March 18, 2026

It is an unfortunate fact that scams targeting the elderly are increasing in number. Robocalls allow scammers to target the elderly all over the nation. One of the most common scams involves these fraudsters pretending to be representatives of the IRS. In the following, we have listed some of the most common scams and how to tell if a communication from the IRS is legitimate or not.

​Henrietta S. Bowers Duterte (1817-1903) was a prominent businesswoman and a philanthropist known for her charity fundraising. Born into a well-established free Black family in Philadelphia, she eventually married Francis A. Duterte, an undertaker who started his own business in 1852.

Every veteran has earned the right to have active soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen or Coast Guardsmen present at their funeral at no cost. Families can request military funeral honors from their loved one’s branch of service or ask their funeral director to do so on their behalf.

Every family you serve brings a unique set of expectations, emotions and values to the funeral planning process. They might be grieving, confused or overwhelmed and in these moments, the words you use carry extraordinary power. Language can comfort or confuse. It can open up a conversation or shut it down. It can honor a life or unintentionally diminish it.

What comes next can make or break a conversation, a friendship or even a working relationship. Knowing what to say to someone who is grieving the loss of a loved one, especially a loss by suicide, can be incredibly difficult. If you haven’t experienced a similar loss, it’s easy to unintentionally say something hurtful.

For more than five years, Wally Hooker wrote a column for the Funeral Home and Cemetery News to teach, challenge and inspire us to step up and be better embalmers. When Wally announced that it was time to “know when to say when,” he asked me to continue writing the column. I felt humbled and honored, yet I also felt intimidated, nervous and full of doubt. How could I offer the same depth of knowledge and passion that Wally consistently brought? I knew I could never be Wally Hooker.

In recent years, discussions in funeral service about the workforce have increasingly used the terms “internship” and “apprenticeship” interchangeably. In Montana, however, these terms are not interchangeable, particularly in the licensed and highly regulated profession of funeral service and mortuary science. Understanding the distinction is critical for compliance, workforce planning and public protection.

MFDA Spring Board Meeting April 9Virtual (Zoom) NFDA Advocacy Summit  April 15-17Washington, D.C. District Meetings & Elections If you are interested in running for office, please email Terri at info@montanafda.org. May 6 — Great FallsLocation TBD May 7 — ButteMacKenzie River Pizza May 14 — MissoulaMustard Seed at Southgate Mall May 19 — Miles CityBlack

Some people find their life’s purpose early. Others discover it quietly, over time, through service, faith and a deep love for people. For Steve and Denise Schnackenberg, funeral service wasn’t something they set out to do — it was something that slowly, unmistakably, found them.