion in media coverage, the last three years have seen significant movement on the legal front.

You may have been following the recent cases in California and Indiana where Akhila Murphy, Donna Peizer, and Lauren Richwine respectively won their cases after their local mortuary boards sued them for discussing end-of-life plans, saying this constituted practicing funeral directing without a license. 

What’s the ROI for Attending?

Now that this precedent has been set, the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association is in the process of deciding how to engage with these trends, and they have decided to explore the “doula moment” as NJSFDA Executive Director and CEO George R. Kelder Jr., CFSP, wrote in his May 2026 column in The FORUM.

This session will give you insight into specific ways funeral homes can consider incorporating death doulas into their practice by walking through the funeral service journey map and highlighting customer touchpoints that could be aided by having a death doula present.

A Real-Life Example of Value

One key scenario where death doulas have been utilized more than average is with Medical Aid in Dying cases, particularly because educational groups such as the Academy for Aid-in-Dying Medicine have been prioritizing death doula education. In New Jersey, MAiD has been legal for seven years, and many doulas have created a subspecialty around assisting these clients. In these cases, a funeral home can be notified and scheduled ahead of time if desired.  

On the other side of the spectrum, families often call death doulas in cases of sudden or traumatic deaths. In these cases, doulas can act as a trusted source of information when discussing the need for a funeral home when their clients are experiencing immense grief and are overwhelmed.

For the full spectrum of cases in between these two extremes, there continues to be a gap between what funeral professionals perceive customers to understand about their services and what customers report that they understand.

Funeral service research companies like Foresight find that 40 percent of consumers say they don’t know enough about funeral products and services to make an informed decision, and 77 percent of funeral providers say they offer education around their service offerings while only 32 percent of customers say they receive any education.

Clearly there is a customer education problem, and this is a huge area that death doulas are eager to fill and, in many cases, are already filling.

Among some funeral directors, there has been a perception that death doulas want to steer their clients towards the cheapest funeral options such as direct cremations. But funeral homes that show an interest in working openly with death doulas will find that death doulas are not a monolith.

While there is certainly overlap between death doulas and funeral consumer advocates, they may find that the death doulas most interested in working full-time in the field are likely far more interested in de-commodifying death and explaining the value of the labor performed by funeral directors and their staff. This mirrors the doulas’ own interest in providing value to the public by performing deep emotional labor and bringing care and sacredness to end of life.

Isabel Knight is a death doula who through The Death Designer assists individuals in navigating the complexities of death care. Her seminar, Integrating Death Doulas into Funeral Service: Law, Ethics and Practice in New Jersey, will be held from 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, September 16 and from 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, September 17, 2026 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City. Registration for the event is now open. Use code FD26 to save 5 percent on your registration.

Russia has seen a surge of new registered funeral homes during the first six months of 2026. Local veterans in California are angry about the lack of maintenance at a cemetery. And a writer explores why families in some cultures no longer bury their relatives near their homes. These stories and more are in the week in funeral news.

NEWS

Russia Sees Record Surge in Funeral Firms in First Half of 2026
By M1 Moldova
Russia registered a record number of new funeral service providers in the first half of 2026. Between January and June, 995 new companies and sole proprietorships entered the market, marking a 22.5 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Read more here.

Historic Colorado Cemetery Plot Holders Face Tough Choices After City Outlines Plan for Future Burials
By Maggie Bryan (Denver 7)
The city council in Lafayette, CO, has laid out a plan, giving families who own burial plots at the historic Lafayette Cemetery four options, after the city paused casket burials at the site last year. City leaders said a routine burial in September 2025 accidentally disturbed what appeared to be small fragments of human remains from an older, unmarked grave, which lead to the casket burial moratorium. City officials said they have found inconsistencies between historic paper records and where caskets are actually buried underground. Read more here.

More Families Sue Shuttered Nevada Funeral Home over Cremation Delays
By Victoria Saha (Fox 5 Vegas)
A third family in the Las Vegas, NV, area has filed suit against a now-shuttered funeral home whose state license was revoked following inspections that documented bodies stored in unsanitary conditions and cremations delayed for months. Read more here.

North Carolina Family Sues Funeral Home, Alleges Man Wrongly Cremated
By Tiana Maxwell (Fox 8 News)
A man and his family want justice after they say their loved one was mistakenly cremated. Brodrick Bell lost his best friend and father, Walter Jones, on March 1. Jones had wished for a traditional burial with an open casket, but his remains were instead cremated, the family said. Read more here.

Funeral Home Operator Arrested After Allegedly Forging Will of Dead Man to Steal His $2.2 Million Estate
By Kimberlee Speakman (People)
A funeral home operator in Texas was arrested after allegedly posing as the spouse of a dead man in order to steal his $2.2 million estate. Unique Green, 47, was charged with theft of more than $300,000 and four counts of forgery. Read more here.

Exploring Why Societies Around the World No Longer Bury Their Dead at Home
By Field Museum
Residential burials, in which people are buried inside or very close to their homes, are no longer common, especially in the West. But over the past few centuries, cultural anthropologists have documented several societies around the world that have residential burials. Why some societies began burying their dead at home, and why so many later stopped, has remained a mystery. Read more here.

Local Veterans “Disgusted” by Lack of Upkeep for Gravesites at Cemetery
By Rowena Shaddox and Chris D. Johnson (Fox 40 News)
Some local veterans are disgusted over gravesites belonging to family members, friends and other veterans at the Mount Vernon Memorial Park & Mortuary in Fair Oaks, CA, which they say have been underwater, moved out of line or caked in mud. Read more here.

Grieving Dad's Horror as Baby Daughter's Grave “Flattened” by Council Staff
By Tom Keighley and Caroline Hemmingham (Yorkshire Live)
A grieving father in Great Britain who lost his baby daughter has spoken of his anger, distress and shock at the removal of sentimental items from her grave. Liam Robinson, 31, was horrified to discover baby Cora's grave "flattened" when he and his family visited the cemetery where his daughter is buried. Read more here.

The number of New Jersey deaths in the first six months of 2026 shows a continuation of the trend of dropping totals since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

State Department of Health preliminary statistics show that 35,454 died between the beginning of January and the end of June, a figure that puts New Jersey on track for a total of nearly 71,000 deaths for the full year, which would be well below the 74,851 recorded in 2025.

Since nearly 96,000 deaths were recorded in 2020, the yearly totals have dropped to the levels consistent with numbers tallied before the COVID-19 pandemic. Yearly totals of deaths have decreased for five straight years. If the 2026 trend continues, it will be the sixth straight year.

Industry experts have said the decrease was to be expected because many of those who died from COVID-19 or coronavirus-related causes suffered from comorbidities such as diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. The “excess deaths” of 2020 through 2022 naturally led to a decrease in subsequent years.

In 2026, the highest number of deaths was recorded in January when 6,945 people died, according to the DOH. The fewest number was recorded in June, with 5,231. Traditionally, the highest numbers of deaths occur in winter months and the fewest occur during the summer.

Overall, New Jersey’s death rate has dropped by 8.3 percent since 2015, according to an article in the New Jersey Monitor.

That decrease can be attributed to New Jersey’s battle against what Stephen Crystal, director of Rutgers University’s Center for Health Services Research, called the “big killers,” the Monitor said.

With many initiatives focused on improving the health of low-income populations, the state has seen drops in deaths from heart disease and kidney disease, both of which can be caused by high blood pressure. But the state also has fewer deaths from suicide and traffic accidents as well, Crystal told the Monitor.

Some Southwestern states did not fare as well in the statistical analysis. New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma all had death rates higher than 10 years ago.

Attending the New Jersey Funeral Service Education Corporation’s In-Person Continuing Education seminars in September in Atlantic City comes with a distinct advantage: You are in the room with those who are making a difference in the industry.

From the presenters guiding you through some of the trickier elements of compliance to your fellow attendees who are dedicated to getting every detail of their profession right, being there can not only educate, it can inspire.

That’s why taking the time to attend the five seminars, held at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on September 15, 2026, is worth the effort. By being there, you can gather all the information needed to help your business and discuss best practices with your colleagues, providing a new perspective.

The five seminars provided are:

NJ Law: The Funeral Licensing Law (1 CEU), from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Presented by New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association Director of Government Affairs Samantha L. Link, MPA, this seminar will review New Jersey’s new licensing law, the history of licensing in the state and what students and licensees can expect as the law is implemented.

NJ Law: Natural Organic Reduction in New Jersey (1 CEU), from 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Also presented by Link, this course will explain the recent legalization of natural organic reduction in New Jersey and many of the details contained in the law.

Ethics: Honestly Dishonest: Funeral Directing Ethics (1 CEU), from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Presented by NJSFDA Executive Director and CEO George R. Kelder Jr., CFSP, this seminar will explore some thorny ethical issues facing funeral directors and best practices in handling them.

NJ Preneed: Prepaid Funerals Funded by an Insurance Assignment (1 CEU), from 1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. This seminar, presented by NJSFDA Corporate Governance Manager Jonathan R. Bender, will deliver a comprehensive overview of the use of insurance policies to fund prepaid funeral arrangements and the laws that govern this process in New Jersey.

NJ Preneed: New Jersey Preneed in Perspective (1 CEU), from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Also presented by Bender, this course will take a fresh look at the landscape of New Jersey’s funeral industry during the 1980s and 1990s and the relevant issues that prompted the introduction and enactment of the Preneed Act and subsequent regulations.

A complimentary  lunch at the Fresh Harvest Buffet will be provided from 12:45 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

More information on the course and presenters can be found here.

Those seeking to register should click here. Those attending the entire day of classes can save $25 on their registration fee. Online registration will close on Friday, August 21, 2026.

As a bonus, association members registered for the seminars can enjoy complimentary admission to the Connected in Care Awards celebration at 8:00 p.m. on September 15.

Convention Registration Information

Those wishing to attend the 2026 Funeral Directors Convention and Expo, held at the Hard Rock from September 15 through 17, can register online on the NJSFDA website. The online option will remain available until Tuesday, September 1, 2026. You can use code FD26 to save 5 percent off. On-site registration will also be available.

Tickets for the annual Convention Party can be purchased separately at the time of registration.

More information on the Convention, including a list of scheduled speakers, featured events and details about the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, can be found on convention.njsfda.org.

The U.S. Army has begun using a new reporting and tracking system to assist mortuary affairs service members in doing their jobs. A Jewish couple opened their own cemetery to help their children after their deaths. And a Chinese woman, saved by an observant funeral director in 1995, makes the most of life after her near death. These stories and more are in the week in funeral news.

NEWS

How a New Army Reporting and Tracking System Revolutionizes Mortuary Affairs
By the U.S. Army
In large scale combat operations, the U.S. Army must be prepared to manage casualties with the utmost dignity, speed and precision. Historically, the process of identifying fallen personnel, securing their personal effects, and coordinating with the medical examiner required extensive time and effort. With the rollout of the Mortuary Affairs Reporting and Tracking System Version 2 (MARTS-V2), the Army G-4 is overhauling how we execute this sacred mission. Read more here.

Home Burials Are Allowed in Massachusetts but Are Time-Consuming and Costly
By Cliff Clark (The Westfield News)
After a Southwick, MA, resident approached the town about the process of burying a person on private property, the town’s health director, Caileen Simonds, learned the process wasn’t quick, easy or inexpensive. “I knew very little about it before we were contacted,” Simonds said. She knew one thing: the town’s Board of Health has an obligation to ensure the health of the surrounding community. Read more here.

Shots Fired During Funeral for Arkansas Homicide Victim, Police Say
By Brandon Ringo (KARK)
Little Rock, AR, police are investigating after shots were fired during the funeral of an 18-year-old homicide victim. According to the Little Rock Police Department, officers responded to a church after reports of gunfire during the funeral for Dillan Cheeter. Read more here.

Colorado State Archaeologist Has Found Evidence of Remains from “Multiple” Burials Removed from Cemetery
By Julia King (Times-Call)
It’s been nearly a year since human remains were found, unexpectedly, during a routine burial process at the Lafayette Cemetery, a discovery that prompted the city to temporarily halt casket burials at the site. State Archaeologist Holly Norton has since found additional evidence of disrupted burials, and she says there could be more. Read more here.

A Jewish Couple Fell in Love with Rural Oklahoma; then They Built a Cemetery There
By Austin Albanese (Forward)
Linda Fitzerman did not want her children making burial decisions through tears. For years, she and her husband, Todd Boone Fitzerman, told each other they needed to settle the question. They were not interested in cremation. They wanted a traditional Jewish burial. And they did not want their children, someday, to face the cost and pressure of deciding where that burial should take place. “They just need to show up and cry,” Linda said. “They don’t need the additional pain of having to make financial decisions.” Read more here.

Her Business, Born of Grief, Offers Mourners a Greener Goodbye Alternative
By Candice Helfand-Rogers (The Story Exchange)
Death is a part of life–as is mourning. And sometimes, when you’re in the midst of grappling with loss, there are still logistical matters to handle. Entrepreneur Candis Best knows the experience all too well. Best is the founder of Leaf & Water, a water cremation business based in Brooklyn, New York, with a processing facility in Bennington, Vermont, that she launched in 2024. But back in December 2022, when her sister, Dawn, passed away, she was simply someone whose world had been turned upside down by grief. Read more here.

Chinese Woman Declared Dead and Nearly Cremated in 1995 Was Saved by a Funeral Home Worker’s Last-Second Discovery; Today, She Is an Award-Winning Artist
By Times of India
In 1995, a routine day at a funeral home in southern China took an extraordinary turn when a worker noticed that a young woman who had already been declared dead was still alive. Without any identification, no family beside her and barely any signs of life after collapsing days earlier, she had been mistaken for a corpse. That brief moment of attention prevented a fatal mistake and changed the course of her future. Read more here

Carolyn W. Greenidge, a longtime licensed funeral director and former member of the West Jersey Funeral Directors Association, died on July 16, 2026. She was 89.

Carolyn and her husband, the late Joseph F. Greenidge Sr., founded the Greenidge Funeral Home in Atlantic City in 1962, opening its current location in the city in 1971.

When the couple first opened the funeral home, Carolyn was not licensed, but as the business grew, she decided to attend mortuary school at American Academy McAllister Institute and became licensed in New Jersey in 1976. Following the death of her husband in 1984, Carolyn served as the president and manager of the funeral home.

Carolyn was also an educator. She graduated from what was then Glassboro State Teacher’s College in 1958 and began her teaching career in Atlantic City, then earned her master’s degree from Temple University in 1967. She retired in 2015 as the district supervisor of special education and the longest tenured educator in the Atlantic City School District.

Carolyn was heavily involved in the Atlantic City community, chartering and running a Girl Scout troop, teaching Sunday School at Faith Baptist Church and sponsoring a baseball team through the Atlantic City Police Athletic League . Concerned about the high fetal mortality rate, Carolyn helped found Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies. She also served as a member of many educational and community-related organizations.

In 1985, she earned the Outstanding Educator Award from Black Atlantic City Magazine. In 1988, she was named Business Woman of the Year by the Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce.

In 2021, she founded the Carolyn W. Greenidge Foundation, which provides local students college and university scholarships.

Carolyn was also a member of the Garden State Funeral Directors Association.

Carolyn is survived by her sons, West Jersey Funeral Directors Association member Joseph F. Greenidge Jr. and Charles Quinton Greenidge; a sister Bessanderson McNeil; two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.