Hannigan

Our sincerest condolences to Bergen County Funeral Directors Association Secretary Treasurer Patricia A. Hannigan on the death of her mother, Sharon Kathleen Hannigan, who died on June 1, 2026.

Wilson

Our sincerest condolences to Mercer County Funeral Directors Association member Robert Asher Wilson Jr. on the death of his mother, Delores May Wilson, who died on June 2, 2026.

The percentage of cremations as a method of disposition in New Jersey increased slightly between 2024 and 2025, but the growth in the state will continue, a recent study shows.

The prevalence of cremation in the state which stood at 55 percent in 2025, will experience a rapid rise over the next 10 years before topping out at nearly 70 percent in 2035, according to figures and projections compiled by the Cremation Association of North America.

Key Takeaways

• New Jersey's cremation rate reached 55 percent in 2025 and is projected near 70 percent by 2035
• The percentage of cremations in the state still remains below the U.S. rate
• National cremation growth is slowing as higher-rate states approach market saturation

The rate of cremation in New Jersey still significantly trails that of the nation, with the U.S. rate sitting at 62.8 percent, but the state will begin to catch up as the national turn toward cremation begins to reach saturation. By 2035, the U.S. rate is projected to be 73.8 percent, CANA figures show, meaning the difference between the national and New Jersey turn toward cremation will be cut in half.

The increase in cremation is already starting to slow, CANA statistics indicate.

“Note a gradual decline of the U.S. national growth rate from 1.58 percent to 1.33 percent per year,” the CANA study said. “States with cremation rates below 60 percent are likely to grow at a faster rate than the national average. While states that have reached or are approaching the plateau phase (80 percent-plus cremation rates) are now experiencing minimal annual change, with only slight fluctuations from year to year.”

Four states have cremation rates greater than 80 percent–Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire and Oregon.

Despite the projected continued increase in cremation, New Jersey currently has the lowest percentage rate of growth in the disposition method in the U.S., ranking 51 (a figure that includes Washington, D.C.), according to CANA.

States in what CANA calls the Middle Atlantic, which includes New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, trail the national average, with Pennsylvania the only one to top 60 percent. All three states are part of the Northeast Funeral Service Partnership, a five-state organization made up of the funeral directors associations within those states. CANA includes Connecticut and Massachusetts, the other two member states of NFSP, in the New England region. Connecticut’s rate was 67 percent in 2025, and Massachusetts was 55.7 percent.

While the choice of cremation in the United States continues to grow, it remains behind many other countries, including Canada, where the national rate stood at 77.4 percent in 2025. Several European countries had rates that topped 80 percent in 2024, including Denmark, Great Britain, Slovenia and Switzerland. Other countries had incomplete data for 2024, but their rates topped 80 percent in 2023, including the Czech Republic and Sweden. South Korea’s rate was above 90 percent.

The growth in cremation in the United States over the past 150 years has been remarkable. Between 1876 and 1960, only 3.56 percent of all dispositions were cremation. The percentage stayed below 10 as late as 1980 and below 20 until 1994, according to CANA. The rate first topped 50 percent in 2016, only 10 years ago.

New Jersey laws and regulations spell out the minimum standards of practice for funeral directors, but simply adhering to the letter of the law, while necessary and important, will not help you stand out among your peers.

Paying attention to and addressing ethical concerns in a positive, thoughtful way, however, can enhance your business, making you a trustworthy guide for families during their most vulnerable moments.

How do you build an ethical base that will lead consumers to you?

The New Jersey Funeral Service Education Corporation is offering an on-demand webinar titled Honestly Dishonest: Funeral Directing Ethics, during which attendees will examine core business ethics and learn how to apply them to their daily operations.

The course, presented by New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association Executive Director and CEO George R. Kelder Jr., CFSP, will help you “make decisions that could protect your reputation, your license and the trust families place in you,” Kelder said.

Funeral directors, in certain circumstances, are able to establish ethical work operations that may reduce the possibility of questionable funeral home practices or wrongdoing, while others display great difficulty in working through ethical dilemmas. The webinar will help funeral directors develop the skills to discern ethical problems as they develop and proactively deal with them before they become larger issues.

The webinar, available on demand here, features real-world examples that attendees will work through, guided by Kelder. The course is worth one continuing education credit toward relicensing.

The benefits of the course include the enhancement of a reputation of trust, which is core to any successful business.

“Ethical businesses earn stronger community trust, leading to long-term referrals,” Kelder said.

Honestly Dishonest: Funeral Directing Ethics is one of seven on-demand webinars that allow participants to earn continuing education credits toward relicensing on their own schedule. All webinars are now live and available to stream.

The other webinars available are:

NJ LAW: The Funeral Licensing Law 
NJ LAW: Natural Organic Reduction in New Jersey 
NJ PRENEED: New Jersey Preneed in Perspective 
NJ PRENEED: Prepaid Funerals Funded by an Insurance Assignment 
OSHA: Bloodborne Pathogens  
OSHA: Formaldehyde and Hazard Communication 

Once a registrant purchases a webinar, they have 72 hours to complete the one-hour course, after which one continuing education credit will be awarded.

Information on the courses and the presenters can be found here.

Those wishing to register for the courses can do so here.

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.

June 2, 2026

Members Present

Charles F. Bechtold, CFSP, President; Bruce Van Tassel, Secretary; Rita T. Alvarez; Gregory Aseltta; Peter Chubenko; Garrett C. Jones; Aladar Komjathy; Curtis Macysyn, Eleanor Rudolph; Kara Whigham.

Executive Staff Present

Quin Archer, Executive Director; Tom Giordano, State Investigator; Dan Roman, Deputy Attorney General; Nytaino Romulus, Regulatory Analyst.

Public

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

Executive Director’s Report

The Board received two complaints in May for a total of 22 complaints received in 2026.

The annual election of Board officers was held. Bruce Van Tassel was elected Board President and Eleanor Rudolph was elected Board Secretary.

Applications for Reinstatement

• Edward Antonelli
• Joseph Waldron 

The Board voted to approve the application of Joseph Waldron and to move the application of Edward Antonelli into Executive Session.

Approved Internships

• Michelle Allen, Evergreen Memorial Funeral Home & Cremation Services, LLC
• Jude Belas, Biondi Funeral Home
• Mia Colucci, Frank A. Patti Kenneth Mikatarian Funeral Directors
• Jacob Klein, Gutterman and Musicant Jewish Funeral Directors
• Sarah Jane Sietz-Honig, Frank A. Patti Kenneth Mikatarian Funeral Directors

New Licensees

By Application

• Ashley Brewer
• Talia Cicchini
• Zophia Corvin
• Caitlin Monahan

Licensed by Application for 2026: 16
Licensed by Credentials for 2026: 1

New Funeral Home Registrations

• Gray & Pescitelli Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Westfield; Manager, James Pescitelli
• Gray & Pescitelli Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Cranford; Manager, James Pescitelli
• King Solomon Memorial Chapel LLC, Jamesburg; Manager, Joseph Charles DePasquale

Registrations approved in May: 3
Total for 2026: 5

Continuing Education Report

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

Correspondence

• Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger (R-13) sponsored the pre-filed introduction of Assembly Bill 815, which requires professional boards to issue licenses under certain circumstances to veterans with credentials in good standing from another jurisdiction. The Board voted to support this legislation.
• Marc Giorgiantonio, Lead Trust Administrator, informed the Board that they were authorized to prepare notification letters to the preneed purchasers of record regarding the closure of the Robert Spearing Funeral Home.

Disciplinary Actions

E. Donald Harrison entered into a settlement agreement for violating N.J.A.C. 13:36-10.3 by failing to complete the required 10 continuing education credits during the 2021–2023 licensing period. Under the terms of the settlement, Mr. Harrison must pay a civil penalty of $1,000 and complete an additional 10 continuing education credits within two months of the settlement.

Public Comment

NJSFDA Executive Director and CEO George R. Kelder Jr., CFSP, inquired about the status of regulations related to natural organic reduction as the law will take effect in July. He also inquired whether the Cemetery Board has provided a list of cemeteries willing to accept the NOR product for final disposition, and if the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has issued groundwater guidelines to the Mortuary Board.

In response to these inquiries, Executive Director Archer explained that the proposed regulatory changes have been submitted to the regulatory analyst for review. She further noted that the Cemetery Board is currently compiling a list of cemeteries that will accept NOR remains. Ms. Archer is unaware of any DEP actions regarding groundwater guidelines for NOR facilities.

Mr. Kelder reminded the Board that the State’s regulatory adoption process including publication of proposed regulations, solicitation of public comments, consideration and response to those comments, and issuance of final regulations will take additional months. Consequently, the Board may be placed in the difficult position of having a statutory obligation to allow NOR without corresponding enforceable regulations in place to govern its implementation. Executive Director Archer stated that the regulatory analyst will be present for an update on the delayed regulations at the upcoming July Board meeting.

Next Board Meeting

The Board moved into Executive Session at 9:55 a.m. and noted that the next Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 7, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. via Zoom.

The New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association is now accepting applications for the 2026 Northeast Funeral Service Leadership Academy, a premier leadership development program created specifically for funeral professionals who are ready to grow, lead and make a lasting impact on the profession.

Presented for the third time through the Northeast Funeral Service Partnership, a collaboration among the funeral director associations of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, the academy is designed to cultivate the next generation of leaders in funeral service.

Beginning in October 2026, participants will engage in a dynamic combination of in-person and virtual learning experiences focused on the real-world skills today’s funeral professionals need most.

Topics include:

• Leadership development
• Public speaking and presentation skills
• Community engagement
• Effective communication
• The role and importance of professional associations
• Industry trends and emerging issues

Participants will also collaborate on a capstone group project addressing a current challenge facing funeral service, culminating in an online presentation in April 2027.

Graduates of the Leadership Academy will leave better prepared to:

• Step confidently into leadership roles within their funeral homes
• Strengthen relationships between their funeral homes and the communities they serve
• Become active volunteers and future leaders within their state associations

Course Schedule

• October 2026: In-Person Kick-Off Session at NYSFDA Headquarters, Albany, NY
• November 2026: Online: Role of Associations and Board Responsibilities
• December 2026: Online: Effective Communication
• January 2027: Online: The State of the Funeral Profession
• February 2027: Online: Self-Care for Leaders
• March 2027: In-Person: Final Project Development
• April 2027: Online: Final Project Presentations

Because this program requires a meaningful commitment beyond day-to-day funeral home responsibilities, applicants are strongly encouraged to secure the support and endorsement of their owner or manager prior to applying.

Applications are now being accepted. Early applicants from New Jersey may be considered for a New Jersey Funeral Service Education Corporation scholarship to assist with travel and lodging expenses associated with the program if they submit their completed application by Tuesday, July 7, 2026.

To request an application or learn more, contact Ziah Rowe by email zrowe@njsfda.org.

I am being asked to embalm, dress and casket a body and then ship the remains to a Native American reservation in Nebraska. In my initial conversation with the tribal administration, I learned that they have no registered mortuaries or funeral directors to whom I can transfer the body when it is shipped. How can I handle this situation without running afoul of New Jersey laws and regulations which say I must transfer remains to a registered mortuary or licensed funeral director?

Read the answer here.