Tuesday, June 01, 2010
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Posted by: Melinda Starkweather
A Legislative Victory
Families
and friends will be able to contribute up to $1,000 in additional funds
for a Medicaid funeral of a loved one beginning January 1, 2011. This
became official on May 18th as Governor Jim Doyle signed Act 393 into
law at a private bill signing ceremony in his capitol office while
being surrounded by WFDA members.
Under current law, funeral
expenses cannot exceed $3,500 if a family wishes to be eligible for
$1,500 in state aid. As of January 1, 2011 this expense cap is raised
$1,000 to $4,500.
For decades this cap has put funeral
directors in a difficult position as they work to serve families in
time of need while at the end of the day operating a successful
business. This long overdue increase in the cap will hopefully provide
funeral homes with additional latitude to better serve their
communities.
Despite opposition by the Wisconsin Cemetery Board,
this legislation introduced by Senator John Lehman of Racine, passed
both houses of the legislature with strong bipartisan support. Thank
you to the WFDA members who reached out to their local legislators to
help ensure this long overdue increase in the Medicaid cap became a
reality.
Children's Activities Registration Deadline is This Friday
For
members interested in activities for children, child care, and t-shirts
we need to finalize numbers by this Friday. Please register at
www.wfda.org/event/2010Convention to reserve your child’s place. The
professional group Pop-In-Nannies needs names and ages of your children
in order to provide appropriate entertainment options. The ages will also allow staff to order enough correctly sized shirts for children.
In Memory Of...
Port, Frederick Portage Frederick
"Fritz” Port, age 94 years, of Portage died on Friday, May 21, 2010 at
the Divine Savior Hospital in Portage. He was born on June 9, 1915 in
Portage to Edward and Laura (Malish) Port. He graduated from Portage
High School in 1933 and later graduated from Worshem’s Mortuary
College. Fritz was united in marriage on September 21, 1941 to Myrtle
Wendt at St. John’s Lutheran Church; she preceded him in death on
February 13, 1999. Fritz owned and operated the Port Funeral Home in
Portage from 1939 until 1975, receiving in 1989 a "Certificate of
Recognition” in acknowledgement of 50 years of funeral service. He was
a lifelong member of the St. John’s Lutheran Church, member of the
Wisconsin Funeral Directors Association, and enjoyed traveling with his
wife in their RV. Survivors include – Sister in law – Virginia
Port of Oakridge, TN; Nieces and Nephews – Judy (Jack) Kern of West
Bend, Kathleen Port of Fort Atkinson, Delores (Glenn) Platteter of
Janesville, Nancy Falter of Apex, NC, Donald (Mary) Port of Janesville,
Daniel (Kathy) Port of Gardenville, NV, Melody (Ron) Tilman of Yoshina,
TN, Sherri Port of Oakridge, TN and Robin Germain of Fresno, VA; and
long time friends – Dorothy Schultz, Marie Libke and Leah Atkins all of
Portage. Besides his wife, he was preceded in death by his
parents, 4 brothers – Kenneth, Raymond, Orin and Edward, 2 Sisters –
Ruth Swenson and Eleanore Alexandra. Funeral services will be held
on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 11:00 AM at St. John’s Lutheran Church,
Portage with Rev. Alan Boeck officiating. Burial will follow at the
Silver Lake Cemetery, Portage. Friends may call at the church on
Tuesday from 10 AM until 11 AM. The Picha Funeral Home, Portage is
assisting the family with arrangements. Picha Funeral Home – Portage 742-5585 www.pichafh.com
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