Drawing upon Ed Casey’s nearly fifty years in the funeral industry in and around New York City, Tales from the Granite Orchard takes a buoyant look at the animated good times in the funeral industry.  As manager of Frank E. Campbell, Ed’s career takes the reader behind the scenes of the world renowned Funeral Chapel on the North West corner of 81st Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan.  We meet many of the mourners for the rich and famous for whom Campbell’s is the legendary final destination.  During Ed’s tenure, Campbell’s buried Joan Crawford, conducted, what at the time, was the Guinness Book of World Records’ most expensive funeral, and played temporary host to numerous luminaries departing the business, judicial, and artistic walks of life.  Ed provides tantalizing glimpses behind the flowers and eulogies, to the nitty gritty of influence and power.

     A feisty little Irish guy, Ed invents ingenious and often hilarious ways to field the curve balls that the industry constantly tosses his way.  We watch him evolve from an industry neophyte to a competent manager holding positions of power, including a stint as President of the Rotary Club of New York.  As Ed’s career moves him through increasing levels of responsibility, it provides even greater opportunities for entertainment from voodoo ceremonies in the cemetery to exploding hearses.  This is a little book with a very big comedic wallop