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How To Guide 2020: How to select a coffin
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When arranging a funeral for your loved one, you should consider the type of coffin. When making a choice, you may want to consider the cost, materials used, style, if it is environmentally friendly and the personality and taste of your loved one. There has been a recent increase in the choices available for coffins. These include traditional wood coffins or caskets (oak or pine), cardboard coffins, veneered MDF (made to look like wood), woolen burial shrouds, wicker coffins, willow coffins, and coffins made from bamboo, seagrass or banana leaves. Blue Pine Coffins, owned by Dean and Danielle Newberry, is in the first year of their business of making environmentally affordable coffins built from regionally sourced blue pine. “We are using trees that have died of drought or beetle infestation,” said Danielle Newberry, business manager. The trees have been removed by PG&E due to their fire risk, she added. “They are 100-percent wood and are biodegradable; therefore they follow Jewish burial laws,” Newberry said. “We can customize the size of the coffin if needed.” “The coffins have been load-tested and approved by a test engineer, Newberry said. “They are also suitable for green burials or cremation.” Green burials are a way of caring for the dead with minimal environmental impact, according to the Green Burial Council. When making arrangements with a funeral home some may have the mistaken belief that they must purchase a coffin or casket from the home, sometimes at high rates. “
Any funeral home must accept a coffin. It doesn’t have to be purchased from them,” Newberry said. “You save money by buying it directly from Blue Pine Coffins. We want to make it affordable to everyone.” Indeed, the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule “gives you the right to provide the funeral home with a casket or urn you buy elsewhere,” states its webpage. “The funeral provider cannot refuse to handle a casket or urn you bought online, at a local casket store, or somewhere else — or charge you a fee to do it. The funeral home cannot require you to be there when the casket or urn is delivered to them.”
Blue Pine Coffins may be ordered in advance, though the customer will have to find space to store it.
“If you are on hospice, we will store it for you,” Newberry said.
Blue Pine Coffins is in Davis. Call 530-270-3029 or visit BluePineCoffins.com
Tags: C2 Printed in the August 30, 2020 edition on page C2 | Published on August 30, 2020 | Last Modified on August 28, 2020 at 3:28 pm
Davis Enterprise; All in the Family SUNDAY, JUNE 21, 2020 11
Blue Pine Coffins Co.
Enterprise staff
Blue Pine Coffins, owned by Dean and Danielle Newberry, is in the first year of their business making affordable coffins build from regionally source blue pine. "We are using trees that have died of drought or beetle infestation," said Danielle Newberry, business manager. The trees have been removed by PG&E due to their fire risk, she added. "They are 100-percent wood and are biodegradable therefore they foolo9w Jewish burial laws, " Danielle said. "We can customize the size of the coffin if needed."
The idea was spawned when an elderly family member became ill and was admitted into hospice. Dean Newberry a master carpenter who built his first house in Davis in 1975 - took it upon himself to build the final abode for their beloved. Happily she recovered, yet the idea of building coffins took flight. The Newberrys see their business growing and look to hiring more help in the near future.
"It is local, sustainable and made with love," said Danielle, who has lived in Davis for 37 years. Dean went to school in Davis as a child and graduated from UC Davis.
"We want to give back to our community because we love living in Davis," Danielle said.
Blue Pine Coffins is located at 216 F ST #132, in Davis. Call 530-270-3029 or visit bluepinecoffins.com.
Davis Enterprise; Comings & Goings
Is it a good time to start a new business? If that business is making coffins, maybe so. Blue Pine Coffins opened May 15.
Dean Newberry makes the coffins and his wife, Danielle Newberry, manages the business. Before that, he owned Talbott Solar, which was sold to Sunny Energy in Arizona.
Danielle said the business wasn’t inspired by the COVID crisis. They discovered the need for biodegradable, affordable coffins when her mother was in hospice. Proper Jewish burials must be 100% biodegradable. Dean decided to build his mother-in-law’s coffin. It must have been good luck. The 91-year-old recovered.
Meanwhile, “the seed was planted in his head,” Danielle said. “It excited him, and he started designing coffins. He said, ‘I can do this; it’s a retirement business.’”
Blue pine refers to trees that are already dead. They were not cut down to make the coffins. PG&E in Nevada City removes these trees because they threaten powerlines or are a fire hazard. Many already died from beetles or drought.
There is no metal, synthetic fabric or padding inside Blue Pine Coffins. Just wood shavings and — if the family desires — a cotton sheet. For more information, email Danielle Newberry at coffins@dcn.org or call (530) 270-3029.
— Wendy Weitzel is a Davis writer and editor. Her column runs on Sundays. Check for frequent updates on her Comings & Goings Facebook and Instagram pages. If you know of a business coming or going in the area, contact her at wendyedit@gmail.com.