Anthony Russo

1 week ago | kates-boylston.com | Anthony Russo

In case you missed last week’s installation, I wanted to bring you up to date, although a link to all of the Kates-Boylston Compensation Report coverage can be found at the end of this column. Last week, we learned that while independently owned funeral homes remain the dominant force, the very definition of “independent” is proving to be anything but static. “Independent funeral homes,” in the sense of one family running one funeral home, continue on a downtrend.

1 week ago | kates-boylston.com | Anthony Russo

While we mentioned the “decline” of the single person, single funeral home model in last week’s analysis of the decreasing number of funeral homes, it’s important to qualify that broad-brush look. “Single rooftop” doesn’t imply single funeral director or (by extension) single chapel. In a world where a single funeral home can cremate three or four bodies per day, it makes sense to incorporate families served to get a better sense of proportion.

1 week ago | kates-boylston.com | Anthony Russo

Over the last three years, the number of respondents who placed a newly licensed funeral director’s salary at $55,000 or more has nearly doubled. According to this year’s survey, about 30% of funeral directors start at that number. For context, the most common starting salary in 2016 was closer to $35,000. As we mentioned in last year’s analysis (and it’s worth repeating), the amounts are likely skewed by region and location.

3 weeks ago | kates-boylston.com | Anthony Russo

Bob DiPasquale understands the profound void left by a parent’s death at a young age. He was only three when his father, Joseph, died of a heart –attack. “I never got to know my dad, but my mom (Mary Ellen), who was a schoolteacher and raised me and my five siblings until I was 10, got colon cancer and passed away,” DiPasquale said.

3 weeks ago | kates-boylston.com | Anthony Russo

In this week’s Funeral Service Insider, we have an interview with Joél Maldonado, also known on social media as the Grave Woman. She built a continuing education business by teaching people how to deal with textured hair and melanated skin in an effort to expand on the embalming and cosmetic techniques taught in mortuary school. The other feature we have this week is an interview with Bob DiPasquale, who lost his parents at an early age.