The Time is Now

The Universal Memorial Homesite concept was conceived by David Arthur Walters in 1999. The time is ripe for the project to proceed. The concept is bound to be realized in the future, and it is therefore the right project for those persons who are destined to successfully develop it. As can be seen from the newspaper clipping below, funeral homes are already developing funeral webcasting, which is one of many aspects of the Universal Memorial Homesite project. Many of the existing webcasting funeral homes will be brought online and thousands more added to the consortium of providers of multiple memorial services coordinated by the Universal Memorial Homesite project.

Funeral home offers services via the Internet

By DAVID CLOUSTON
The Associated Press
May 16, 2004

SALINA — Salina funeral directors Mike Carlson and Chris Ford believe in traditional funerals, with a boost from technology that's impressing families with whom they work. Using the Internet, Carlson-Ford-Geisendorf Funeral Home and Crematory can put streaming videos of funerals online for those who cannot attend services. For family members who can attend in person, a copy of the service saved to a video disc. “It gives me more closure. When my wife's dad died, at that time the big thing was they gave us a cassette recording of the service. But no one wanted it,” said Donald Darling, Kansas City, Kan. Darling's mother, Beulah, formerly of Salina, died April 11, and her funeral service was one of the first to be webcast. It received more than 100 viewings. “With this, I can see things I forgot about with the service. It helps you remember things,” Darling said. When Carlson-Ford-Geisendorf built its new funeral home, it made sure to incorporate the technology necessary to make webcasts a reality. The funeral home's chapel is equipped with a ceiling-mounted video camera that videotapes the major portion of the service, along with closed-circuit TV capability that can broadcast the service live to other parts of the building. The equipment cost between $20,000 and $30,000 to buy and install, Carlson and Ford said. The video, usually 30 to 60 minutes, is taken to Web Creations & Consulting in Salina, which compresses it for video streaming. The video is uploaded to the funeral home's Web site and can be viewed for five days after the service. The funeral home has offered Web streaming for about a month and has videotaped three services. As soon as the first one went up online, it received 35 hits, Mike Carlson said. The funeral home could put the service online live but has no plans to do so, he said. The cost of the service is incorporated into the funeral home's package of services. The funeral home also can produce videotapes for Web streaming from funeral services at local churches equipped with audio and video capability, Carlson said. Both funeral directors said webcasts have gained popularity on the East and West coasts but are only slowly coming to the Midwest as funeral homes remodel facilities or build new ones. Pam Scott, executive director of the Kansas Funeral Directors & Embalmers Association, Topeka, said she's not aware of any other Kansas funeral homes providing Internet video of their services. However, she said, many do have online guest registers, where friends and family can e-mail condolences.