Part 2 of our exclusive Interview With Courtney Baloney, the Louisiana Funeral Director at the Center of Covid-19. In this extraordinary interview, Mr. Baloney goes into detail on the issue of cremation, another potent topic in the funeral community and one that Covid-10 has brought back into focus. Among the other topics he offers his unique insight into are: What constitutes a proper good-bye, and what role does the human body play in the funeral ceremony? Must a body be seen in person by those in grief? Is a body something that should be worked upon in death, made to look beautiful, and mastered like an art project? Or should the body be able to dissolve back into the earth in a more ‘natural’ manner?
Search Results for: green funeral (82 Found)
The Louisiana Funeral Director at the Center of Covid-19: An Exclusive Interview With Courtney Baloney
Digital Dying learned first-hand from Courtney Baloney of Treasures of Life, a funeral services center in St. James Parrish, Louisiana. Courtney shared what it is like to be on these front lines of Covid, and just how the pandemic has reshaped his community, his profession, and himself. Courtney’s words are powerful, his story is important, and his message, despite all the pain and suffering, is also beautiful. In this first interview of two, he discusses his work as an embalmer on the front lines of Covid-19, and in a second interview to be published next month, he discusses his views on the art and importance of embalming. In an age when the practice seems to regularly be on the receiving end of fresh criticism, and new modes and methods of death-care have blossomed—and been written about extensively here at Digital Dying—Courtney’s words add needed complexity to the issue, and will likely turn a few heads too. So stay tuned for that in January.
What to Expect on the Funeral Front in 2019, From Digital Dying
While we can't predict the future, we are certain that for the funeral industry, change is on the horizon. As the new year clicks into action, Justin Nobel of Digital Dying offers some perspective on trends he anticipates to blossom further in the new year, as well as new ones that may emerge.
Josh Slocum – Interview With the Funeral Industry’s Number One Critic
Josh Slocum of the Funeral Consumers Alliance gave Digital Dying some interesting viewpoints in this interview. We encourage readers to weigh in.
Weekly News: Nancy Reagan’s funeral details, Pat Conroy laid to rest.
First lady Nancy Reagan's funeral details released and Pat Conroy laid to rest.
Weekly News: Green burials, mushroom suits, and special people in the industry.
Green burials and the environment dominated this week's news--from overall considerations in how in ground burial impacts the environment to a burial suit that sprouts fungi to help along the decomposition process.
Want to learn more about the funeral industry? Try a funeral industry podcast.
The funeral industry, generally a community tied to traditional business tools and techniques, began to embrace the medium some time ago. The funeral industry podcast landscape is already populated with a healthy selection of podcasts aimed at educating both professionals and consumers about the industry and that number is likely to grow.
New York’s Green-Wood Cemetery: final resting place of the rich and powerful.
Until the mid-1800s, cemeteries were almost exclusively small plots on church grounds. During the late 1700s, we began to see a new style of cemetery develop in Europe.
Forget Eau de Cologne, This Company’s Perfumes Smell Like “Dirt” and “Funeral Home”
You lean in to kiss the lady you love and are overwhelmed by a rich floral fragrance you can’t quite put your finger on. “My darling, are you wearing...
One Texas Woman’s Struggle To Open The Country’s First Art Gallery Funeral Home
Imagine a funeral home that also served as an art gallery. At a service you might watch the deceased’s favorite movie, or listen to a concert by their favorite...
Interview with the country’s oldest funeral officiant, a 93-year-old Freemason named Norman
Norman Miller fought in World War II then Korea and has been leading Freemason funeral services ever since.
Funeral menus old and new: Cup of coffee and sins of the dead
Starbucks has a new market, death. A store recently opened in a funeral home outside Dallas, Texas. Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, food is banned in funeral homes, but legislators are...
New green burial method mimics recipe of infamous British “Acid Bath Murderer”
Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak has developed a new way to bury human bodies. First, freeze them with liquid nitrogen, then, use mechanical vibrations to shatter them into a million pieces.
If you control the funeral you control the revolution
As the Middle East erupts in protest, funerals have served as the flashpoint. On Tuesday in Bahrain 10,000 mourners gathered in a hospital parking lot to begin a funeral...
Mock funerals for Sarah Jessica Parker and Saudi Arabian schoolboys
On a winter morning in New York City a handful of mourners gathered underground. They dressed in black with black armbands, hung their heads low and listened to a...
Funeral related questions & answers for a modern world.
