By Thomas A. Parmalee
When Tammy Friedman talks about direct cremation, she doesn’t begin with affordability.
She doesn’t start with convenience, online arrangements, or the growing cremation rate.
Instead, she talks about grief.
“I’ve found that families who choose direct cremation aren’t looking for fewer services,” Tammy said. “They’re looking for fewer obstacles.”
That simple philosophy has become the foundation of Choice Cremation, the Nashville-area business she launched in 2025, which now includes her husband, Jeff, a licensed funeral director.
While many funeral homes continue to wrestle with how to serve a growing population of price-conscious cremation families without diminishing their traditional brands, Tammy decided to build something entirely different.
Choice Cremation doesn’t offer traditional funerals.
It doesn’t offer embalming.
There are no caskets displayed on showroom floors, no rows of urns lining the walls and absolutely no pressure to upgrade services.
Instead, Tammy has created what she describes as a safe place for families who have already decided direct cremation is right for them — a business intentionally designed around simplicity, transparency and a customer experience rooted in compassion.
More than 250 families chose Choice Cremation during its first year in business, validating what Tammy has always believed: Direct cremation families don’t want less care. They simply want care delivered differently.
A Journey That Began with Social Work
Ironically, Tammy never planned on entering funeral service.
She was studying social work in college when she met Jeff.
“He always jokes that it’s a good thing we met before he became a funeral director because that would’ve been a terrible pickup line,” she said.
While Jeff pursued mortuary school, Tammy focused on earning her social work degree. Looking back, she says every step of her career prepared her for where she is today — even if she didn’t realize it at the time.
“My mom used to say, ‘You’re not even using your social work degree,'” Tammy recalled. “I tell her I use it every single day as a mother, wife and in serving families.”
That servant’s heart became the common thread throughout a career that eventually included advance planning, funeral home operations, sales and business development — all without earning a funeral director’s license. She has also started companies before, including The Pine Box Club, a self-care subscription box service tailored to the deathcare profession that she enjoyed running for a couple years.
“I feel like everything I’ve done prepared me for this,” she said.
Learning the Cremation Business
Years before direct cremation became one of the profession’s hottest topics, Jeff recognized where consumer preferences were heading.
He was the driving force behind Distinctive Life Cremation & Funeral Service in Texas, a company that challenged many of funeral service’s long-held assumptions.
“It was a new concept,” Tammy said. “We would literally come to families with a mobile showroom full of urns. Looking back, I think we were ahead of where consumers were at that time.”
In addition to Distinctive Life, the couple owned Houston Jewish Funerals, Dallas Jewish Funerals and Austin Jewish Funerals.
She admits that her husband working so much sometimes led to some tense moments at home.
“He was on call 24/7,” she said. “He was missing birthdays … and all my friends would ask, ‘Where is Jeff?’” And she would have to always say the same thing: “He is working again.”
But she began to be more understanding, she said, after she was out with her husband at dinner one night. Someone came up to him and gave Jeff a great big hug, thanking him so much for helping them after a recent death.
That moment showed how important his work was, she said.
After moving to Tennessee in 2019, Jeff worked for an established funeral home and cemetery organization.
But Tammy began thinking more about serving direct cremation families and started working behind the scenes to launch Choice Cremation.
“There was just something in my head that kept telling me this needed to be done,” she said. “Finally, I told him, ‘I’m going to do it.'”
She made the decision in November 2024.
The LLC was formed in January 2025, with a funeral director on staff – just not her husband, who was still working in deathcare for someone else.
Then life threw them an unexpected curveball.
At the time, Jeff still worked for a corporate funeral home. When management learned his wife was opening a direct cremation business nearby, they asked him to resign because of a perceived conflict of interest.
“Originally, him working with me wasn’t even part of the plan,” Tammy said. “But it worked out to be the best thing that could’ve happened.”
Today, the husband-and-wife team handles nearly every aspect of the business together as the company’s only two people on staff.
Betting on Themselves
While they still retain an ownership interest in some deathcare businesses in Texas, Tammy launched Choice Cremation with limited capital.
Jeff’s father, however, had died and left behind a small life insurance policy.
Instead of viewing it simply as an inheritance, they viewed it as an opportunity.
“We used those funds and opened our business account with about $45,000,” Tammy said. “That became our operating money for the first six months.”
Every dollar mattered.
“So, when Jeff unexpectedly joined the business full-time, we didn’t really have another choice,” she said. “When you’re put to the fire, you just have to make it work.”
Designing an Experience Instead of a Funeral Home
Perhaps the biggest difference about Choice Cremation isn’t what it offers.
It’s what it intentionally refuses to become.
“We purposely do not offer traditional funeral services,” Tammy explained. “It’s very important to me to stay in my lane.”
When families call, she immediately confirms they’re seeking direct cremation without a viewing.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time, they say yes. Those are the families we’re here to serve,” she said.
That focus shaped every business decision.
Rather than leasing a traditional funeral home complete with prep room and chapel, Tammy rented space inside an executive office building.
“I wanted families to feel like they were walking into a warm hug,” she said.
Visitors won’t find caskets or walls of urns.
Instead, they encounter comfortable seating, natural light, and a boutique environment that feels intentionally unlike a funeral home.
The Friedmans do not own their own crematory but partner with a third party. Eventually – perhaps in three to five years – they’d like to explore getting their own crematory if business warrants it, Tammy said.
“The crematory we partner with does allow a private family goodbye,” Tammy said. “And if someone wants a visitation or service provided by a funeral home, we have great partners we can refer them to.”
One Price. No Games.
Choice Cremation also simplified one of the biggest frustrations consumers often experience.
Pricing.
The company offers a single direct cremation package priced at $1,050.
Everything needed for cremation is included except certified death certificates and the urn.
“I averaged what independent cremation companies and funeral homes were charging,” Tammy said. “I wanted it to be $1,050 instead of $1,095. It feels honest. I didn’t want it to sound gimmicky.”
Perhaps even more surprising is what happens when families ask about urns.
Rather than steering everyone toward showroom inventory, Tammy often tells them they’re welcome to purchase one elsewhere — even on Amazon.
They do have the option to buy an urn on the Parting Pro store, which also provides the online planning experience. When families select such an earn, Tammy’s business earns a percentage of sales, but she’s not reliant on it.
That honesty frequently surprises families.
“They’ll say, ‘I can’t believe you’re actually telling us to buy one on Amazon,’” she said.
Her reasoning is simple.
“I don’t want families upset because of delays from a drop-shipping vendor. If Amazon makes a mistake, Amazon fixes it—not us,” she said.
Only about one in five families purchases an urn through the Parting Pro platform, she said.
She’s perfectly comfortable with that.
Building trust, she believes, is far more valuable than maximizing merchandise revenue.
Returning Someone Home
One of Tammy’s strongest convictions centers on how cremated remains should be returned.
Whenever possible, she personally delivers them to families’ homes.
“It’s just something really beautiful about bringing someone home,” she said.
The visit isn’t rushed: She makes sure to answer any questions about the death certificate and go over options revolving around keepsakes, urns, cremation placement or scattering.
She even helps families think about where they may want to display their urn or keep cremated remains at home.
“We don’t just hand someone a grocery bag and leave,” she said.
Even something as simple as removing the cremated remains from the standard white cardboard shipping container reflects that philosophy.
“We wanted the presentation to honor the person,” she said.
The delivery charge is $75, although Tammy notes it is sometimes waived if someone lives very close to their office.
Marketing With Authenticity
Launching a brand from scratch wasn’t easy.
Initially, Choice Cremation struggled with Google Business Profile verification issues that made the company virtually invisible online.
Today, Tammy credits much of the company’s growth to Google, Local Services Ads, networking, and organically building reviews.
Interestingly, she deliberately avoided hiring a marketing company that specialized exclusively in funeral homes.
“I wanted someone who would help us grow organically rather than just doing what everybody else does,” she said.
Relationships have become another important source of referrals.
By handling their own removals, the Friedmans have developed stronger connections with hospices, hospitals, and healthcare providers.
Their husband-and-wife story also resonates.
“People like knowing it’s actually us answering the phone,” Tammy said.
She added that they do so 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
After one year in business, she noted that the business is stronger than she anticipated.
“We get a lot of business because of our price,” she said, noting that it’s in the middle in terms of direct cremation – with some offering a lower price point and others who charge more.
“We get cases from the medical examiner,” she said. “Some people live in Kentucky, but their loved one died in Nashville It is so diverse. Yesterday, we did a two-hour transport for an at-need family. People are finding us, and after talking to us, they want to use us.”
The couple is determined to grow their business, she said.
“We are empty nesters and grandparents – and we are able to work past 5 o’clock,” Tammy said. “We are definitely putting in the work and the hours, but we are building something. We know what it takes.”
Aftercare
One assumption Tammy held before opening Choice Cremation turned out to be only partially correct.
She believed comprehensive aftercare would become the company’s biggest competitive advantage.
Choice Cremation partners with Everything After (which is owned by Precoa but operates as its own limited liability company) to provide estate settlement assistance, grief resources, and practical guidance after the cremation is complete.
Families appreciate it.
But Tammy discovered that isn’t what initially drives purchasing decisions.
“Direct cremation families are still shoppers,” she said. “They’re usually looking at price.”
Only later — after the arrangements are complete — do many realize how valuable ongoing support can be.
“When they need it, it’s there,” she said.
That distinction has reinforced an important lesson: Price may open the conversation, but service is what amplifies your reputation and leads to repeat business and referrals.
Working Beside the Person You Love
Operating a funeral business as spouses presents obvious challenges.
The Friedmans answer phones together, meet families together and even do removals together – sometimes in the early hours of the morning. Often, one handles paperwork while the other prepares the cot.
They charge $285 for transportation of a body within a 50 mile radius of their business, Tammy said.
They’ve learned the importance of boundaries.
“We definitely have times when we don’t talk about work,” Tammy said. “Sometimes we’re just so exhausted, we just pet and talk to the dog instead.”
Still, the partnership has strengthened both the business and their marriage.
“What I love is that Jeff has really embraced my vision,” she said.
In the process, he has also begun to question his own assumptions about cremation families, according to Tammy.
“He thought direct cremation would mostly be pushing paperwork,” she said. “But he actually feels closer to these families than he often did in traditional funeral service because we’re communicating with them almost every day.”
When asked what she wishes she’d known before opening Choice Cremation, Friedman doesn’t mention licensing or marketing. Instead, she talks about emotional exhaustion.
“I wish I’d been more prepared for how heavy this work is,” she said.
Sometimes families invite her inside after she returns their loved one’s cremated remains: Conversations begin and stories are shared. What starts as a delivery becomes, in many ways, a private memorial service.
“It’s emotionally heavier than I expected,” she said.
Advice for Funeral Homes Considering a Cremation Brand
As cremation continues to grow in popularity, more funeral homes are debating whether to create separate cremation brands.
Tammy believes the opportunity is real — but only if firms commit fully.
“My first advice would be: do it,” she said. “Do your research and don’t overthink it.”
More importantly, she believes funeral professionals must recognize that direct cremation families are not “lesser” families.
“The social worker in me realizes they still lost someone,” she said. “They’re grieving just like families choosing traditional funerals – and they deserve to feel supported.”
That mindset shaped every decision inside Choice Cremation — from transparent pricing to home delivery, aftercare resources, and an office designed to feel welcoming instead of intimidating.
For funeral homes hoping to capture more cremation business, Friedman believes the lesson isn’t simply lowering prices. It’s redesigning the experience around what those families truly need.
“They’re already trying to figure out how they’re even going to breathe,” she said. “If we can remove some of the obstacles and simply walk beside them, we’ve done our job.”
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