New York State Funeral Directors Seek Winter Burial Laws - Legislation would give consumers option of year-round burial

Albany, NY -- March 29 -- The New York State Funeral Directors Association (NYSFDA) is seeking legislation to require cemeteries to perform burials year-round. A recent NYSFDA survey revealed that the remains of approximately 1,000 individuals are in vaults and funeral homes awaiting what is called ‘spring burial’.

Current regulation calls for year-round burials, yet many cemeteries in areas of the state ignore this. The majority of these cemeteries close entirely for several months during certain calendar dates, even when weather conditions are mild.

"Providing the option for burials to take place throughout the winter months will allow grieving families to move forward, offering them closure during a trying time. By requiring interment to take place several months after a death, families are forced to relive the pain associated with the death of their loved one," said Senator Jim Wright (R,C,I – Watertown). "I am pleased to sponsor this legislation in the State Senate on behalf of the New York State Funeral Directors Association which will give new choices to both directors and grieving families."

“Easing a family’s pain and grief by allowing them the ability to bury their loved ones in a more immediate and timely fashion is the right thing to do here in our state,” explained Assemblywoman RoAnn M. Destito (D/WF – Rome), sponsor of the Assembly bill. “In addition, this bill will allow out-of-state relatives and friends the added courtesy and benefit of being present during all of the final tributes and ceremonies marking their loved one’s passage.”

According to NYSFDA president Thomas Kearns, owner of Leo F. Kearns, Inc. Funeral Directors in Queens, the practice of waiting until spring to inter the dead is based largely on outdated tradition and results in the need for the deceased to be ‘stored’ in cemetery vaults or in funeral homes until the cemetery re-opens in March, April or even May. This unnecessarily extends the grieving process for the deceased’s loved ones because they must suffer the emotional stresses twice: once at the time of death and then again at the time of burial.

“Despite the current regulations, a majority of cemeteries close completely during certain calendar dates, even if weather conditions are mild,” said Robert Barbieri, NYSFDA committee member and owner of Scott & Barbieri Funeral Homes in the Albany area. “This new legislation will go a long way toward making a time in life that each one of us will one day deal with, less stressful.”

“Breaking the news to a bereaved person that their loved one cannot be buried for three or four months is one of the most difficult parts of my job,” said Mark Phillips, NYSFDA board member and owner of the William J. Burke & Sons Funeral Home in Saratoga Springs. “It causes a great deal of added distress to families and with the equipment and technology available today, there is no reason for it.”

This Wright–Destito legislation (S.3305-A.6529), would have New York State join Minnesota and Wisconsin by ensuring that cemeteries make available to surviving families and loved ones the option of year-round burial. The bill would clarify that cemeteries could charge for any of the additional costs incurred as a result of the weather. This legislation would also statutorily provide that cemeteries would be exempt from performing burials in the event of ‘severe weather conditions’.

Editor’s Note: For more information, to obtain a copy of Transitions for review, or to schedule an interview with Bonnie McCullough, please call Randy McCullough at 518-452-8230 or Vera Nuspliger at 518-882-9816.