Funerals by Month

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Bigted

Bigted

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Feb 4, 2006
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We all "sort of know" that different months seem to have more funerals than others. I wondered if the facts back up any trends (yes, I'm a sick puppy).

I went to the Center for Disease Control's website to find out and looked at the last four year's of data. These are the results: September is the month with the lowest percentage of deaths in the population (at 7.7%), followed by the Summer months, June through August.

January has the highest rate (at 9.4%), followed by December and then March. Maybe something about the cold weather? Anyway, rest easy my friends, September should be a good month.
 
Ted,
I know this sounds silly and I don't have any proof, but it seems that people hold on for the holidays to be with family, friends, etc. January has always been a heavy funeral month for us.
That's what I love Flowerchat, you can get great information and sources I would never think about.
Sharon
 
Mortality

The heaviest months coincide with the Influenza season. While influenza does not account for all of the deaths in these months, it is a complicating factor in the elderly, any age group with chronic disease, and the very young. Another thing I noticed as Nursing Director of a very busy E.R., a year of heavy influenza and mortality is followed by a much lighter year of mortality, no matter the number of influenza cases. There is nothing scientific about this, just an observation.

Susan
 
hollyflr said:
The heaviest months coincide with the Influenza season. While influenza does not account for all of the deaths in these months, it is a complicating factor in the elderly, any age group with chronic disease, and the very young. Susan
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That also coincides with the data. Influenza and Pneumonia are the biggest causes of death in America. I had no idea
 
Is there nothing that cannot be learned on FC? Very fascinating thread. I survived the flu twice this year! I survived a near death experience when I was 28 with pneumonia due to chickenpox! I must be too mean to become a statistic.
 
Since I came from a small town and every day started with my reading of the obituaries.....I did keep track of this type thing for years.

What I noticed was that during flu season, the nursing homes would have a huge increase in deaths. When one patient got it....it just spread throughout the home.

Carol Bice
 
inferno63 said:
Is there nothing that cannot be learned on FC? Very fascinating thread. I survived the flu twice this year! I survived a near death experience when I was 28 with pneumonia due to chickenpox! I must be too mean to become a statistic.
Click to expand...


I'm so glad you're mean! :)
 
Since we don't have a pos system (yet) we keep track of our funeral intake order $ in a little "black" notebook. We add up all the funeral work for the day and write it down, add up the month. We put the following years month's total at the top of the page. We have two goals, one is for 10k and the other is to bet last years month $.

Yes, we also see this same trend with the above months being higher sales.

How's that for morbid? The life of a florist....
 
I actually had this conversation with one of the local FD's about a year or so ago.

Yes, traditionally, January is the busiest funeral month. The funeral industry has studied this phenomenon and they determined that older people will - will themselves to live throught the holidays.

They want to be their family one more Christmas.

Also, when the flu bug hits the nursing homes look out.

joe
 
Here in our small town we see deaths with the change in weather and by odd numbers if there is 3 there will be five and so on we did this one month about 1 and half years ago and it was 21 in one month
 
Ok, here is one others may have heard. I was told by someone who had been in this industry for years that if you have a green(snowless) Christmas you will have a full graveyard in January. And so far she has been right. On the years that there has been no snow on the ground we have been swamped between boxing day and mid January. May have something to do with the whole influenza theory as many older people are more apt to travel and be with family if the weather is decent and therefore more apt to get ill. Who knows!
 
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We also notice a "bump" in funerals after a bad snowstorm, or a tremendous heatwave. Physical exertion and weather exposure can also be deadly. Time for a hammock and margarita.
 
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