As a funeral professional you realize that outstanding funeral service can never be achieved if you give your families only “cookie-cutter” options in service and merchandise, for funeral service is never a one-size-fits-all industry.  Instead, you satisfy your client families with customized efforts to meet their individual needs and wants. 

Providing families with enough options to satisfy those needs can be a challenge.  Today’s families are significant consumers of goods and services.  They come to the funeral experience accustomed to their life which overflows with seemingly unlimited choices.  To meet their wishes are you giving them the choices they expect – in service, merchandise, technology and more?  Are you recognizing the value these options can bring to your bottom line?

Our family’s own personal journey of grief led us to discover a need that was not being met, an option not being offered. 

When my mother, Madelyn Saxer, passed in 1992, I came away from the funeral experience wanting something more.  It wasn’t closure that I was looking for – just the opposite.  I wanted something that kept the memory of my mother alive and always with me, something that propelled and motivated me, just as she had in life.  I sought comfort from remembering her zest for living and strength from her ability to embrace death. 

I designed a simple round pendant which could hold a small portion of her cremated remains. I had a local jeweler make the pendant as a Christmas gift for my sisters and brothers to keep our mother with them always, close to their hearts. When wearing the pendants, they especially felt her presence with them.

My dear friend Joni Cullen and I began researching the funeral market to see if anything similar was available.  There was nothing in the keepsake market.  Because my mother encouraged us to keep loved ones close, the concept of the Keepsake Pendant was born.  Joni and I started the business, named Madelyn Co., in 1993 and are the originators of Keepsake Pendant Jewelry in the funeral industry.  Our pendant line enables others to cope more easily, to hold a source of comfort in their hands and to find peace in their hearts. 

We have expanded our line because we, too, face the same challenge as you.  We need to provide to our customers – funeral professionals like you – the options families expect.  Although our first round pendant was exactly what I wanted, we listened to funeral directors and now offer many designs to meet your families’ needs.

Our designs include: 

•    Traditional and contemporary 
•    Bracelets and pendants
•    Sterling silver, gold vermeil, 14K yellow or white gold, stainless steel, quartz crystal and titanium
•    Designs for men, women and children 
•    Engraved and able to be filled with cremated remains, a lock of hair, ceremonial flowers or soil from the burial site. 

And for those committed to the environment we offer a new design, an enameled green leaf pendant, with 25% of the sales of this design donated to Our Shared Planet www.oursharedplanet.com.

As funeral service providers have added Madelyn Company’s keepsake pendant jewelry to their merchandise selections they see a higher client satisfaction as well as a measurable result in their bottom line.  “We find that the families who like the concept order multiple pieces,” comments Steve Storvik, funeral director at Schmidt & Bartelt Funeral & Cremation Services, with locations throughout Wisconsin.  “We were the first to carry Madelyn Company jewelry – that’s nearly 20 years ago – and have seen interest and sales increase as their product line has expanded.”

“Baby boomers as well as Gen X and Y are drawn to the jewelry,” reports Valerie J. Wages, CFSP,  president of Tom M. Wages Funeral Service with two locations in Georgia. “Sales have taken off and feedback is positive.  We hear such comments from families as, ‘I feel that I still have my son with me.'"

With many funeral service providers feeling the financial pinch caused by the growing preference for cremation, providing increased options, particularly cremation-related options, is not just good service to families, it is good business.

Offering our keepsake pendant jewelry is one meaningful option to consider.  Remember that you are serving the most active consumers in modern history.  Their demands may be great, and their potential is worth your effort. 

Lisa Saxer-Buros and Joni G. Cullen are the owners of Madelyn Company, which is more than a business; it is a commitment that is close to their hearts. Headquartered in Janesville, Wisconsin, Madelyn Company is a global company serving the funeral service industry.  They can be reached at 1-800-788-0807 or online at Madelynco@charter.net. 
For more information about their products and to download a brochure, visit www.madelynpendants.com .