eNews June 2025

Download a PDF of this issue here.

Update

Any Personnel Changes for the Directory or eNews Subscription?

Kindly email any changes in your Licensee information to Susan Barry or call Susan at 708-865-1600 at your first opportunity when changes occur. Thank you!

2025 Convention Calendar

NFDMA

Saturday, July 5-9, 2025

TBD, Secaucus, New Jersey www.nfdma.com

WMA Annual Meeting

Sunday, September 21-24, 2025, Beaver Creek, CO www.wilbertwma.com

CANA Annual Convention

Wednesday, August 6-8, 2025

Arizona Biltmore, 2400 E. Missouri Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85016 www.cremationassociation.org

NFDA International Convention & Expo

Sunday, October 26-29, 2025, Chicago, IL www.nfda.org

CCC - Catholic Cemetery Conference Convention & Exposition

The 76th Anniversary Convention & Exposition is
September 15-18, 2025
Disneyland Hotel, 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Thank You to Our Burial Manufacturing Licensees and Plant Managers

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all our burial manufacturing licensees and plant managers for the exceptional response to the launch of our new cylinder testing program. Your proactive involvement and unwavering commitment to upholding the highest standards in the burial vault industry have been crucial to the success of this initiative.

We deeply appreciate your continued dedication to quality and efficiency, and we look forward to achieving even greater success together. Your success is our reward. We are here to help you in any way we can.

Congratulations to Our Winners of the "March Madness" Promotion

Congratulations to the following top three winners of the March Madness promotion for selling the most new urns from Vol 11 of the Cremation Choices Catalog.

First Place – Yeti “Rambler” Beverage Bucket

Keating Wilbert Vault

Danien Dumala

Ken LaBonte

Second Place – Sony Beats Earbuds

American Wilbert

Mike Beenblossom

Anne Lacubino

Third Place – Southwest Gift Card

Arnold Wilbert

Bruce Tart

Keating American Arnold_Wilbert

W-EDU-eLab-Tag-R-4-2020

WilbertEDU^®April Recap

On April 3, Jill Lazar presented The Art of Active Listening and Other Ways to Build Stronger Arrangement Conference Skills to almost 700 funeral professionals. This webinar focused on elevating funeral professionals' arrangement conference skills by emphasizing the power of empathy, active listening, and personalized care. Attendees explored the nuances of the grieving process, learning how each family's experience is unique and how emotional challenges may influence interactions during arrangements. The session covered practical strategies for creating a comfortable environment, reading nonverbal cues, building rapport, and navigating difficult conversations with sensitivity. Participants also learned how to tailor services, provide relevant resources, and offer meaningful follow-up care. The key takeaway: by improving communication and truly listening with compassion, funeral professionals can create more supportive and healing experiences for the families they serve.

On April 17, David Hicks returned to the WilbertEDU stage to present Cosmetic Treatments. In this presentation, David demonstrated a range of cosmetic and restorative treatments for trauma cases. The session covered techniques for addressing simple ecchymoses and concluded with demonstrations of basic cosmetic applications. David also showcased the use of both Necromantic Cosmetics and Oil-Based Cosmetics in the treatment examples presented. At the end of the talk, attendees had a clearer understanding of the cosmetics and techniques demonstrated, along with renewed insight into processes that may have been forgotten or never previously attempted.

W-EDU-eLab-Tag-R-4-2020

WilbertEDU^® Upcoming Sessions

June 12: OSHA’s Formaldehyde Standards Review of OSHA’s Formaldehyde standards, exposure identification,

and control, monitoring, and compliance.

June 26: Introduction to Firefighter Honors and Benefits Awareness, benefits, and protocols for Firefighter line

of duty deaths.

Download the quarterly Upcoming Sessions flyer.

WilbertEDU^®QR Code for State Conventions

Is your state convention coming up?

Are you looking for a way to promote the upcoming WilbertEDU Sessions?

The WilbertEDU team is pleased to offer this QR Code that you can display in the booth to keep your customers updated! It will take them directly to www.wilbertedu.com for the most up-to-date details on dates, presenters, and subjects.

Since November 2020, WilbertEDU has consistently provided free, bi-weekly webinars on timely topics that allow funeral directors and embalmers to earn continuing education credits from the comfort of their homes or offices. Sessions are held on Thursdays at 1 p.m. central.

To date, funeral professionals have earned over 51,000 hours of valuable continuing education credits on various topics, including cremation trends, ethics, laws, grief, wellness, personal development, technology, communications, embalming, and more.

Download QR Code.

Commemorating First Responder Deputy Sheriff Jesse Perez

Lamesa, TX- Deputy Sheriff Jesse Perez was killed when debris from a commercial vehicle struck him during a traffic stop. He succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at Lamesa Medical Arts Hospital.

Deputy Perez had served with the Dawson County Sheriff's Office for eight months. He is survived by his wife, three daughters, a son, mother, two brothers, a sister, and a grandson.

Services were entrusted to Gonzales Funeral Home, Lamesa, TX.

Wilbert Funeral Service, Lubbock, TX, was honored to provide the family with a Stainless Steel Triune^® burial vault, a custom Treasured Tribute, and a graveside service.

2025.04.22-Jessie-Perez

Commemorating First Responder Special Deputy Sheriff Larry Henderson, Jr.

Cincinnati, OH- Special Deputy Sheriff Larry Henderson was intentionally struck and killed by a driver while directing traffic. While standing on the sidewalk, a driver deliberately drove his vehicle into Deputy Henderson.

The driver, who had recently viewed body camera footage of his son being shot and killed after fleeing a stolen vehicle armed with a handgun, was arrested and charged with aggravated murder.

Deputy Henderson was transported to the UC Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries. He passed away on Friday, May 2, 2025.

Deputy Henderson was a United States Marine Corps veteran and had served with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office for 33 years. He is survived by his wife and five children.

Services were entrusted to Spring Grove Funeral Home, Cincinnati, OH.

Baxter Burial Vault Service, Inc., Cincinnati, OH, was honored to provide the family with a Stainless Steel Triune^® burial vault, a custom Treasured Tribute, and a graveside service.

2025.05-Henderson