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Basketball Stars Launch AI-Powered Funeral Planning Company
The next time you are at a major deathcare conference, don’t be surprised if you see some basketball superstars walking the convention floor.
Inspired by personal loss and backed by tech leaders, Donnell Beverly Jr. (a former NCAA national champion at UConn), former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook, and former NBA all-star Kemba Walker recently launched Eazewell.
Their experiences with loss led the founders to create a platform that uses AI to autonomously handle the difficult funeral and administrative tasks that burden people during early grief, everything from paperwork to affordable burial or cremation services, financing, and practical planning.
According to a news release announcing the venture, “By replacing a traditionally offline, time-consuming process with a technology-empowered alternative, Eazewell enables families to honor their loved ones without being overwhelmed by logistics, especially at a time when life stress and grieving are highest.”
For Beverly Jr., the genesis for Eazewell began long ago, when he and Westbrook suddenly lost their high school friend and teammate, Khelcey Barrs III, to an enlarged heart. The loss exposed how few resources exist for families left to plan and manage funerals. In the years since, Beverly also endured the death of both of his parents. Each loss deepened his desire to help others face end-of-life logistics with guidance and empathy.
“Eazewell is our way of reaching anyone facing loss,” said Beverly Jr., CEO and co-founder of Eazewell. “When I lost my parents, phone calls and paperwork took up time that I would rather have spent mourning and consoling my extended family. We built Eazewell so people don’t have to go through that alone.”
Westbrook added, “Years ago, Donnell and I connected through the loss of a close friend. Witnessing the profound impact it had on the family left a lasting impression on me. Eazewell is the solution we wished they had then. We’re turning that pain into service for those experiencing loss, providing families with someone in their corner when they need it most. I’m incredibly proud to be part of something that will truly make a difference in people’s lives.”
Eazewell’s AI-driven funeral planning platform acts as a digital concierge automated by autonomous AI agents. Users can request quotes, receive curated funeral home options, and manage essential paperwork with an AI-powered interface. In the coming weeks, Eazewell will introduce advanced agentic AI features, including sentiment analysis, text-to-voice capabilities and broader data-extraction tools to manage form-filling to multi-step negotiations on a family’s behalf.
Some key features of the platform include:
- Funeral Home Matching: Families receive curated quotes based on budget, location, and specific needs. This reduces cost surprises and saves them from phone calls.
- Automated Paperwork: Eazewell handles key administrative tasks such as filing death certificates, contacting financial institutions, and streamlining the documentation process.
- 24/7 AI Communication: An initial chatbot interface offers real-time support, pricing information, and helpful checklists at any hour, particularly important for families who may need quick answers day or night.
- Financing for Funerals and Cremations: Despite funerals being one of life’s most costly and often unexpected expenditures, more than 75% don’t offer payment plans or any financial relief. By analyzing a user’s budget and financial situation, Eazewell helps identify the best approach, whether that’s an installment plan, a small loan, or another payment option.
Over 1,000 families have already used Eazewell’s beta version during its soft launch. Recent advances in agentic AI allow Eazewell to automate complex negotiations, paperwork, and loan applications in real-time, instantly parsing user requests, learning from each exchange, and coordinating with service providers. The result is a significant reduction in logistical strain for grieving families, according to the company.
Eazewell is proudly backed by an accomplished group of investors Learn more at www.eazewell.com.
New Jersey Paves the Way for More Licensees to Enter the Funeral Profession
The governor of New Jersey recently signed legislation – A-3940/S-1635 – allowing for individuals to pursue funeral service as a career without having to embalm due to religious, cultural or personal reasons.
An article in The Forum, which is the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association’s magazine, noted that the association provided input on the bill along with legislation sponsors, legislative leaders and other stakeholders.
According to the article, “The law neither diminishes licensure requirements nor lowers academic standards. Funeral service students will still be required to obtain an associate or bachelor’s degree and attend an accredited funeral service education program to be instructed in arts and sciences. Non-embalming students will still be required to pass classroom instruction but will be exempted from the clinical embalming coursework.”
SCI New Jersey Funeral Services Inc. was among the stakeholders that provided input on the legislation, which Gov. Phil Murphy signed May 8.
In a statement of support that was submitted to the Legislature by Katz Government Affairs, it said, “This legislation is intended to address a serious workforce shortage and to recognize current cultural and other funeral practices while preserving the rigor of the current licensure requirements.”
The statement from SCI continued, “These bills will welcome into the funeral service profession individuals who may be well-suited to be exceptional funeral directors but who are otherwise reluctant to practice embalming. Under the current licensure framework, the profession may be missing out on a pool of individuals who possess the qualities that are often associated with being a good funeral director (people who are empathetic, patient, creative, great listeners and communicators, organized, flexible and knowledgeable of traditions and customs). Expanding the universe of qualified applicants for licensure would also address the labor shortage currently experienced across the state, a workforce shortage that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and continues today.”
In a nod to the increasing preference for cremation, SCI’s statement added, “Over the last several decades the percentage of funeral services not requiring embalming has significantly increased. Having 100% of the licensed population trained in embalming is no longer necessary and in fact may be counterproductive. This legislation would facilitate the funeral service profession’s response to New Jersey’s diverse population as well as to societal changes.”
The legislation maintains the state mortuary board’s obligation and authority to establish continuing education requirements for all licensees.
According to the NJSFDA, more than 50% of New Jersey decedents are now cremated – and the Cremation Association of North America predicts that number will reach 80% in the next decade.
The law will go into effect in the fall of 2026.
The Oklahoma Funeral Board Narrowly Escapes Being Dissolved
Kevin Stitt, the governor of Oklahoma, recently vetoed House Bill 1029, which would have extended the life of the Oklahoma Funeral Board — “a state agency that, by now, should be consolidated under a more appropriate umbrella,” his veto said.
“For too long, the Funeral Board has shielded the funeral industry from meaningful competition in the sale of caskets, urns, and other funeral related merchandise and services,” the governor said in a statement. “These barriers keep prices artificially high for grieving families. Instead of modernizing, the Board has preserved outdated regulations and entangled businesses in unnecessary red tape. Before granting another sunset extension, the Legislature should seriously evaluate where this Board belongs and what its core duties should be. Until the Funeral Board becomes more accountable and responsive to legislative oversight, its continuation should not be rubber-stamped. For these reasons, I have vetoed Enrolled House Bill 1029.”
Tyler Stiles, executive director of the Oklahoma Funeral Board, told an NPR network affiliate that the veto effectively dissolved the board unless legislation revives it. At the end of July, he and the board’s other employees, which includes one other full-timer and two part-time employees, will be out of work unless something changes, he said.
The Oklahoma Funeral Directors Association expressed concern over the action.
Since the governor’s veto, however, the state legislature passed legislation that would extend the continuance of the Oklahoma Funeral Board until July 1, 2029, “in accordance with the provisions of the Oklahoma Sunset Law.”
Notably, the legislation also creates an “assistant funeral director” title, which is defined as “a person who assists a funeral director duly licensed in this state in one or more of the principal functions of funeral directing and is actively engaged in such work. An assistant funeral director shall be an employee of the funeral director in charge under whom the employee is registered, and shall be a person to whom the funeral director in charge delegates the responsibility of conducting funeral services, making funeral arrangements, and making interments.” It goes on to state, “The Oklahoma Funeral Board may license assistant funeral directors to each Oklahoma-licensed funeral director in charge. The funeral director in charge shall have only one assistant funeral director.”
The legislation was been sent to the governor and was due to become law without his signature on May 25.
Pennsylvania Senator Proposes Legislation in Aftermath of Pet Cremation Scandal
State Sen. Nick Pisciottano, who represents Senate District 45 in Pennsylvania, recently announced that he intends to introduce legislation that would toughen pet cremation standards in the aftermath of disturbing allegations made against Vereb Funeral Home.
According to Pisciottano’s Pennsylvania State Senate page, “Currently, Pennsylvania law provides no regulatory framework governing the handling of pet remains by funeral homes offering pet cremations and burial services. As a result, such establishments face no meaningful penalties beyond the minor crime of charging for services not rendered.”
He goes on to state, “Anyone with a pet knows that they are a part of our family, and they deserve to be treated with dignity – especially in death. We at the state level must step up and pass legislation to ensure that this never happens again without the funeral home facing serious consequences.”
Pisciottano noted that he will propose legislation that would make it a crime to misrepresent the disposal of animal remains and include additional penalties on funeral directors who violate the law. “Such legislation will restore public confidence in our funeral home industry and help ensure that our pets’ remains are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.”
He is seeking co-sponsors for the yet-to-introduced legislation.
Do Your Due Diligence
Anytime there is a $20 million lawsuit filed related to funeral service, we at Ring Ring Marketing take notice.
That’s not the type of lawsuit we’d wish on any of our clients – or on any firm at all, for that matter.
But that’s what two businesses are facing after a Maryland couple who lost their son at just two-months old were told by authorities that his tiny body was found decaying inside Heaven Bound Crematorium in White Plains, Maryland. Their son was still wearing the clothes from the funeral even though they had received what they thought were his cremated remains, according to a report by Fox 5 Washington, D.C.
The crematory where his remains were found has been under scrutiny since 2017. The business was shut down earlier this year after investigators uncovered numerous violations.
But they are not the only ones being sued: The lawsuit is seeking $10 million in damages from the crematory as well $10 million more from the funeral home that used the business as a third-party provider.
Mistakes happen … but when a family that has already gone through the worst despair after losing a two-month-old is told his remains have been sitting somewhere for months and he was never cremated, well, that’s more than a blunder.
This case serves as a reminder to:
- Conduct regular inspections if you are using a third-party crematory: If something seems off, trust your gut and find a new partner.
- Think about investing in owning your own crematory if your case count allows, so you can provide more peace of mind for families (and for yourself).
- Implement best practices and train staff members to minimize the chance of mistakes.
Our thoughts go out to the family affected in this case.
A Continuing Problem:
Unclaimed Cremated Remains
Ever since cremation began to grow in popularity, we’ve seen funeral homes and crematories face an increasing problem: Unclaimed cremated remains.
Figuring out what to do with these cremated remains is a real struggle for funeral homes, many of them our clients.
There is always that scary story of a funeral home discarding them after years of sitting on a shelf only to be contacted by a family suddenly trying to retrieve the remains of a loved one.
Or there is some story published by the local media – almost always derogatory – about a funeral home that was discovered to have the remains of hundreds of people in the basement. Almost always, it’s an outlet that simply does not understand that it’s not uncommon at all for virtually any funeral home to have some unclaimed cremated remains.
We often see admirable efforts to try to solve this problem. After all, virtually every person entrusted into a funeral home’s care was loved by someone. A communal grave in a cemetery sure is better than a shelf in the basement, but it’s also not as good as giving those remains back to someone who cares – someone who may want to buy an urn or cemetery property … or maybe even think about preplanning.
Dale Burger, owner of Elk Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Charleston, West Virginia, is one of those funeral home owners who is striving to address the problem. In an article published in the Charleston-Gazette Mail, he said that the reason cremated remains are often not retrieved is because of miscommunication.
Like many instances where unclaimed cremated remains make headlines, Burger recently bought Elk Funeral Home and discovered the unclaimed remains, which set in motion his efforts to return them to family members.
As the result of a Facebook post that went viral, Burger and the funeral home have returned nine out of the 27 unclaimed cremated remains it had stored – about 33%.
The fact that a simple post on social media had such an impact and resulted in so many “shares” by members of the community might be something to think about if your funeral home – like so many others – has unclaimed cremated remains sitting on a shelf.
Not only has Burger’s efforts resulted in some positive press coverage, they have boosted his online presence, resulted in more connections with members of his community, led to touchpoints with families who have picked up unclaimed cremated remains, and has reduced his legal liability – all while carrying out a good deed.
There are some great organizations that have taken on this cause that your funeral home may want to investigate, such as the Missing in America Project, which aims to locate, identify and inter the unclaimed cremated remains of American veterans through the joint efforts of private, state and federal organizations. According to its website, members of the organization have visited almost 3,000 funeral homes, have found over 35,000 cremated remains, have identified over 7,000 cremated remains and have interred over 7,000 cremated remains.
One day, perhaps, there will be a national database where funeral homes can simply log on and enter the names of individuals whose cremated remains have gone unclaimed – almost like the platforms that almost everyone visits to determine whether someone out there owes them money. After all, think of how great it would be if there was one place where you could search to determine if the remains of a relative were out there – somewhere – sitting on a dusty shelf, so you could give them an honorable resting place.
Until then, however, it’s up to funeral homes to think creatively about how they can reach out to the community to reunite unclaimed cremated remains with loved ones – and if you can forge new connections in the community while doing the right thing, all the better.
