Originally Posted on FS Local Blog
Losing a loved one is hard. But sending them off with a meaningful, personalized service can be a great comfort – and that’s exactly what Capt. Brad White aims to offer the clients of New England Burials At Sea LLC.
I spoke with him about his amazing dedication to service, his family’s funeral home background, and his upcoming book detailing his fascinating experiences with providing burials at sea.
Check out our interview below!
Tell us about your business. It’s probably the most unique business we’ve featured on the blog.
New England Burials At Sea is the largest East coast provider for customized ash-scattering memorials and full-body burial at sea events in the USA.
Based in Massachusetts the company operates year-round from Maine to Miami and on the west coast from San Diego to Seattle, serving all faiths with personalized and affordable services. We are recommended and approved by most funeral homes. We’re properly insured, USCG licensed, and use over 84 different vessels, (including some vintage yachts dating back to 1935) departing from over 73 ports for up to 400 people. Our vessels are clean and current, with the latest safety gear.
I am the founder, a Master USCG Licensed Captain. I oversee sales, marketing, operations, customer service, and wholesale relationships.
So how does it work, and who are your customers?
Our unattended scattering prices start at just $495. The event includes an official ship’s parchment sea burial certificate marking the coordinates of the decedent’s final resting place, an eight bell end-of-watch blessing, and a ten-gauge cannon salute as the ship circles the flower field. Families are encouraged and welcome to participate.
Everyone is a potential customer. The people who call us are generally 35-65 years old, with an even number of between male and female. The actual customer we bury at sea had a love for the ocean or the idea of going back to nature. There are 175 million people who live within 10 miles of the water in the USA. We serve all races, cultures, and creeds, civilian or military, and we create a unique and fitting send off for each.
People come from all over the world to use our services and we are proud of that as we’ve worked hard to earn the recognition as the go-to company for a quality event at sea.
What made you choose this path?
I’ve always loved the ocean. I was in the corporate world in business development, sales and marketing for over 25 years and decided to fill this need that we can continue to develop as the market leader in proper and meaningful burials at sea.
Is it a family legacy or are you a pioneer?
Yes to the legacy. In the mid 1900s, my family was in the milk business, delivering dairy products by horse and buggy throughout New England. My great uncle Edwin said “if the horses are not working in the afternoons, let’s get into the funeral business and pull hearses.” The McKelly Funeral home was then born in Boston and later became Gormley Funeral Services, which another family continues to operate today.
Fast forward to the 2000s, NEBAS was founded when asked to scatter someone’s cremated remains at sea — one became 20, which became 200, and the business was founded in 2006. I’m definitely a pioneer — but without a horse — I use a fleet of boats instead!
Did you go to school for it or are you learning as you go?
My B.S. Degree is in management and I have a white glove customer service background in Consumer Marketing. I am not a funeral director, but I don’t need to be, as we work with Sea Burial Certified® funeral directors that we train from coast to coast. And yes, we learn every day and apply new science and technology to our company, sea services, vessels and associates. I am into extreme attention to detail.
