Maintenance service to be offered to
Scottish Rite families

August 2002

By Robin Robinson
The Northern Light

When Philip G. Haddad Jr. was a boy, he would accompany his father to the cemetery every Sunday and wait while his father paid his respects to his deceased parents. "Someday, you will appreciate how important it is to honor the dead," his father said to him then.

At 11, he probably did not give that idea much thought, but later in life Haddad took that concept and turned it into an innovative and successful business. The former funeral director is president and CEO of Westland Services Corporation of Westborough, MA. The company provides grave site maintenance for a period of 25 years or longer anywhere in the country at a one-time cost.

Following in his father's ideological footsteps, Haddad believes, "A life worth living is a life worth remembering." It is his personal and professional motto. He has also passed the concept on to his two children, Stephanie, 25, and David, 23, who work with him at Westland. A member of Athelstan Lodge, Brother Haddad lives with his wife Carolyn in Worcester. He founded the business in 1987 in Westborough, and since, it has expanded into 21 states and 80 metro cities. Haddad predicts that the company will be nationwide in two years, with almost 400 offices. According to Haddad, Westland has been the catalyst in the creation of the "remembrance industry," not to be confused with the "death-care industry," which refers to funeral-related services. "The passing of a loved one is not an end, but a beginning," he said. "We must find an appropriate way in which to properly and respectfully remember our loved ones." Personalized care at the grave site provides that remembrance. However, for a variety of reasons, family members are often unable to attend to the grave sites. Haddad said he starting seeing the trend developing in the late 1960s. As a courtesy, Haddad, then a funeral director, volunteered to care for grave sites for his clients. Soon he was responsible for more than 20 sites. He reasoned that if this was such a major concern for his clients, it must bother many. "Fifteen years ago, no one thought of preplanning a funeral, and now it is a multibillion-dollar business," he said. "Grave site care will follow." Market research over a 10-year period showed that many people were indeed troubled over who would care for their grave site. In fact, it was number three on a list of five worries, according to Haddad.

First on the list of concerns was health and financial stability; people want to be prepared for their retirement. The second matter concerned is- sues surrounding their death; where, when, how? Third was the worry of who would care for the grave. Fourth concerned making peace with the creator and fifth was apprehension regarding materialistic affairs; will travel, owning a boat, a retirement home, be possible? Haddad's firm, the nation's only provider of personalized long-term beautification and maintenance services, uniquely addresses the need for graveside care. Maintenance involves cleaning the monument, planting flowers, caring for, cutting and removing them in the fall. Westland also in- stalls a winter basket or wreath at Thanksgiving, and sends photos to the family twice a year.

The service, called Peace of Mind Program, includes four customizable maintenance and beautification plans. All service plans carry a prorated performance guarantee in writing. The proceeds are held in a custodial ac- count at a trust department of a major financial institution to assure that funds are available throughout the term of each service plan. The one- time cost depends on the degree of care, with the minimum plan starting at $3,900 (for 25 years), or about $160 a year. Extensive plans can cost from $6,700 to $13,900 for the 25-year period and some clients have dedicated as much as $75,000 for the upkeep of family mausoleums, Haddad said. The cost is driven by the frequency of maintenance visits. Site visits can occur seasonally, monthly, biweekly, weekly, or even daily.

Some families opt for entering an "Irrevocable Burial Maintenance" con- tract for providing long-term care and maintenance of the client's burial plot. The funds used qualify as a spend down for those carrying out Medicaid planning.

Payment for Westland's Irrevocable Burial Maintenance contract constitutes a transfer for full and adequate consideration. Therefore, it is not counted as an asset available for nursing home payments (even if made within the "look-back" period).

Over the years, Haddad has found that having the grave site care actually compels those left behind to visit the grave more often.

'We have discovered that people go to the grave site twice as often when they don't have the responsibility of the maintenance and care," he said. The alleviation of guilt probably makes the cemetery a more comfort- able place to visit. Encouraged by Sovereign Grand Commander Robert 0. Ralston, who supports the innovative service, Haddad will offer The Peace of Mind program to Masons throughout the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. Information will be sent to members within the next year.

If you are interested in learning more about the program, contact Westland Services Corp., at the Web site at wwwwestlandsweb.com or e-mail to westlandsweb@rcn.com or phone 800-622-0772.

Haddad learned firsthand how important respectful remembrance is when his father died in 1965.

'I was 19 when my father died suddenly at age 51," he said. 'It was only then that I truly realized how important respectful remembrance was for me - to live on and make him proud - as he said to me each day as he left for work."

From 1981 through 1993, Haddad was part owner of Caswell-King Funeral Homes in Worcester and Hold- en, MA. Since 1994, he has been part owner of Nordgren, Memorial Chapel in Worcester. In the early 1980s, he co-developed the "Orthodox Section" of Hope Cemetery in Worcester, for the Council of Eastern Orthodox Churches of Central Massachusetts.

Carrying on the family tradition, Haddad visits his parents' graves often to pay his respects.

He said he likes to go around dusk, and sometimes he sits and contemplates life and even asks his parents for advice. "I don't get answers, of course, but the vibrations are good," he said.