retired funeral director and partner, Waite Funeral Homes, Brunswick and Medina, Ohio, died August 23, 2025, at age 84.

Kiley attended Defiance College and graduated from Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. He worked at Waite Funeral Home for 42 years. After retiring, he continued to guide families as they worked through their grief and chose markers for their loved ones.

He was an active lifetime member of York United Methodist Church. He served as lieutenant for the Medina City Fire Department and drove the aerial-ladder truck. The mayor asked him to serve as fire chief, but he decided to retire instead. 

Kiley is survived by wife Betty; children Brian and Chrissy Kiley, and Beth and Gene Hubler; seven grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and twin brother David.

retired funeral director, Lindsey-Carlson and Baker Funeral Homes, Page, North Dakota; retired operations manager, Vertin Family Funeral Homes; past chairman of the NFDA Insurance Board; past representative of the NFDA Policy Board; and past president of the North Dakota Funeral Directors Association, died September 1, 2025, at age 80.

Carlson earned an associate degree in journalism from North Dakota State College of Science and a degree in mortuary science from the University of Minnesota. After graduation, he managed Hustad Funeral Home in Fulda, Minnesota. Later, Carlson and his wife purchased Lindsey Funeral Home and renamed it Lindsey-Carlson Funeral Home. In 1990, they relocated, and Carlson worked as an operations manager for Vertin Family Funeral Homes. He oversaw funeral homes in seven states until his retirement in 2012.

Carlson served on the Advisory Board for the National Red Cross Tissue Donor Program and was a member of the Academy of Certified Funeral Service Practitioners. In 2007, Governor John Hoeven appointed Carlson to the North Dakota State Board of Funeral Service, for which he served a four-year term. In 2018, he proudly received his 50-year service pin from both the North Dakota and Minnesota state funeral directors associations.

Carlson is survived by wife Jean, son Chris, daughter Cheri, six grandchildren, one great-grandson and two bonus grandchildren.

former owner, retired funeral director and father of funeral director Gerald Burpee Jr., Albert & Burpee Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Lewiston, Maine, died July 31, 2025, at age 86.

Burpee served in the U.S. Army as an ambulance driver in France. When he returned to Lewiston, he was hired as an ambulance driver and funeral attendant. After attending the New England Institute of Mortuary Science, he bought Albert Funeral Home. He then relocated the business and renamed it Albert & Burpee Funeral Home.

He was very active in local civic organizations and his church, St. Patrick’s, where he served as a Eucharistic minister and lector for many years. In addition, he served on the Lewiston School Committee upon his appointment by Mayor Alfred Plourde and on the St. Dominic’s School Board as president.

Burpee sold the funeral home to his son in the 1990s, and he and his wife moved to Florida, where they were “snowbirds” for 20 years. Eventually, they returned to Lewiston to be closer to their children, grandchildren and friends. 

Burpee is survived by wife Kathleen; daughters Karen, Andrea and Mary; son Gerald Jr.; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

funeral director and owner, Heritage Oaks Memorial Chapel, Rocklin, California, died July 24, 2025, at age 60.

After high school, Beeding enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the military police. He returned home and graduated from Sacramento City College with a degree in criminal justice. He worked various courier and transportation jobs before pursuing a career in funeral service. He began his career at Gormley & Sons Funeral Home, then worked at Neptune Society. Following the tragic death of his cousin in 2006, Beeding partnered with his aunt and uncle to open Heritage Oaks Memorial Chapel in Rocklin in 2008. He considered it an honor to arrange military honors for veterans, and he designed a Veteran’s Wall of Honor for each veteran Heritage Oaks Memorial Chapel served.

Beeding is survived by mother Janice, father Robert, sister Barbara, nieces and nephews.

retired funeral director and former owner, Beste Funeral Home, Mosinee, Wisconsin, died September 3, 2025, at age 96.

Beste served in the U.S. Army in Korea. Upon his return, he studied mortuary science in Milwaukee. After moving to Mosinee, he joined his father at the family business, Beste Funeral Home and Furniture. He was a member of St. Paul’s Parish and Knights of Columbus.

He is survived by children Mary, Barbara, Jean, Curtis and Jeffrey; 15 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.

retired funeral director and co-founder, Aurora-McCarthy Funeral Home, Colchester, Connecticut, died July 17, 2025, at age 70.

McCarthy earned his degree in mortuary science from Briarwood College and, in 1996, co-founded Aurora-McCarthy Funeral Home. He enjoyed a long and rewarding career with D’Esopo Funeral Chapel in Wethersfield, Connecticut. After his retirement in 2021, he continued to lend a hand at D’Esopo.

McCarthy is survived by his wife, Janet; her two children, Alex and Robyn; and two grandchildren.

funeral director, Cawley Funeral Home, Marietta, Ohio, died July 24, 2025, at age 84.

Cawley was a graduate of the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science, and he began his career working for the first Cawley family business, Cawley Funeral Home. He then went on to help his family lead a successful furniture business, Wieser & Cawley, which was in operation for more than 130 years.

Cawley believed in investing in future generations. He started the Teen Center, which later became the Marietta Kids Club, and he worked to establish a chapter of the Boys and Girls Club in Washington County.

Cawley is survived by daughters Kelli, Danielle and Cortney; four grandchildren; and sisters Janie and Betsy.

funeral director and former owner, Young Funeral Home, Lake City, Michigan, and son of funeral director and manager Richard Young, Young-Holdship Funeral Home, Lake City, Michigan, died June 24, 2025, at age 61.

He is survived by wife Anne and children Jessica, John, Rebecca and James.

funeral director, president and owner, Wiedeman Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Oberlin, Pennsylvania, and father of funeral director Lisa Wiedeman, died June 16, 2025, at age 79.

He received his associate degree in business administration from Temple University and continued his education at the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserves.

A second-generation funeral director, Wiedeman was a member of the Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association, Steelton Italian Club, former Loyal Order of the Moose Lodge #382, Train Collectors Association and Lionel Train Collectors Association. He was also a past president and member of the Dauphin County Funeral Directors Association; past chairman of the board for SecurChoice, a trust division of the Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association; past board member for the former Mellon Bank; consultant for volunteer training for Hospice of Central Pennsylvania; former assistant fire chief for the Steelton Volunteer Fire Department; and life member of the Dauphin County Fireman’s Association.

Wiedeman was a member of the former St. James Roman Catholic Church, where he served on the advisory council. More recently, he was a member of Prince of Peace Roman Catholic Parish.

Wiedeman is survived by wife Patricia, daughter Lisa and grandson Cooper. 

funeral director and former owner, Mills & Mills Funeral Directors, Olympia, Washington, and Twibell’s Fern Hill Funeral Home, Aberdeen, Washington, as well as a Washington State Funeral Directors Association past president, died July 5, 2025, at age 84.

Twibell graduated from the California College of Mortuary Science. He then worked for Mills & Mills Funeral Directors and purchased the company in 1980. Through acquisitions over the next years, the company grew to include 19 other funeral homes and cemeteries in Washington, Oregon and California. In 1994, Twibell purchased Fern Hill Funeral Home, which he sold to his son in 2019. However, he continued helping with services and taking care of the lawns at Fern Hill Funeral Home.

 Twibell was honored as the Washington Funeral Director of the Year in 2005 and, in 2022, was given a lifetime achievement award for his many years of service to grieving families. He was a member and past president of the Rotary Club of Aberdeen, and he recently received the Aberdeen Rotary Lifetime Achievement Award. He maintained 55 years of perfect attendance. Twibell was a member of Immanuel Baptist Church, as well as a 50-year member and past master of Harmony Lodge, Tumwater, among other organizations.

Twibell is survived by wife Janice Shipman-Twibell, sons Keith and Paul, stepdaughter Angie Shipman, stepson James Shipman, five grandchildren, and a great-grandson. Twibell was preceded in death by his first wife, Barbara J. Twibell.