February 2021

Page A22 FEBRUARY 2021 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A Funeral Directors Research,Inc. AMRA INSTRUMENT, LLC 623 N. Tower (P.O. Box 359) Centralia, WA 98531 “the shorter the supply line the better off you are” WEB DIRECT GIFT & PRICING TM ® www.amrainstruments.com www.preproomdirect.com In his retirement, Fillmore enjoyed excellent health until the morning of February 13, 1874 after he had finished shaving when his left hand dropped power- less to his side. He was put in bed and soon the pa- ralysis spread to his face, which caused diffi- culty swallowing. Fillmore lingered in this condition for days, and then on Saturday, March 7th, he slipped into a coma, never to wake again. Millard Fillmore died on Sun- day, March 8, 1874 at 11:30 p.m. He had lived 74 years and 60 days. Early Monday morning, George Meacham , who was associated with Henry Delano Farwell Undertakers , arrived at the Fillmore home to embalm the former president. Undertaker Farwell ar- rived mid-morning on Monday to finalize the funer- al arrangements and assist Mrs. Fillmore in selecting the casket, which was picked from a casket catalog. The casket was made of rosewood and was cov- ered with white silk. There were eight silver handles, which were accented with heavy silver braiding. The casket was manufactured by the J. S. Schuler Coffin Company of Amsterdam, New York. On Tuesday, Fillmore was lying in-state in the west front drawing room of the residence. The funeral for President Fillmore was held beginning at 9:00 AM on March 12th. A short service was held at the resi- dence, and then the President’s remains were car- ried to Farwell’s funeral coach. The day was cold and blustery, yet the streets in Buffalo were packed with citizens. At 10:00 AM, the funeral procession arrived at St. Paul’s Church. The funeral service was to begin at 2:00 PM, but the public viewing came first. The doors of the church were opened and thousands of Buffalo citizens streamed through the church to view Fillmore for the last time. There were high compli- ments about Fillmore’s appearance. The bells at St. Paul’s rang out at 1:30 PM, an- nouncing the end of the public viewing. The doors of the church were closed, and at 1:45 PM, the dig- nitaries began arriving. First and foremost was Pres- ident Ulysses S. Grant and his party. At 2:10 PM, By Todd Van Beck Most people don’t recognize the name Millard Fill- more, let alone know that he was our 13th president. While he’s far from being one of our nation’s most recognized presidents, he nonetheless took over the office after Zachary Taylor passed away. President Taylor died suddenly from gastroenteritis, which he contracted after downing dozens of raw cherries and drinking a large quantity of iced milk. The milk was probably contaminated, causing his untimely death. President Taylor’s death thrust Fillmore into the White House, resulting in his being called “the acci- dental president.” Taylor died on July 9, 1850, and Fillmore was sworn in as president on July 10th. His presidency was so unremarkable that he doesn’t ap- pear on the list of exceptionally good nor exception- ally bad presidents. However, his career, both prior to and after his presidency, was quite remarkable. In his retirement, Fillmore became a leading citizen of Buffalo, New York, where his home was located. Abigail Fillmore, the President’s wife, installed the first bathtub in the White House, which was made of zinc. She also got the first iron range, which was such a new appliance that Fillmore had to have some- one from the US Patent Office show him how to op- erate it. Perhaps the stove was one of the reasons that Fillmore labeled the White House his “temple of in- conveniences.” M illard F illmore the thirteenth President of the United States of America Rest in Peace, Mr. President. That was the hope... that our presidents would rest in peace, but that has not always happened. For example, between 1865 and 1901 Lincoln’s remains were moved 18 times. Funerals are a reflection of how people live their lives, and this remains true for the funerals of our U.S. presidents. This series offers a glimpse into the deaths and funerals of our presidents, while offer- ing overdue recognition to the scores of funeral professionals who labored ceaselessly to carry out the wishes of the presidents, their families, and in some cases, the wishes of the United States govern - ment. Each account tells an interesting story. I hope you enjoy this new series. —TVB Todd W. Van Beck is associated with John A. Gupton College in Nashville, and has been an author, teacher, practitioner, and speak- er for over 40 years. On May 30, 2018 Van Beck celebrated 50 years in funeral service. You can reach Todd at 615-327-3927. FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS www.nomispublications.com Monthly Columns online at Rest In Peace, Mr. President a dozen clergy entered the sanctuary while the organ played Beethoven’s “Funeral March.” At 3:00 PM, the services at the church were complet- ed and preparations for the funeral procession to For- est Lawn Cemetery were ready. The entire fu- neral procession for Fillmore extended for blocks. The crowds were so thick that in the confusion a six-year-old boy was knocked over and severely injured by the crowds. Forest Lawn Cemetery is indeed one of the jewels of pride in the crown of Buffalo, New York. The avenue to the grave was covered with green matting. The grave was situated on the brow of a hill just on the other side of a small bridge crossing the creek in the cemetery. Earlier in the day, a stone casing containing a strong ce- dar box had been lowered into the grave to serve as the burial vault. At the grave, the committal services of the Episcopal Church were read. After the benediction, the attendee’s made a hasty departure due to the horrible weather. The estate of President Millard Fillmore paid Henry D. Farwell , the undertaker, $781.00 for his services. Snapshot: Cremation Statistics Continued from Page A12 Continued on Page A23 death calls and crema- tions have increased in your business? If you track your own case data, you can verify it for yourself, but even without taking that step, you likely can feel it in your gut. And you are right. Methodology CANA collected data from 15 states for the period from March- August 2020. We chose this six-month period intentionally to examine the beginning of the pandemic. Staff followed methodolo- gies from CANA’s An- nual Cremation Statis- tics Reports published each year. Data was gathered from the vi- Figure 2: This table shows the 2019 annual figures next to six months of 2020—specifically March through August 2020. Cremation rates for each year are based on the numbers of cre- mations and death. The highlighted column shows the growth in cremation from 2019 to 2020. * Data received from Michigan differs from data reported by the CDC. tal statistics department of each state. Please note that most states, as a matter of policy, do not release provisional data, but all states will be included in the next CANA Annual Statistics Re- port scheduled for publication in May 2021. The data reported here is provisional, subject to change, and collected from what was available at the time of publication. Change in cremation count The average annual cremation growth rate has been around 1.5% for the last decade, but the rate has jumped in these reporting states to an average of 2.74%. That av- erage rate may be higher in your state or region. This is important as a benchmark for your own business and to plan for the immediate future. (Figure 2) Send Us Your News! PO Box 5159, Youngstown, OH 44514 Fax 1-800-321-9040 Email info@nomispublications.com FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS We welcome news of the industry. Send us information on your firm today!