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Wilmington (DE) News Journal
May 17, 2008 Proximity of human, pet cremation services shocked Pentagon, led to loss of contract
By Kristin Harty, The News Journal
DOVER -- Neither crematory smokestack ever puffs smoke.
In one of the buildings, human remains are turned into ashes.
In an attached building, about a third as large, pets are cremated in a smaller incinerator, called a retort.
Until last week, the two Torbert Funeral Home operations conducted their grim business inconspicuously off U.S. 13 in nondescript structures of metal siding surrounded by forest, storage sheds and a one-story motel.
The crematories' 6-foot-tall smokestacks, made with special scrubbers, emit only water vapor and heat.
"That's always been a priority -- to be very discreet," said Bill Torbert, president of the funeral home, located just a few miles from Dover Air Force Base, where the remains of all U.S. service members killed overseas are sent.
"We don't want any neighbors to ever know we're here," said Torbert.
Through a purchase agreement with the Department of Defense, Torbert's has cremated the remains of about 215 military personnel killed in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001.
The Pentagon's abrupt announcement May 9 that it would cease doing business with Torbert's made headlines around the world -- and cast a pall on the reputation of the longtime business, started by Torbert's great-grandfather more than 100 years ago.
Top brass pulled the plug after a Pentagon officer attending the cremation of a fellow serviceman saw a sign outside the crematory that read "Friends Forever Pet Cremation Services."
Defense Secretary Robert Gates immediately apologized to families, calling the site and signage "insensitive and entirely inappropriate for the dignified treatment of our fallen."
An inspection of Torbert's two crematories last weekend determined nothing untoward had occurred -- no commingling of ashes or improper dispositions.
But image is everything, said Lt. Col. Les A. Melnyk, Pentagon spokesman.
"I don't want to impugn any kind of fault to Torbert's here," Melnyk said, adding a review of the situation isn't complete. "They didn't violate any policies. They did everything honorably. It was just a matter of perception."
Two separate businesses
Connected by a passageway, Torbert's two crematories are actually two separate businesses: Capitol Cremation Services -- for human remains -- and Friends Forever -- for pet remains.
The family decided to invest in a retort for animals in 1998. Because it already had an incinerator permit for the location off U.S. 13, it opted to build the animal crematory alongside the human crematory. A small sign advertising Friends Forever is on a marquee along the highway. Capitol Cremation Service, which opened in 1989, has no sign because it is available only to funeral homes.
"We had an awful lot of requests through our private funeral home to take care of people's pets," Torbert said. Today, pet cremations are a lucrative portion of the business, he said. Pet cremations cost about $175.
Sal Leone of Dover was out of town in February when his 15-year-old yellow Lab, Lager, had to be put to sleep. He used Friends Forever Pet Cremation Services to dispose of the remains.
"I understand where the government is coming from," said Leone. "But I think it was a big misunderstanding. You know how sensitive people can be when it comes to things like that."
In the funeral home industry, pet cremation is a growing trend, said Jessica Colt, spokeswoman for the National Funeral Directors Association, though it can be a challenge to find appropriate ways to market the service. In a 2003 consumer study, Matthews Cremation Division, which manufactures cremation equipment, found that though most of those surveyed supported pet cremation services, most were "very sensitive to its being too prominent in a setting where human funerals were being planned."
The Pentagon officer who saw the "Friends Forever" sign outside the crematories didn't inquire about the logistics of human and pet cremations, said Gary Wallick, vice president.
For human cremations, a hearse backs into a garage door that faces away from the road, and remains are cremated in one of two incinerators, each about 10 feet long and 4 feet wide on the inside. The name of the deceased is written on a white board on the side of the retort to assure proper identification, Wallick said.
The pet retort, about 4 feet long, isn't large enough to handle human remains.
"There was a misunderstanding of what was going on here," said Torbert. "We work in a business that is heavily driven by emotion. People are here at a worst part of their life, when they're grieving. It's very intense."
Though a review is not yet complete, Pentagon spokesman Melnyk said it's unlikely the government will use Torbert's crematory again. Instead, it will work with Pippin Funeral Home and another area funeral home with a human crematory, which he did not specify.
Uproar surprises some
Retired Air Force Master Sgt. Kevin Trently said he doesn't understand the uproar. During his 23 years in the military, he directed an Air Force honor guard and worked with grieving military families as a member of the mortuary affairs team.
"There is no discredit to someone just because there are pets being cremated nearby," said Trently, 45, employed at Capitol Cremation Services for the last two years. He works with both human and animal remains. "What's wrong with dogs all of a sudden?"
Though they hope to regain the government's business, the Torbert family is more interested in assuring the public that they "run a tight ship."
Odessa resident L.D. Shank isn't worried. His parents and grandparents were cremated by Torbert's crematory. So was his 12-year-old chocolate Lab, Duchess. And he plans to be cremated there, too.
"I would not hesitate to use them for friend or family," Shank said. "The Torbert family has been serving Kent County forever. It's been part of our family tradition."
May 17, 2008 Proximity of human, pet cremation services shocked Pentagon, led to loss of contract
By Kristin Harty, The News Journal
DOVER -- Neither crematory smokestack ever puffs smoke.
In one of the buildings, human remains are turned into ashes.
In an attached building, about a third as large, pets are cremated in a smaller incinerator, called a retort.
Until last week, the two Torbert Funeral Home operations conducted their grim business inconspicuously off U.S. 13 in nondescript structures of metal siding surrounded by forest, storage sheds and a one-story motel.
The crematories' 6-foot-tall smokestacks, made with special scrubbers, emit only water vapor and heat.
"That's always been a priority -- to be very discreet," said Bill Torbert, president of the funeral home, located just a few miles from Dover Air Force Base, where the remains of all U.S. service members killed overseas are sent.
"We don't want any neighbors to ever know we're here," said Torbert.
Through a purchase agreement with the Department of Defense, Torbert's has cremated the remains of about 215 military personnel killed in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001.
The Pentagon's abrupt announcement May 9 that it would cease doing business with Torbert's made headlines around the world -- and cast a pall on the reputation of the longtime business, started by Torbert's great-grandfather more than 100 years ago.
Top brass pulled the plug after a Pentagon officer attending the cremation of a fellow serviceman saw a sign outside the crematory that read "Friends Forever Pet Cremation Services."
Defense Secretary Robert Gates immediately apologized to families, calling the site and signage "insensitive and entirely inappropriate for the dignified treatment of our fallen."
An inspection of Torbert's two crematories last weekend determined nothing untoward had occurred -- no commingling of ashes or improper dispositions.
But image is everything, said Lt. Col. Les A. Melnyk, Pentagon spokesman.
"I don't want to impugn any kind of fault to Torbert's here," Melnyk said, adding a review of the situation isn't complete. "They didn't violate any policies. They did everything honorably. It was just a matter of perception."
Two separate businesses
Connected by a passageway, Torbert's two crematories are actually two separate businesses: Capitol Cremation Services -- for human remains -- and Friends Forever -- for pet remains.
The family decided to invest in a retort for animals in 1998. Because it already had an incinerator permit for the location off U.S. 13, it opted to build the animal crematory alongside the human crematory. A small sign advertising Friends Forever is on a marquee along the highway. Capitol Cremation Service, which opened in 1989, has no sign because it is available only to funeral homes.
"We had an awful lot of requests through our private funeral home to take care of people's pets," Torbert said. Today, pet cremations are a lucrative portion of the business, he said. Pet cremations cost about $175.
Sal Leone of Dover was out of town in February when his 15-year-old yellow Lab, Lager, had to be put to sleep. He used Friends Forever Pet Cremation Services to dispose of the remains.
"I understand where the government is coming from," said Leone. "But I think it was a big misunderstanding. You know how sensitive people can be when it comes to things like that."
In the funeral home industry, pet cremation is a growing trend, said Jessica Colt, spokeswoman for the National Funeral Directors Association, though it can be a challenge to find appropriate ways to market the service. In a 2003 consumer study, Matthews Cremation Division, which manufactures cremation equipment, found that though most of those surveyed supported pet cremation services, most were "very sensitive to its being too prominent in a setting where human funerals were being planned."
The Pentagon officer who saw the "Friends Forever" sign outside the crematories didn't inquire about the logistics of human and pet cremations, said Gary Wallick, vice president.
For human cremations, a hearse backs into a garage door that faces away from the road, and remains are cremated in one of two incinerators, each about 10 feet long and 4 feet wide on the inside. The name of the deceased is written on a white board on the side of the retort to assure proper identification, Wallick said.
The pet retort, about 4 feet long, isn't large enough to handle human remains.
"There was a misunderstanding of what was going on here," said Torbert. "We work in a business that is heavily driven by emotion. People are here at a worst part of their life, when they're grieving. It's very intense."
Though a review is not yet complete, Pentagon spokesman Melnyk said it's unlikely the government will use Torbert's crematory again. Instead, it will work with Pippin Funeral Home and another area funeral home with a human crematory, which he did not specify.
Uproar surprises some
Retired Air Force Master Sgt. Kevin Trently said he doesn't understand the uproar. During his 23 years in the military, he directed an Air Force honor guard and worked with grieving military families as a member of the mortuary affairs team.
"There is no discredit to someone just because there are pets being cremated nearby," said Trently, 45, employed at Capitol Cremation Services for the last two years. He works with both human and animal remains. "What's wrong with dogs all of a sudden?"
Though they hope to regain the government's business, the Torbert family is more interested in assuring the public that they "run a tight ship."
Odessa resident L.D. Shank isn't worried. His parents and grandparents were cremated by Torbert's crematory. So was his 12-year-old chocolate Lab, Duchess. And he plans to be cremated there, too.
"I would not hesitate to use them for friend or family," Shank said. "The Torbert family has been serving Kent County forever. It's been part of our family tradition."
