65% of Texas Bodies Now Cremated, Says Grand Prairie Funeral Home Owner

Mike Wilfong and Tom Thornton bought the Grand Prairie building a year ago and spent the time since getting their name out, including setting up booths at local festivals.

Wilfong began working in the funeral business at age 16 in his hometown and later managed Restland, a large cemetery in Richardson, before spending a couple of years in Las Vegas. He worked in the Dallas area, where he married, had two children, and later came out. He has been with Thornton for 26 years.

The couple opened ClearPath Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Grand Prairie. Wilfong said he wants the business to be "very transparent, affordable and everything guided by compassion." He said he asks questions and probes to "make sure the person has the facts in front of them" before narrowing the choices to a simple cremation, a cremation with a memorial service, or a traditional funeral with visitation and burial.

Wilfong said cremations have become more popular than most people think. In Texas, more than 65 percent of bodies are cremated, below the national average in the low 70s. In California, more than 75 percent are cremated. He said rising costs for funeral directors, cemetery space, interment fees, and grave markers are driving the change.

ClearPath will pick up a body within 50 miles of Grand Prairie, with a mileage charge beyond that. Wilfong also has access to commercial cremation facilities in most major cities, which he said allows the business to avoid that extra transportation cost.

Wilfong recommends preplanning and consulting an attorney on paperwork. He said Texas offers a document called the Texas Rights of Disposition that lets a person designate who will dispose of remains as instructed.

Asked about spooky experiences, Wilfong said he and Thornton had no problem working with contractors to design and remodel the building, but Thornton was less comfortable in parts of it once they opened for business. Wilfong said he was once alone at Restland when he heard what sounded like an organ playing in a dark hallway, and he never went into that building alone at night again.