In recent years, many of the friendly neighborhood funeral homes in every big city have been taken over by one of several conglomerates with a marketing strategy that does not bode well for the consumer. The Courier-Journal review is of a six-page investigative report that appeared in the April issue of Consumer Reports, well worth a trip to the library to look up. Funeral Consumers Alliance highly recommends pre-planning, but suggests there are safer ways to invest for your funeral than in an insurance policy sold by a funeral chain. One suggestion would be a certificate of deposit, which pays interest directly to you. There are other sand traps to look out for as well, inflated prices for unnecessary items and services.

The problem begins with people not wanting to talk about death and dying. And so they don't. And when they die, or someone they love dies, the family is totally unprepared and unaware of what's out there. To be unprepared in this day of funeral conglomerates, for whom the bottom line counts more than the customer, is to risk being taken advantage of in a very big way. Fortunately, not all funeral homes have succumbed to the greed of the "big three," so it behooves us all to pay attention to who's running the show at the funeral home we choose. And it behooves us all to be informed.

JEAN W. KALKHOF

Funeral and Memorial Society

of Greater Louisville