Top Journalists in Funeral Homes
Edward J. Defort NFDA – The Director; Memorial Business Journal
Edward J. Defort is NFDA’s publications lead (Publisher/Editor-in-Chief) overseeing The Director magazine and writing high-profile columns; he’s long covered funeral service and previously launched Memorial Business Journal. Specialties: Trade news, policy/regulation, management; editorials for The Director and Memorial Business Journal.
Annamarie Higley NFDA – The Director
Annamarie Higley is Managing Editor for NFDA’s The Director, developing, researching, writing and editing editorial material for the profession’s flagship member magazine. Specialties: Editing/reporting for The Director; student outreach via The Director.edu.
Patti Martin Bartsche Kates-Boylston Publications (American Funeral Director; American Cemetery & Cremation; Funeral Service Insider)
Patti Martin Bartsche is a veteran trade journalist and editor at Kates-Boylston Publications who has earned national awards for funeral industry reporting and heads editorial across AFD and ACC. Specialties: Industry features, investigative and award-winning trade reporting; leads American Funeral Director and American Cemetery & Cremation coverage.
Tony Russo Kates-Boylston Publications
Tony Russo serves as an associate editor at Kates-Boylston, contributing reporting and editing to AFD, ACC and FSI. Specialties: News/features across funeral homes, cemeteries, cremation; digital/editorial production.
Stan Goldstein Kates-Boylston Publications
Stan Goldstein is an associate editor with Kates-Boylston Publications, contributing to coverage of deathcare trends and companies. Specialties: Trade news/features; supports reporting across AFD/ACC/FSI.
Thomas A. Parmalee FuneralVision.com
Thomas A. Parmalee is the founder and lead writer of FuneralVision.com with 15+ years covering deathcare; he continues to publish news, analysis and video interviews for funeral professionals. Specialties: Breaking industry news, executive interviews, finance/marketing/preneed; event coverage.
Ryan Thogmartin ConnectingDirectors.com
Ryan Thogmartin is founder/publisher of Connecting Directors and a prolific industry commentator who reports and opines on funeral home trends and marketing. Specialties: Daily industry news, digital/social strategy, practitioner voices; hosts Funeral Nation TV.
Tatia L. Gordon‑Troy, Esq. ICCFA – Memento Mori
Tatia L. Gordon-Troy, Esq., is Editorial Director for ICCFA’s magazine Memento Mori, where she commissions and writes editorials and feature content for deathcare professionals. Specialties: Association news, legislation/regulatory updates, in-depth features and editorials for cemeteries, crematories and funeral homes.
Sara Corkery CANA – The Cremationist
Sara Corkery is the editor of CANA’s The Cremationist, the only North American magazine devoted exclusively to cremation and memorialization. Specialties: Cremation trends, statistics and practice; trade features and association reporting.
Robin Richter Funeral Business Solutions Magazine (FBS)
Robin Richter is Content Editor of Funeral Business Solutions (FBS Magazine), curating and writing practical business content for funeral home operators. Specialties: Business operations, staffing, merchandising/marketing, product spotlights for independent funeral homes.
Kara Apel The Funeral Leader
Kara Apel is Editor of The Funeral Leader (by MKJ Marketing), leading reporting on business and community topics across funeral, cemetery and cremation firms. Specialties: Industry news/features, training, marketing, cremation and technology coverage.
Tom Anderson Funeral Director Daily
Tom Anderson, a retired Minnesota funeral director, publishes Funeral Director Daily, offering original commentary and curated funeral home news every weekday. Specialties: Daily industry news aggregation plus analysis on consolidation, cremation, consumer trends and public companies.
John Yopp III Southern Funeral Director
John Yopp III is Publisher/Editor of Southern Funeral Director magazine, a long-running trade publication covering funeral, cemetery and cremation markets. Specialties: Regional/national industry news, supplier features and association coverage.
Joe Weigel Southern Funeral Director
Joe Weigel serves as Associate Editor and frequent contributor to Southern Funeral Director, writing practical guidance for owners and managers. Specialties: Marketing, branding, practice management columns for funeral businesses.
Mike Squires Southern Calls magazine
Mike Squires is Editor-in-Chief of Southern Calls, a high-end print magazine celebrating the culture and craft of funeral service with in-depth profiles and photojournalism. Specialties: Long-form features highlighting people, places and traditions in funeral service across the U.S. South and beyond.
Alice Adams Funeral Home & Cemetery News (Nomis Publications)
Alice Adams is a longtime columnist for Funeral Home & Cemetery News (Nomis Publications), writing on people and history in the profession. Specialties: Historical perspectives and profiles (“Appropriate to Greatness” column) in the funeral/cemetery trade.
Steven Palmer Funeral Home & Cemetery News (Nomis Publications)
Steven Palmer contributes the recurring “Observations” column to Funeral Home & Cemetery News, offering perspective on trends and professional culture. Specialties: Industry commentary/history (“Observations” column), practitioner-focused writing.
Nancy Weil Funeral Home & Cemetery News (Nomis Publications)
Nancy Weil writes regularly for Funeral Home & Cemetery News, sharing grief-care and self‑care insights for funeral home teams and the families they serve. Specialties: Grief support and staff wellness for funeral professionals (“Random Musings” column).
Wally Hooker Funeral Home & Cemetery News (Nomis Publications)
Wally Hooker authors the “Embalming 101” column in Funeral Home & Cemetery News, offering hands‑on technical guidance to embalmers and prep-room teams. Specialties: Technical embalming/restorative practice (“Embalming 101” column).
Linnea Crowther Legacy.com
Linnea Crowther is Legacy.com’s news editor and an award-winning obituary writer who also publishes consumer explainers on funerals, cremation and memorialization. Specialties: Consumer education, funeral cost/cremation guidance, obituary and cultural coverage.
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