Maine Death Care:  Unusual Name, Useful Site.

Maine Death Care is a site where news, information, and opinion regarding the death care industry in Maine is collected into one location. We have information on funeral practices, burials and cremations, and related issues. We also provide contact information for the various governmental agencies which regulate the death care industry in Maine.

We are hopeful that this web site will fulfill a need for a centralized repository of information from a variety of disparate sources, into one easy to navigate site. We have gathered this information from a variety of sources, and to the best of our knowledge, it is accurate and current. 

What's New?

04/17/13

Death Cafes in the Mid-Coast Area. This is an interesting article from the Bangor Daily News, about hosted discussions on death and end of life issues. Read the article.

03/15/13

State's deaths likely to exceed births again. The number of deaths in Maine is on pace to eclipse the number of births for the second straight year, in a trend that could have implications for the state's economy. Read the story in the Kennebec Journal

02/25/13

From the Bangor Daily News: "Bill would expand preservation of veteran burial grounds." Read the story.

02/21/13 Legislative Update

Thursday, 1 PM, Health and Human Services Committee; public hearings; room 209; Cross Building

L.D. 123 "An Act To Ensure Proper Anatomical Recovery of Human Bodies and Body Parts" Requires that people or entities that perform anatomical recovery register as such, punishes those who do not and requires records of receipt, use, processing, transplantation, transfer and disposal of human bodies and body parts be kept.

L.D. 252 "An Act Regarding Registration and Correction of Death Information on Death Certificates" Adds the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner as a certifier of cause of death to accommodate the electronic death registration system and permits the office to electronically submit amendments to the death certificate using the electronic death registration system.

02/19/13 Legislative Update

Wednesday, 10 AM, State and Local Government Committee; work sessions; room 214; Cross Building

L.D. 106 "An Act To Abolish the Trustees of Public Cemeteries for the City of Waterville" This emergency bill gives the responsibilities for the care and upkeep for public cemeteries to the city, eliminating the Trustees of Public Cemeteries.

02/06/13 Legislative Update

9 AM, 02/11/13 State and Local Government Committee; public hearing; room 214; Cross Building

L.D. 106, "An Act to Abolish the Trustees of Public Cemeteries for the City of Waterville." This emergency bill gives the responsibilities for the care and upkeep for public cemeteries to the city, eliminating the Trustees of Public Cemeteries.

2 PM, 02/11/13 Taxation Committee; work sessions, room 127; State House

L.D. 10 "An Act To Provide a Property Tax Exemption for Family Burying Grounds" This bill exempts family burying grounds of a quarter-acre or less from property taxation.

01/28/13 Death: It's a Living

This isn't news about Maine specifically, but it should be an interesting show. CNBC is airing an hour-long documentary, Death: It's a Living, on January 31 at 9 pm EST. The news team talks with casket makers, funeral trade show vendors, cemetery directors, mortuary school students, funeral directors, and more. Watch a preview.

01/11/13 Legislative Season Begins

The Maine Legislature is back in session, and there are presently three proposals notable to us being put forth by the Department of Health and Human Services.

• LR 513 An Act Regarding Registration and Correction of Death Information on Death Certificates
  
  
• LR 514 An Act Regarding Registration of Fetal Deaths
  
  
• LR 515 An Act Regarding Permits for Final Disposition of Dead Human Bodies

The text of these bills has not yet been posted. The list of LRs can be found here. These are listed on page 3 of the document.

10/16/12 Scout Restores Graveyard

Boy Scout Restoring Two Remote Dixfield Cemeteries A passion for riding all-terrain vehicles on back-country roads and doing community service projects helped Boy Scout Keith Masse find his Eagle Scout project. The 15-year-old sophomore at Dirigo High School organized a community effort and cleaned up the small, remote Eddy Cemetery beside Science Hill Road in East Dixfield. Read the whole article.

10/12/12 Article from Governing Magazine

Boomers Want Control of Their End-of-Life Care. A state-level movement has evolved to give terminally ill patients more say in what medicine and medical procedures they want during their final days. Read the article here.

09/10/12 Portland Press Herald Article

The Portland Press Herald published a nice article about cremation trends in Maine. Read the article.

08/03/12 Town and Gun Club Table Agreement

The Town of Bucksport and a local gun club have indefinitely tabled a proposal to establish a shooting range on Town owned land, in the absence of a study to determine where, or if, a cemetery is located. Older Posts

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