FAMSA has taken on the daunting task of monitoring funeral laws countrywide. Aware that not everyone will opt to handle all funeral arrangements without a mortician, they stand ready to assume the cause of the consumer’s right to choose meaningful and affordable funerals. At Carlson’s prodding, societies are doing more price surveys and checking for FTC compliance. The FAMSA office serves as a clearinghouse for consumer complaints and maintains a Web site with a wide range of funeral information: www.funerals.org/famsa.

That spirit of social activism has attracted new resources. Lamar Hankins, a Texas lawyer with a history of contributing pro bono time to social issues, is typical. He is working to build an endowment for a legal fund to assist consumers—those with few other options, or residents of states where issues have national implications. Individual societies—many of which had been somnolent for the last decade—are responding with enthusiasm to the renewed spirit of activism, and new societies are emerging.

By 1997—with more and more commercial cremation businesses calling themselves “Societies”—the nonprofit societies felt they were undergoing an identity crisis. The “Ohio Cremation and Memorial Society,” for example, was attracting customers who thought it represented the well-respected nonprofit consumer group. As a result, FAMSA is encouraging member societies to change their names to “Funeral Consumer Information Society of———.”

The name change also reflects a broader base of interest. Those who join are not just those choosing immediate burial or cremation with a memorial service; even those planning a funeral with the casket present are avoiding funeral excess by seeking society help. Larry Burkett, founder of Christian Financial Concepts, admonishes his following to live without debt; that includes funeral debt. On a weekly show syndicated to more than six hundred stations, Burkett—a member of the Atlanta, Georgia, society—has commended the societies. After a half-hour interview with Carlson in January 1997, the FAMSA phones were flooded with inquiries about how to contact a local society.

Men and women who support legislative changes and see the need for an ongoing watch of the funeral industry will want to get involved in society activities. For those seeking alternatives to a costly funeral, a onetime lifetime membership in one of the nonprofit societies will offer up-to-date local price information.

What is to be done if at the time of crisis you are unable to reach a memorial or funeral society? Send a friend to two or more mortuaries to obtain their general price lists and casket prices. Ask for the cost of direct cremation, including transportation costs and crematory fees. Likewise, for the cost of immediate burial. Pay no money in advance. If death has not yet occurred and you wish to pay in installments, do so by setting up a Totten Trust, naming yourself or a relative or close friend as beneficiary. Remember, above all, that many funeral homes have a “no-walk” policy, which means simply that if and when you start to walk out, the price will come down, down, down until a level acceptable to you is reached.

Directory of Not-for-Profit Funeral and Memorial Societies

Memorial and funeral planning societies do area price surveys and may have negotiated a discount for members. Request a brochure for affordable funeral options. Most societies are run by volunteers. Consequently, the phone numbers in this directory may change from time to time. If you have difficulty contacting a society, you may call the FAMSA office at 1-800-765-0107. If there is no society nearby, you may join Friends of FAMSA and receive benefits until a new society is launched.

Call the FAMSA office

Anchorage Cook Inlet Memorial 907-566-3732

P.O. Box 102414, 99510

Phoenix Valley Memorial Society 602-929-9659

P.O. Box 0423, Chandler, 85244-0423

Prescott Memorial Society of Prescott 520-778-3000

P.O. Box 1090, 86302-1090

Tucson Memorial Society of Southern Arizona 520-721-0230

P.O. Box 12661, 85732-2661

Fayetteville NW Arkansas Memorial Society 501-443-1404

P.O. Box 3055, 72702-3055

Arcata Humboldt Funeral Society 707-822-8599

P.O. Box 856, 95518

Bakersfield Kern Memorial Society 805-854-5689

P.O. Box 1202, 93302-1202

Berkeley Bay Area Funeral Society 805-366-7266

P.O. Box 264, 94701-0284

Fresno Valley Memorial Society 510-841-6653

P.O. Box 101, 93707-0101

Los Angeles Los Angeles Funeral Society 818-683-3545

P.O. Box 92313, Pasadena, CA 91109-2313

818-683-3752

Modesto Stanislaus Memorial Society

209-521-7690

P.O. Box 4252, 95352-4252

Palo Alto Funeral and Memorial Planning Society

650-321-2109

P.O. Box 60448, 94306-0448

888-775-5553

Sacramento Sacramento Valley Memorial Society 916-451-4641

P.O. Box 161688, 95816-1688

San Diego San Diego Memorial Society 619-293-0926

P.O. Box 16336, 92176

San Luis Obispo Central Coast Memorial Society 805-543-6133

P.O. Box 679, 93406-0679

Santa Barbara Channel Cities Memorial Society 805-640-0109

P.O. Box 1778, Ojai, CA 93024-1778

800-520-PLAN

Santa Cruz Funeral and Memorial Society of Monterey Bay 408-426-3308

P.O. Box 2900, 95063-2900

Sebastopol Redwood Funeral Society 707-824-8360

7735 Bodega Ave., #4, 95473

Stockton San Joaquin Memorial Society 209-465-2741

P.O. Box 4832, 95204-4832

Denver Rocky Mountain Memorial Society 303-759-2800

4101 E. Hampden Ave., 80222

Bridgewater Funeral Consumer Information Society of Connecticut 860-350-4921

P.O. Box 34, 06752

Served by Memorial Society of Maryland

Washington Memorial Society of Metropolitan Washington 202-234-7777

1500 Harvard St. NW, 20009

Cocoa Funeral and Memorial Society of Brevard County 407-453-4109

P.O. Box 276, 32923-0276

407-636-3363

DeBary Funeral Society of Mid-Florida 904-789-1682

P.O. Box 392, 32713-0392

407-668-6822

Ft. Myers Funeral and Memorial Society of Southwest Florida 941-743-0109

P.O. Box 7756, 33911-7756

Gainesville Memorial Society of Alachua County 352-378-3432

P.O. Box 14662, 32604-4662

Orlando Memorial and Funeral Society of Greater Orlando 407-677-5009

P.O. Box 953, Goldenrod, FL 32733-0953

Palm Beach Gardens Palm Beach Funeral Society 561-659-4881

P.O. Box 31982, 33420

Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach Funeral and Memorial Society of Pensacola and West Florida 904-477-8431

7804 Northpointe Blvd., 32514

Sarasota Memorial Society of Sarasota 941-953-3740

P.O. Box 15833, 34277-5833

St. Petersburg Suncoast-Tampa Bay Memorial Society 813-898-3294

719 Arlington Ave. North, 33701

Tallahassee Funeral and Memorial Society of Leon County 850-224-2082

1006 Buena Vista Dr., 32304

Tampa Memorial Society of Tampa Bay

45 Katherine Blvd., #307, Palm Harbor, 34684-3648

Atlanta Memorial Society-of Georgia 404-634-2896

1911 Cliff Valley Way NE, 30329

800-840-4339

Macon Middle Georgia Chapter 912-477-1691