Death feels like something just out of reach, a taboo topic that many seem to avoid or don’t think about until it is too late. Thousands of years ago, the Egyptians viewed death as a gateway to the afterlife, preparing their dead with a process known as “mummification” using natron, a natural salt, to dry the body, wrapping it in linen and laying the body in a sarcophagus. Even now, we do the same with our own dead, using a method known as “embalming” with chemicals like Formaldehyde.
This fascination with preserving our dead and traditions around commemorating them are still going strong today, with an entire business built around it. Places that we may pass on our daily commutes, ones we don’t even think about. Funeral Homes, flower shops and even casket companies are nestled in between everyday houses and businesses alike. According to Business Brokerage Press, almost 22% of all retail at a florist shop is sympathy and a study done by the Cognitive Market Research and Consulting shows an estimated 50.5 billion dollars was spent on floral gifting alone in 2023 with a “compound annual growth rate of 6.50% from 2023 to 2030.”
With this booming industry, it’s not hard to see why so many florists rely on sympathy related gifts. Even Polly Creech, owner of Hyacinth Bean Florist in Athens, Ohio, believes that a good portion of her business relies on sentiment sales. Creech sells flowers and gifts for all occasions, including those for funerals, serving more than six funeral homes in Ohio. She says she doesn’t see a decline overall, but a trend in seasons that affect the business, “Now that it’s colder we’ll see more sales with things like grave blankets.”
Hyacinth Bean Florist in Athens, Ohio, has been open for more than two decades, providing multiple services such as weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and funerals. They provide sympathy gifts and funeral arrangements to more than six funeral homes in Ohio.
Robin Wagoner puts the finishing touches on a casket spray that would be delivered to Hughes Funeral Home later that afternoon. Robin has worked as a florist for 47 years but has only worked here for three. "When the last flower shop closed down, I came here," Robin said.
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"I would say 20% of our business is built around funerals and sympathy gifts."-Polly Creech, owner of Hyacinth Bean Florist
An angel statue sits on the floor amidst stacks of wreaths. "I would say 20% of business is tied to funerals and sympathy gifts," Polly said.
A basket of blankets sits in a corner. Polly Creech, the owner of the flower shop, says that two items blankets and windchimes, are the most popular sympathy gifts they sell. The blankets are sorted by themes such as religious, floral, or poetry.
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"A lot of people don’t know that we’re how they get a casket and that’s okay. We don’t do this for the recognition."- Daniel "Dan" Dougherty, third generation owner of Zane Casket Company
An entire corner of her store is even dedicated to sympathy gifts like blankets, garden stones, windchimes and wall ornaments. Other florists around the nation; however, have reported difficulties now that casket funerals are becoming scarcer, with trends like cremation on the rise. Oasis Floral Products even wrote an article to address this growing concern, listing different way florist shops could think outside the box in order to match shifting trends, but this still comes with monetary limitations, “Financially, a $40 vase arrangement is no substitute for a $400 casket cover.”
According to Medium magazine, many cemeteries are facing the threat of overcrowding, causing others to seek alternative burial practices. The National Funeral Directors Association 2025 Cremation & Burial Report shows that cremation practices will grow to 63.4% in 2025 and the burial rate 31.6% with the other five percent going to options like donating organs or their bodies to research or composting. By 2045, the cremation rate is expected to reach 82.3%, a growth of almost 20%.
Timothy Moquin, the funeral director at Hughes Funeral Home in Athens, Ohio, says he has seen this shift throughout his life and career, noting that many funeral homes are facing challenges and even threat of closure due to the shift in burial practices.
“It might sound wrong, but at the end of the day, a funeral home is still a business with bills to pay and if they can’t pay those bills…”.
Daniel "Dan" Dougherty and Ross Pattinson check over the insides of caskets that will be shipped out to a funeral home later that afternoon. "I want to provide a good service every time," Dan said, "Our customers are important to us."
Tyler Hunley has been working odd jobs at Zane Casket Company since high school but officially became an employee two years earlier. "I was his (Dan's) neighbor so anytime he needed a hand, he'd call on me," said Tyler.
Tyler Hunley polishes the outside of a casket to make sure it will be ready to show at the funeral home. Zane Casket Company sells to around 70 funeral homes in the area and almost 10 units of caskets go out each week.
A sticker on the side of the a locker holding equipment for casket cleaning. Dan likes to see the reminder and says it, "cheers him up" while at work.
Ross Pattison and Tyler Hunley load a casket into the back of one of the company's vans. Zane Casket Company owns two vans, and Daniel drives a Chevrolet Suburban in order to deliver orders to funeral homes that can't pick up the caskets themselves. "Everyone in this business (funerals) drives a suburban because it can fit a casket in the back," Dan said.
A similar sentiment was echoed by Tim Combs, the owner of Hillis & Combs Funeral Home in Zanesville, Ohio, who also says he has seen the shift in funeral homes in the area, noting that it’s harder to sell caskets now than in the past and a shift toward cremation as a cheaper option, “We offer package prices and what the family’s budget is we go from there.”
Businesses that many might not think of considering, like Zane Casket Company located in Zanesville, Ohio. Now a distributing warehouse, the company opened in 1946, creating custom caskets that sold to local funeral homes in the area. C.A. Dougherty and Charles Axline started their business at the end of WWII due to the growing field and demands of funeral homes and burial practices of the time and the business is still run by family three-generations later.
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"We're like party planners, just for something much less fun."-Tim Combs, Funeral Director at Hillis & Combs Funeral Home
Hillis and Combs Funeral Home, Zanesville, Ohio. The current owner and funeral director, Tim Combs describes his job as unusual, but interesting most days, "We just enjoy each day," he said, "You never know what tomorrow will bring."
A portrait of Loren E. "Doc" Hillis hangs on the wall of the foyer in Hillis and Combs Funeral Home. Loren started Hillis Funeral Home in 1946 on 932 Maple Avenue before he purchased the current house in 1955, moving the business there.
The house, originally built in 1901, became a funeral home in 1955 when Loren E. "Doc" Hillis purchased it. "Many homes that were too big became funeral homes," said Tim Combs, the current owner since 2013. There are three floors and a basement, with the upstairs used as an office, the main floor as viewing rooms and the basement as a casket showing room.
One side of the show room in Hillis and Combs Funeral Home is caskets made from various woods like pine, cherry or oak and on the other side are made from metals like bronze.
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“I'm very big on being an open book. You should be allowed to know. To have that knowledge and control.”-Timothy Moquin, Funeral Director at Hughes Funeral Home
The embalming room at Hughes Funeral Home, Athens, Ohio.
Surgical scissors hang against a wall at Hughes Funeral Home.
Makeup is often used on embalmed deceased in order for memorial ceremonies, bringing color and structure back to the face.
Daniel “Dan” Dougherty, the grandson of C.A. has always wanted to carry on the business, stating that he feels they do important work behind the scenes. Today, the company both orders and imports all of their caskets from around the United States, Mexico, and China, ordering any casket a funeral home could want. Selling to over 70 funeral home across Ohio and about 10 units a day on average, "We sold just about 150 caskets in October," said Dan. Yet, with traditional burial declines also mean a decline in casket sales and an uncertain future for the company, leading Dan to find new alternatives to keep the business afloat offering urn options as well to expand into the growing trend.
These changing trends have not affected job opportunities; however, as professions like morticians, undertakers and funeral directors show a projected growth of almost four percent according to studies done by DataUSA. Yet, what draws those who have entered this field? It seems to be a variety of reasons from family tradition, growing wages and job availability, to something as simple as general interest. For Combs, he entered his career field due to personal reasons. Combs worked as a professional chef until the death of his father in 2002, but after seeing his father during the funeral ceremony, he had a change of heart and profession.
“I saw my father and I couldn’t believe it. They had filed in his cheeks and brought color back to his face, padded his clothes,” Combs said.
“My father had been sick for a long time, but now, he looked like himself again. I wanted to do that for others.”
Whatever the reason or shifting trends, the business of death never fully rests. It continues to support and provide those who are grieving as they say their last goodbyes to the ones they care about most. It’s usually without thanks, around the clock and emotionally demanding, but it’s honest work that draws many who recognize its silent importance, “We just enjoy each day,” Combs said, “You just never know what tomorrow will bring.”
Miller Monuments in Athens, Ohio, has been serving funeral homes in the area since 2010, providing custom carved gravestones to both funeral homes and regular clients.
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