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JANUARY 2013
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
S ec t i on A
XL Industries, Inc.
Portable
Register Stand
Manufacturer of Portable Floral Equipment and
Register Stands for over 75 years!
All XL Products are Manufactured in America
Available through quality suppliers
406-449-4100 • 933 Argyle Street • Helena, MT 59601
info@xlindustries.com
The Last
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Built By S&S
CALL 516-816-9065
END OF AN ERA!
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AquaGreen Dispositions LLC
Eco-Friendly Flameless Cremation
now available in Illinois
CHICAGO,IL—
AquaGreen
Dispositions LLC
, an eco-
friendly flameless crematory,
offering a new alternative to
burial or flame cremation, is
now available in Illinois.
“For over forty years con-
sumers have basically been
offered two choices when
it comes to the final dispo-
sition of their loved one –
burial or flame cremation”
says
Ryan Cattoni
, found-
er of AquaGreen Disposi-
tions LLC. “We are excited
to offer them a new choice,
a greener choice, flameless
cremation.”
The process, also known
as alkaline hydrolysis, has
been used by the Mayo
Clinic and Shands Hospi-
tal at the University of Flor-
ida to dispose of human ca-
davers. New to the funeral
industry, AquaGreen Dis-
positions is the fourth facil-
ity in the United States and
the first in Illinois to offer
flameless cremation. “The
consumer response has been
tremendously positive,” says
Cattoni, “not only from the
eco-friendly conscious con-
sumer, but also consumers
who are happy to have an-
other choice.”
When compared with
flame cremation, alkaline
hydrolysis uses less energy
and releases no smoke, mer-
cury emissions or particulate
matter into the atmosphere.
Flameless cremation offers a
gentler process and environ-
mental advantages.
Cattoni, an Illinois licensed
funeral director and certi-
fied crematory operator, de-
scribes the process as an ac-
celerated form of natural
decomposition. The meth-
od uses water instead of fire
to return the body to nature.
To achieve this process, the
body is placed in a stainless
steel vessel which uses a gen-
tle flow of water, temperature
and alkalinity. The alkalis
used are potassium hydrox-
ide and sodium hydroxide
which are found in cosmetic
products, body washes, shav-
ing creams and other house-
hold products. The solution,
which is 95% water and 5%
By Sherry L. Williams
Sherry L. Williams, RN, BA, GMS, GRS, is the president and
founder of New Leaf Resources a division of Sherry Williams En-
terprises, Inc. She was the co-founder of Accord Inc. and has been
involved in grief and bereavement training and services for the
past twenty-two years. She has an Associate Degree in Nursing
from the University of Kentucky Extension Program and a Bachelor
of Arts degree in Psychology from Bellarmine College in Louisville,
KY. Sherry is a nationally certified Grief Management Specialist
and has advanced certification as a Bereavement Facilitator from
the American Academy of Bereavement and is certified by the
Grief Recovery Institute as a Grief Recovery Specialist.
She has been a featured speaker for numerous organizations in-
cluding the National Funeral Directors Association and the Asso-
ciation for Death Education.
She can be reached by email at sherry@newleaf-resources.com.
Visit New Leaf Resources and Sherry Williams Enterprises, Inc. at
The Gift of
Aftercare
Here it is 2013 or at least I hope it is 2013. At the time
of this writing, I am not certain if we will make it past
12/21/2012 because the Mayan Calendar will have run
out. That is yet another day that the world is supposed to
have ended. So, if you are reading this article, I guess we all
once again outlived the end of the world as we know it.
You know it seems that there have been predictions over
and over that doomsday was going to take us all on a cer-
tain date, and the truth of it all is that we don’t know when
that will happen. The point is that we should be prepared
for that event each and every day of our lives. And we
should have values about our lives and about our business-
es that treat people fairly with honesty and integrity.
As I look back on 2012, I have to admit I have been sad-
dened by the state of affairs I see our young people facing.
They are confronted daily with decisions that are far be-
yond their life experience to make. And, it is up to us to
teach them the ethics by which the world should be run. It
is up to us to bring up young people that will respect the
old fashioned notions of fairness, right and wrong and tol-
erance and acceptance of those who are different from us.
It is up to us to teach them about work ethic and respect
for one another.
As we move into another year, I am reminded that many
of the giants in business have died. We no longer have
Steve Jobs who pushed us into the digital age. Some of you
may be saying that was not all that great, but you must ad-
mit, many of his companies’ products have made our jobs
easier and more efficient.
choices was a might powerful position to be in, even if
the choice was one I didn’t want to make – I still had a
choice – a choice to say no. And that is empowering.
As I have worked with grieving people who feel that
their life has ended and they are having difficulty decid-
ing where to turn next, I simply draw the sixteen squares
and help them see the options they have before them.
As you face 2013, why don’t you try this simple exer-
cise? If you are struggling with a decision or don’t know
which way to turn, write down all of your options, good
and bad. This is quite a bit different from writing down
the pros and cons. This is letting your mind be creative
and come up with ideas on how to handle a situation or
issue. It is looking for ways that you can reach your ob-
jective and by seeing that you have choices, you will be-
come far less stressed because you will see possible solu-
tions not stumbling blocks.
I loved Zig; he was a good personal friend, a mentor
and a good motivator. But above all he loved God and he
always acted with integrity and honesty. He always said
to me, “Sherry, if you always do the right thing, no mat-
ter how painful, you will come out on top.” One of his
first books was called
See You at The Top
. Zig, I do plan to
see you at the top, my dear friend. Rest in peace.
Andy Rooney, who kept us laughing at ourselves on Sixty
Minutes by demonstrating with total honesty the absurdity
of many of our habits, opinions and pet peeves, left the world
a better place. He helped us see the human side of ourselves
that we often take too seriously.
And one man that I will really miss is Zig Ziglar. Zig, as
many of youmay know, was a motivational speaker. He spoke
with honesty, integrity, and humor to help all of us know that
we had to work daily to keep motivated. He taught me a lot
about how important “my” attitude was in being successful in
business.
I’ll never forget talking with him at the World Conference
on Grief in Columbus, Ohio in 2001 when he told me that
the secret to his success was ultimately following the Golden
Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Zig explained that over the years he felt it was important to
teach people the importance of believing in themselves and
being committed to providing service and services honestly
and with integrity.
Zig also helped me create a tool that I have used with griev-
ing individuals and I have used it myself to help me make de-
cisions when I felt backed into a corner and like I didn’t know
where to turn. Perhaps this little trick will be as helpful for
you as it has been for me and the thousands of people I have
used it with.
Zig simply took a large square and divided it into 16 squares
bymaking lines through it.When he asked howmany squares
I saw, I said 16 of course and he said, “what about the one you
started with?” Then as I looked at the squares longer, he ask
how many I saw now and I came up with several different
numbers but subsequently ended up with a total of 30 differ-
ent options. He explained to me that many times in business,
in our personal lives and in times of stress, we don’t see the op-
tions before us. He stressed the need for all of us to look at the
options even if the option was one that we knew we wouldn’t
choose. Zig had a way of getting me to realize that having