The Man Who Took Down a $3 Billion Funeral Empire

“I made a huge mistake.” - Ray Loewen (probably)
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**PRODUCTION CREDITS**
Mortician and Writer: Caitlin Doughty
Producer and Writer: Louise Hung (@LouiseHung1)
Editor & Graphics: Andy Windak
Thumbnail: Landis Blair (@LandisBlair)
Thank you to our friend Tanya Marsh, professor of funeral and cemetery law, for lending her eyes to our script and helping us navigate all the legal speak and courtroom drama as we created this video. law.wfu.edu/faculty/profile/m...
**SELECTED SOURCES & ADDITIONAL READING**
“Fight to the Death”
content.time.com/time/magazine...
“In Mississippi, deal with funeral home giant helped sway a jury”
www.tampabay.com/archive/1997...
“The Burial” by Jonathan Harr
www.condenet.com/mags/newyorke...
“Brash Funeral Chain Meets Its Match in Old South”
www.nytimes.com/1996/01/27/us...
“A Homegrown Disaster”
www.buzzfeednews.com/article/...
“IN THE MATTER OF: THE LOEWEN GROUP, INC. and RAYMOND L. LOEWEN,
Claimants/Investors,
v.
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Respondent/Party.”
www.italaw.com/sites/default/...
“History of the Loewen Group Inc.”
www.referenceforbusiness.com/...

[@ElixirSpice]

As a Black person I have to say that I love how you're unafraid to talk about race and I appreciate that you approach it with cultural sensitivity. I love your channel.

[@SavageGreywolf]

I like how Caitlyn's channel is about death but the scariest thing she's ever talked about is a corporation

[@Asigedge]

The man who did my old ladys funeral knew we were going to cremate after the ceremony. I wanted her to go out in style and saw a wooden casket for 3600. He told me "you know were gonna burn this. I have a cheaper wooden casket that still looks nice and we can put some flowers on top and we can save about 1600. I was damn grateful for him. I was a hot mess at that time and he could see i was barely keeping it together. He helped me pick colors, her urn and everything came out to under the amount of her life insurance. He even gave me a coupon to go to a nearby diner with my family after. That home is owned by Dignity which is definitely a corporation that owns hundreds of places. But that man was not of them lol.

[@samanthamountain9764]

Hold up, a father of thirteen, veteran and business owner?! His wife is the legend in that family holding that household down

[@thehangmansdaughter1120]

When my Dad died in New Zealand the funeral director steered my sister and I to the cheaper coffins saying "Your Dad wouldn't want you to waste your money. He loved you." That was an independent funeral home. And he was right, Dad would have been furious if we'd spent thousands of dollars.

[@QuakerLady]

When my grandmother died, my mom had her sent to the local funeral home that everybody had used for generations. Mom had very little money, and was hoping for a relatively low cost funeral. The funeral director actually lied to her about legal requirements, like embalming being required by law. in tears, she called our minister, and with his help, had Grandma transferred to another funeral home, where Grandma was handled with dignity and a reasonable cost (and no embalming). Mom made sure to tell everyone she knew about her experience.

[@laara1426]

During the height of Covid in New York state, with bodies piling up in refrigerated trucks, family members were frantically calling their EAP Services to access their free legal advice. WHY ??? Because the pre paid burial services their loved one paid for were not honoring the contact. Those prepaid burial services were owned by corporations. They wanted cash.

[@trumpetmano]

When my Dad passed away in 2010, our nosey Aunt came along to the meeting with the cemetery/funeral home. The guy tried to charge my mom $1800. My Aunt, reading thru all the documents, suddenly blurted out "This is already for .... back in 1985...... The guy tried to plead innocence.... And then tried to add a charge for Taps. I am a life long trumpet player and have played taps thousands of times. I asked if he was going to pay ME to play taps for my dad.... I got the deer-in-the-headlights look...

[@rgermanix]

Honestly was thinking "wow this is fairly straight-forward for Caitlyn, I'm surprised it's not slightly weirder..." then the ending credits with her hit single "Revenue Enhancement" started and I was like "there's my girl."

[@amberklaire9419]

My mother literally said "No, we're going with the cheapest option. In his life, he bought generic brand everything to save money despite having it, he'd roll over in his grave if we went with an expensive box to put in the ground"

[@boitoiful]

This woman is priceless! Her new single, "Revenue Enhancement" can be heard over the ending credits. LOVE ya Caitlyn!

[@kimberlycaritas]

Caitlyn, I need you to know that I put this video on a playlist to listen through while I got a root canal this morning, and-as I couldn't skip anything while lying there-I had the absolute pleasure of listening to you sing "revenue enhancement" for approximately three eternities as my tooth was being drilled into. Thank you for getting me through these tough times. 💜

[@roxannemcleod8339]

My daddy lives next door to a O'Keefe funeral home in Ocean Springs, MS. We used O'Bryant O'Keefe in Pascagoula, MS when my mother suddenly passed away 16 years ago. They were truly wonderful to us. Their services didn't stop after the cemetery either. They personally brought all plants from the funeral home to my daddy's house. They helped my daddy get into a bereavement group and they took turns actually driving my daddy back and forth to those meetings because he was just too distraught to do anything. They are wonderful and we developed a true friendship that went beyond business practices.

[@LiftingLena]

Can someone give this woman a Grammy for “Revenue Enhancement?” That is my new jam! 💃🕺

[@Laurennn]

I'm an aspiring mortician, currently studying and I am employed at an independent funeral home. My calling is for green death care, but I understand that I need to go through it to get to it and learn "traditional methods." Though the funeral home I work at is "traditional," I've always appreciated that the funeral directors my funeral home have never pushed families towards funeral options and caskets or vaults they can't afford. I'll forever be thankful for that.

[@Deathclown333]

Astounding! This is from my hometown of Biloxi, MS, and I can vouch that the O'Keefe family are very good people to their community. They have been close to my family for many decades.

[@AmySwayzee]

When my Mom passed she left us written instructions. When we saw the caskets all very expensive we were told to ask and now please show us the reasonable caskets. When he asked how would your Mother feel about that we just showed him her written instructions. Also when he asked about open casket she had written what she wanted (closed).

[@jeffreyokeefe7755]

Caitlin……. It’s Jeff O’Keefe……. Thank you for doing your homework on this case. There are a few inaccuracies but overall you have captured the essence of the matter.

[@courtneypearce5786]

I worked at an SCI cemetery for 6 month. All of what she is saying is true. It was a MASSIVE reason for why I left. I joined the company to help grieving families. I did not feel I could do that there.

[@tookitogo]

Here in Switzerland, burial services are provided by the municipality, and if needed, funereal services by the deceased’s church, to which they would have paid a “church tax” while alive. When a friend’s mother died, she asked me to tag along for moral support, so I got to see the entire process: the town hall handled it all, with it taking about an hour to discuss the details. They did it with respect and efficiency, and the cost (excluding the cemetery plot) was minimal. In the city where I live, nearly all of it is free: caskets are made by the city in a workshop for people with disabilities, as vocational training; transport and preparation of the body; burial; or cremation - all free. (Only the fee for dressing the body is not free, oddly.)