Larry Stuart, Jr.

He’s been on the factory floor and in the boardroom. That’s the whole point.

I've spent more than thirty years at an intersection most people don't even know exists: cremation equipment manufacturing, funeral and cemetery operations, and the place where the profession digs in its heels against what's clearly coming next. That resistance is what built my career. It's also what built Raven Plume Consulting.

Before I became the person telling funeral professionals what they need to hear, I spent over twenty years building and running one, co-founding Crematory Manufacturing & Service, Inc. with my father and serving as its President and CEO. I know what happens on the factory floor, in the crematory, in the business office, and in the boardroom. That's not a selling point. It's just context for why I don't guess.

What I Actually Do

I turn operations that run on institutional memory and habit into systems that run on documentation, accountability, and repeatable results. I develop SOPs that move critical knowledge out of people's heads and into processes that survive personnel changes, regulatory scrutiny, and the kind of bad day nobody plans for.

When I'm on a Stage

I'm not there to make anyone feel good about where the profession is. I'm there to make them think differently about where it's going — and what it's going to cost them if they don't move. I've presented at virtually every major industry convention in North America. The credential list below will tell you where. What it won't tell you is that I've never delivered the same presentation twice, because the profession keeps giving me new material.

When I'm in a Courtroom

Lawyers call me when something went wrong at a crematory and they need someone who can read the records, identify the gaps, and explain what should have happened. I've contributed to model legislation, reviewed proposed regulatory changes on behalf of practitioner organizations, and provided expert analysis in litigation matters where chain-of-custody and crematory operations were at the center of the case.

The Short Version

Kent State University graduate. Certified Celebrant. Former CANA Board member and Editor in Chief of The Cremationist. ICCFA Cremation Coach. Author of Tempero Ignis — For the Modern Cremationist. Founder of Raven Plume Consulting.

I've been doing this long enough to know what works. I've stayed curious long enough to know that's not the whole story.