Cremation Association of North America

09/05/2025

"When Janet Jackson, of the San Antonio area, lost her six-month-old grandson in February, she said her son couldn’t stomach the idea of lighting his baby’s tiny body on fire or putting it in the ground. Jackson had heard of water cremation and told her son about it.
“'Grayson loved his bubble baths so much,' Jackson said. 'Every night they would FaceTime me during bubble baths.'”

A new and greener kind of death care is coming to Maryland: water cremation. Those who’ve done it describe it as a gentler way to send off a loved one.

09/04/2025

Members to your mailboxes -- the latest issue of The Cremationist is here!
Featuring the findings from a recent cremation practitioner benchmarking study conducted by CANA and Fortitude Research and Marketing, a helpful guide to medical implant laws and regulations from Regulatory Support Services, Inc., insights on the history and evolution of crematory operations from the Cremation Society of Illinois, our post-Convention feature of exhibitors, and more!
Members can log into the CANA website to read it now:
https://www.cremationassociation.org/cremationistmagazine.html

09/03/2025

Trying to find that dream job? Be the first to know about new positions in funeral and cemetery service when you sign up for job alerts at the CANA Career Center! Visit https://jobs.cremationassociation.org/

09/02/2025

"It takes quite a bit of work to incorporate everything needed to honor local veterans. From the area that will hold 500 pre-positioned crypts, a landscape star featuring the American flag and six flags for each service branch, a columbarium for cremated urns and so much more."

West Texas State Veterans Cemetery Director Sarah Weede says this area has needed something like this for quite some time.

09/01/2025

"At present, there are approximately 220 Alberta Family Histories Society members, who are actively contributing to the mission of recording residents of over 348 cemeteries.
"Cemetery digitization isn’t just about technology — it’s a way to honour and remember those who came before us by preserving their stories for future generations."

Read the full story and comment on AirdrieCityView.com

08/30/2025

"In the study, coauthor Mette Kjærgaard Nielsen, a postdoctoral researcher at Aarhus University in Denmark, and her colleagues investigated the long-term health outcomes of bereaved relatives in Denmark over the course of 10 years, dividing the 1,735 participants into groups who experienced 'low levels' and 'high levels' of grief symptoms."

You can actually die of a broken heart after the death of a loved one, especially if the grief is overwhelming, new research shows.

08/29/2025

At CANA's Annual Meeting, we take a moment to remember CANA colleagues, friends and family who died over the past year.

08/28/2025

"The most rewarding part of the job is... learning about how much someone fits into their lives, building a rapport and watching individuals' relief when everything comes together. It blows my mind that people thank us for what we do. And that is an incredible feeling, knowing you helped in some way."

This week, for our regular Money blog What It's Really Like To Be A... feature, we hear from funeral director Ayesha Slader about how to keep funeral costs down, the most rewarding part of her job and why she speaks to dead people.

08/27/2025

"As a busy funeral professional who has constantly adapted and adopted new technologies and fresh ways to reach your current families in times of need, chances are you’re not thinking about how to inspire younger generations — like Millennials and Gen Z — to create their funeral plans. But should you?"
Nick Grant of EFuneral Partner brings insights and ideas to start planning for the future in the latest entry to CANA's Cremation Logs blog. Read on:

We were thrilled to join you all at this year’s CANA Annual Innovation Convention in Phoenix. At eFuneral, we’ve had our ear to the proverbial streets since 2019, continually exploring the...

08/26/2025

"After a 140 years, when there’s not really been a chance for folks to buy spaces at Oakland Cemeteries for the first time we are able to build columbariums for the first time here at Oakland, and this is really a momentous moment for people to come and have Oakland be their final resting place and be amongst the incredible stories of Atlanta that are buried here."

The cemetery, located off Oakland Avenue, is the final resting place for about 70,000 people, including former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson, singer Kenny Rogers, and golfer Bobby Jones.

08/25/2025

"'My mother had everything organized. We didn't have to handle any paperwork, just call the organizing company to carry out the service as she had planned. Everything was very efficient, and they took care of every detail: the transfer to the funeral home, the wake, and the ceremony with catering that included Manchego cheese and local wine, just as she had requested...with flavors that reminded her of her hometown' to make the final farewell more bearable." [SPAIN]

A carriage pulled by four horses with black plumes parades through the streets of Triana, amidst applause, flamenco claps, and cheers. Upon arriving at the church of Santa Ana, the...

08/22/2025

"The weather is fine and the seas have eased, but this time I’m not on Pearl Bay and John is not at the helm. Instead, John’s ashes are beside me. They’re in a biodegradable box that I’ve covered with photographs of each of the beautiful yachts he built. Adorning the lid is the only epitaph that seemed to fit: 'Cosmos Mariner, Destination Unknown'. It’s resting in a basket of yellow rose petals."

Seven years after John’s cremation, I was ready to set him free – with help from Australia’s Volunteer Coast Guard