TGIF From TIFG!
Thank goodness it’s Friday! It’s been a big, busy week for The Group as we gear up for the Fall Conference (So. Much. Swag!), and we can only imagine what you’ve been up to. Hopefully, this weekly feature will help you get caught up on some of the week’s happenings and what’s coming up next in the world of deathcare — plus a little good news, because who doesn’t need that?
Highlights and headlines
↪ A 2019 investigation by a North Carolina news outlet has now resulted in a class action lawsuit against two corporate-owned cemeteries over wrongful burials.
↪ When a skeleton was discovered in the Delaware woods 15 years ago, who would have thought it belonged to a woman who died in 1907? Read the fascinating story here.
Practitioner spotlight
Did you know that Morrison Funeral Homes & Crematory, which serves families across northwest Alabama, owes its existence to that state’s very first female licensed funeral director and embalmer?
Sybil Morrison Jones, great-aunt of Morrison’s current owner and president Mike Morrison, earned this distinction in 1938. Sybil and her husband, Bowie, owned a funeral home in Anniston, Alabama, which sparked an interest in funeral service for Sybil's brother, Joe Morrison, Sr. This interest grew into a career in deathcare that eventually resulted in the establishment of Morrison Funeral Homes (then Morrison-Elkins) in 1959.
For the Good of the Group (and Anyone Else!)
OBSERVATION: It’s Suicide Prevention Month — a great time to promote suicide prevention resources (like this toolkit provided by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration) within your community.
WELCOME: The momentum we experienced in August has rolled on into September, and The Group is now represented by firms in 21 states! Welcome to all of our new members!
EVENT: We hope to see you at the 2026 TIFG Fall Conference, September 22-24 … It’s FREE for member firms and partners, and we’ll be sharing lots of great news and helpful services that are coming soon.
CONTINUING EDUCATION: Decoding the Death Certificate: Reading Between the Lines of Life's Final Paperwork on October 14 … registration is open, so be sure to secure your spot.
One Question for You
The cremated remains of a World War I veteran who died in 1988 were recently interred at the Middle Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery in Nashville after sitting “in storage” for decades.
Unclaimed cremains are a growing problem, which leads us to this week’s One Question:
How many sets of unclaimed cremated remains are you currently holding?
P.S. These surveys are anonymous and designed to help us gain more information on all aspects of funeral service ... so that, hopefully, we can help with solutions.
We’ll share the results in next week’s TGIF along with a new question!
In Case You Missed It
Here’s what The Group has published recently in The Practitioners’ Post:
