EXHIBIT 99.1

MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
Corporate Office
Two NorthShore Center
Pittsburgh, PA  15212-5851
Phone:  (412) 442-8200
Fax:  (412) 442-8290                                             PRESS RELEASE
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Release Date: December 3, 2001         Contact: Edward J. Boyle
                                                Vice President-Accounting &
                                                Finance
                                                412-442-8244


                       MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES
             THE COMPLETION OF THE MERGER WITH THE YORK GROUP, INC.
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PITTSBURGH, PA, DECEMBER 3, 2001 -- Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ
NMS: MATW) today announced that it has completed its merger with The York
Group, Inc. (YRKG) that Matthews initially announced on May 23, 2001.
Matthews has agreed to pay $11.00 per share to York Group stockholders of
record as of the end of trading on the closing date.  York Casket will operate
as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Matthews.

Computershare Trust Company of New York has been appointed to serve as the
"Paying Agent".  As such, York Group stockholders will be advised in writing
by the Paying Agent as to the procedure for redeeming their York Group shares.

The York Group, Inc. is the second leading casket manufacturer in the United
States with annual sales of approximately $130 million.

Matthews International Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer principally of custom-made
identification products.  The Company's products include cast bronze memorials
and other memorialization products, cremators and cremation-related products;
mausoleums; printing plates, pre-press services, and imaging systems for the
corrugated and flexible packaging industries; and marking equipment and
consumables for identifying various consumer and industrial products and
containers.

Any forward-looking statements contained in this release are included pursuant
to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995.  Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks
and uncertainties that may cause the Company's actual results in future
periods to be materially different from management's expectations.  Although
the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking
statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations
will prove correct.  Factors that could cause the Company's results to differ
materially from the results discussed in such forward-looking statements
principally include economic, competitive, and technological factors beyond
the Company's control.