After having its funeral home contracts cancelled twice in 18 months by a large mulinational corporation, Service Corporation International, the members of PEOPLE’S MEMORIAL Association voted at their annual meeting on April 12, 2007 to open their own cooperative funeral home in Seattle. This new funeral home would be owned by the members of PEOPLE’S MEMORIAL Association. In a matter of 7 weeks, the board and staff were able to get the cooperative incorporated and licensed as a funeral home, lease office space, purchase furniture and equipment as well as hiring and training staff. PEOPLE’S MEMORIAL Funeral Cooperative opened its doors June 11, 2007 on Seattle’s Capitol Hill, sharing a suite with the membership office of People’s Memorial Association. From the beginning, the funeral cooperative has had a reputation for providing simple, economical funeral arrangements and quality customer service. PEOPLE’S MEMORIAL Funeral Cooperative is one of only eight cooperative funeral homes in the US. It is the only funeral co-op on the West Coast as well as the only one located in a metropolitan area. The Funeral Cooperative now handles the funeral arrangements for approximately 1 in 12 King County deaths.
Writer Liz Taylor in her Seattle Times column Aging Deliberately advises consumers to be proactive in planning their funerals. She recommends PEOPLE’S MEMORIAL Association and the PEOPLE’S MEMORIAL Funeral Cooperative. (Nov 12, 2007)
Writer Craig Harris in Seattle Post Intelligencer contrasts PEOPLE’S MEMORIAL Funeral Cooperative to the traditional funeral industry. (July 10, 2007)
The industry publication, Funeral Monitor has a headlining article regarding the opening of People’s Memorial Funeral Cooperative. It is followed with an editorial wake-up call to the funeral industry. (July 9, 2007)
Article in Real Change on People’s Memorial Funeral Cooperative. (June 6, 2007)
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Welcome to our new website. We have linked our three sites into one. For consumer information click on "Education Fund" above. For our statewide organization, click on "Association."
History/Media
History of PEOPLE’S MEMORIAL Funeral Co-op
After having its funeral home contracts cancelled twice in 18 months by a large mulinational corporation, Service Corporation International, the members of PEOPLE’S MEMORIAL Association voted at their annual meeting on April 12, 2007 to open their own cooperative funeral home in Seattle. This new funeral home would be owned by the members of PEOPLE’S MEMORIAL Association. In a matter of 7 weeks, the board and staff were able to get the cooperative incorporated and licensed as a funeral home, lease office space, purchase furniture and equipment as well as hiring and training staff. PEOPLE’S MEMORIAL Funeral Cooperative opened its doors June 11, 2007 on Seattle’s Capitol Hill, sharing a suite with the membership office of People’s Memorial Association. From the beginning, the funeral cooperative has had a reputation for providing simple, economical funeral arrangements and quality customer service. PEOPLE’S MEMORIAL Funeral Cooperative is one of only eight cooperative funeral homes in the US. It is the only funeral co-op on the West Coast as well as the only one located in a metropolitan area. The Funeral Cooperative now handles the funeral arrangements for approximately 1 in 12 King County deaths.
PEOPLE’S MEMORIAL Funeral Co-op in the News