Times Change Funeral Service Submitted by: N.O.V.A. April 2005 Source: Times Picayune 07-08-1990 ************************************************* Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ From the outside, the House of Bultman funeral home with its stately white columns seems to resonate in tradition and stability. But on the inside, this century-old New Orleans business is in the throes of change. "Many people are rethinking their attitudes about death and funeral services and that's having a big effect on how many of us do our business," said Ellis Bultman, president of Bultman Funeral Services, at 3338 St. Charles Ave. The biggest change challenging the funeral home industry today, quite simply, is the lack of funerals. Or, more accurately, what to do about the growing number of people who are opting for cremations or giving their bodies to science. Nationally, such arrangements made up less than 2 percent of all funerals in the early 1970s. By 1989 that figure was up to more than 12 percent. "Up to about 15 years ago cremations were frowned upon by the Catholic church," Bultman said. "But now that is no longer true. Right now I'd say that 10 percent of all of our funerals here are cremations, and I'm sure that number will increase." Cremations are cheaper Cremation also is growing in popularity because it's less expensive and many people concerned about ecology believe there's only going to be so much land space available for traditional burials in coming years. Cremations are cheaper: At Bultman the least-expensive funeral is about $2,800, while cremation fees run between $700 and $900. Other local funeral homes can do cremations for $500. But cremation may also be growing in complexity as a service, said Stephen Sontheimer, chief executive officer of Security Industrial Funeral Homes, a division of the Security Industrial Insurance Co., which owns Tharp-Sontheimer and Lamana-Panno-Fallo funeral homes as well as six other local operations. "We're finding that we are doing more cremations than ever before," Sontheimer said. "But with them also comes an increase in the number of people who want some sort of memorial services to go along with the cremation." Sontheimer said memorials may include funeral home, church or chapel services, transportation, urns and caskets, and traditional items such as register books and acknowledgment cards. "It used to be with cremations that people just wanted to hurry up and get it over with," Sontheimer said. "But now we're seeing much more of a humanistic ritual approach, where people are putting as much time and thought into a cremation as they would a funeral." While the financial implications of a marketplace slowly moving away from funerals and toward cremations are vast for the funeral home business, that's not the only changes facing the industry. Becoming parts of chains Nationwide, according to Richard Santore, executive director of the Associated Funeral Directors Service in St. Petersburg, Fla., funeral homes are becoming parts of large chains, putting more competition on locally owned and operated homes, while almost everywhere larger and more lavish funerals are decreasing in popularity. "This is an industry in flux," Santore said. "The general public's view of what a traditional funeral should be has changed over the years, and with it our industry's response has to change, too." Among the changes has been a fierce fight for burial dollars that has led to new products, such as videotaped funeral services. More important, according to Service Corp. International, the Houston operator of 380 funeral homes in the United States and Canada, there is also a growing market for pre-arranged funerals, particularly among upper middle-income families. These plans are marketed as insurance policies, letting the buyer control the cost of a funeral - and putting the dollars in the hands of the funeral home long before the buyer dies. The dollars are big. Nationally, the buyer pays an average $2,000 for a pre-arranged policy. Overhead has doubled But while these market changes occurred, funeral home overhead in the 1980s more than doubled. Besides having to pay for skilled embalmers, home directors, administrative help and chauffeurs, there are high maintenance costs for the public areas of a funeral home. Then there are hearses and limousines. These can start at more than $40,000. "You have costs everywhere in this business today," said Bobbie Francois, director of Louisiana Undertaking at 1449 N. Claiborne Ave. "And it's going to show in your funeral bill. I try to keep things as inexpensive as I can for my clients, but sooner or later they're going to see the effect. It used to be that the least expensive funeral I did would cost about $295. Today, it's more than $1,600." In New Orleans, however, for more than 50 funeral homes, tradition and climate are assets: Large families still favor big funeral services that cost $5,000 and more. So far, that has protected local funeral homes from the changing tastes hurting the business elsewhere. Wet climate helps But the wet climate doesn't hurt things either. "While other cities worry about available land space," Bultman said, "we go back and use the same tombs. You can easily see 10 or 15 names on a plot here - one member of the family dies, is put in a wooden coffin, and sealed in a concrete tomb. After at least a year, though, that same tomb can be used again by another member of the family because with the moist conditions we have, almost any casket will disintegrate." And, Bultman said, "I think it is a very good custom that is also ecologically correct." Many funeral home operators also think that another trend, a return to conservative, traditional religious beliefs, will help business. "Both with the humanistic rituals and through traditional religious practice there is a need to finalize death and then move on," Sontheimer said.