The demographics in Georgia are changing, and so is the way people choose to ceremoniously depart this world.
Embalming, or the practice of preserving a body to delay decomposition, was the preference of most Georgians just a few decades ago, says Sen. Rick Williams, a Milledgeville Republican and a licensed funeral director and embalmer for over 50 years.
But now fewer people are opting to be embalmed in Georgia, whether because of cultural and religious preferences or a shift toward cremation. Even so, funeral directors are still required to carry an additional embalming license.
Williams is sponsoring a bill that would end the requirement that funeral directors double as licensed embalmers. Senate Bill 239 aims to replace longstanding state law mandating funeral directors in the state to carry both licenses. It recently passed through the Senate unanimously.
“The customs of burials and cremations have changed so much,” Williams said.
According to the Cremation Association of North America, the national rate for cremation was about 5% when Williams became a licensed funeral director in the 1970s. Today, it has replaced embalming as the primary method of treating a dead body. As of 2024, the cremation rate in Georgia was over 50%.
Cy Hume, CEO of A.S. Turner and Sons Funeral Home and Crematory in Decatur, said families are now opting for cremation over embalming due to a “financial standpoint.” He also said people also “feel like that’s more eco-friendly.”
Hume says A.S. Turner currently has a 72% cremation rate.
A new law took effect last year that allows funeral homes in Georgia to practice natural organic reduction, which Hume says “is where you reduce someone’s body down to soil.”
Williams said the state’s growing Jewish and Muslim communities are also contributing to the shift away from embalming. These cultures prohibit the practice in most cases and prefer burial of the body within 24 hours.
Williams’ bill, which is now sitting in the House for consideration, also makes it a misdemeanor for unlicensed people to act as or impersonate funeral directors. Williams said a 2025 case in which an inmate posed as a funeral director to steal $1,200 from a grieving widow inspired that proposed change.
The measure has the support of the Georgia Funeral Directors Association. David Morrow, the president of the association, said over 100 members responded to a recent survey about SB 239. Morrow says two-thirds of the members voted in favor of the bill.
Hume said some funeral directors opposed to the bill believe that directors need to be able to explain embalming to families. But Hume said funeral directors are usually only generally describing the process.
“They’re not explaining how to make formaldehyde,” he said.
With the decrease in embalming, funeral home employees would often rather choose between being an embalmer and a director, Hume said. He says passing SB 239 would allow potential employees to choose their career path.
“Not all people are cut out to be funeral directors. Not all people are cut out to be embalmers,” Hume said.
Williams said some people choose to work at multiple funeral homes only to embalm and have “no desire” to work as funeral directors, who are usually the ones working directly with grieving families and friends.
The supporters of the bill say that it modernizes the profession. Williams said that Georgia would be joining 26 other states that have already ended the requirement for a funeral director to have an embalming license.
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