A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die is an entertaining and educational weekly 60-minute online radio show hosted by Gail Rubin, The Doyenne of Death®

Talking about sex won’t make you pregnant and talking about funerals won’t make you dead. Start a funeral planning conversation today!

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The 2012 30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge is over!

“I have walked through the valley of the shadow of death, and I have feared no evil. It has been a journey of tears and laughter, of rituals and symbols, of love and loss,” said Gail Rubin, Certified Celebrant, author and death educator. “There were so many creative, personalized ways people celebrated the lives of those they love.”

Some of this year’s services that were especially memorable include:

• The motorcycle funeral for Freddie Drake
• The Albuquerque Art Museum memorial service for Ernest Garcia
• The home funeral and burial for Kent Gormley
• The memorial service for Charles and Claire Fenolio, who died within 20 hours of each other
• The webcast of the funeral of Rev. Sun Myung Moon, seen in Unification Churches around the world

Download the news release about the 2012 30 Funerals Challenge Results.

The 2011 Challenge

Gail undertook her second annual 30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge during October 2011. She attended and blogged about a funeral or memorial service daily at The Family Plot Blog. The goal: show the many creative and meaningful ways families celebrate the lives of those they love, and help get the funeral planning conversation started.

Like the characters from the cult film Harold and Maude, Rubin attended an Albuquerque-area funeral or memorial service daily. The difference is she posted stories about each event every day at her blog The Family Plot.

She witnessed a memorial luncheon in a bowling alley bar, a funeral for a Dallas Cowboys fan, a memorial service for a young TV news reporter, and a celebration of life for a hot air balloon pioneer. There was “My Big Fat Italian Funeral” home celebration of life, a service that featured a jazz quartet in a club, and a ceremony in a Japanese garden. The memorial service for Erika Langholf (who died at age 53) was so joyous and creative, Rubin decided to focus on baby boomers in 2012.

The 2010 Challenge

The 2010 30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge took place during November. Rubin reported there was no shortage of people dying, creative memorial events are a growing trend, and families are holding a wide range of religious and non-religious services.

Among the most memorable were services with two pews of Red Hat Society ladies in full regalia, a Harley Davidson motorcycle in a funeral chapel, an artist’s remembrance that featured her favorite lemon meringue pie, an AA meeting-style remembrance for an addiction counselor, and a funeral for a fallen police officer.

Check out all the 30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge posts at The Family Plot Blog.

The February issue of American Funeral Director magazine includes a profile of Gail Rubin, The Doyenne of Death! Click to download a PDF of the story.

The March/April issue of ICCFA Magazine includes a five-page profile of Gail. Click to download a PDF of the story: ICCFA [...]]]>

The 2012 30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge is over!

“I have walked through the valley of the shadow of death, and I have feared no evil. It has been a journey of tears and laughter, of rituals and symbols, of love and loss,” said Gail Rubin, Certified Celebrant, author and death educator. “There were so many creative, personalized ways people celebrated the lives of those they love.”

Some of this year’s services that were especially memorable include:

• The motorcycle funeral for Freddie Drake
• The Albuquerque Art Museum memorial service for Ernest Garcia
• The home funeral and burial for Kent Gormley
• The memorial service for Charles and Claire Fenolio, who died within 20 hours of each other
• The webcast of the funeral of Rev. Sun Myung Moon, seen in Unification Churches around the world

Download the news release about the 2012 30 Funerals Challenge Results.

The 2011 Challenge

Gail undertook her second annual 30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge during October 2011. She attended and blogged about a funeral or memorial service daily at The Family Plot Blog. The goal: show the many creative and meaningful ways families celebrate the lives of those they love, and help get the funeral planning conversation started.

Like the characters from the cult film Harold and Maude, Rubin attended an Albuquerque-area funeral or memorial service daily. The difference is she posted stories about each event every day at her blog The Family Plot.

She witnessed a memorial luncheon in a bowling alley bar, a funeral for a Dallas Cowboys fan, a memorial service for a young TV news reporter, and a celebration of life for a hot air balloon pioneer. There was “My Big Fat Italian Funeral” home celebration of life, a service that featured a jazz quartet in a club, and a ceremony in a Japanese garden. The memorial service for Erika Langholf (who died at age 53) was so joyous and creative, Rubin decided to focus on baby boomers in 2012.

The 2010 Challenge

The 2010 30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge took place during November. Rubin reported there was no shortage of people dying, creative memorial events are a growing trend, and families are holding a wide range of religious and non-religious services.

Among the most memorable were services with two pews of Red Hat Society ladies in full regalia, a Harley Davidson motorcycle in a funeral chapel, an artist’s remembrance that featured her favorite lemon meringue pie, an AA meeting-style remembrance for an addiction counselor, and a funeral for a fallen police officer.

Check out all the 30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge posts at The Family Plot Blog.

Telephone: 505-265-7215

Email: Gail[at]AGoodGoodbye.com

Snail Mail: P.O. Box 36987, Albuquerque, NM 87176-6987

Facebook: “Like” us at https://www.facebook.com/#!/AGoodGoodbye

Twitter: Follow our Tweets @TheFamilyPlot

“I have walked through the valley of the shadow of death, and I have feared no evil. It has been a journey of tears and laughter, of rituals and symbols, of love and loss,” said Gail Rubin, Certified Celebrant, author and death educator. [...]]]>

The 2012 30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge is over!

“I have walked through the valley of the shadow of death, and I have feared no evil. It has been a journey of tears and laughter, of rituals and symbols, of love and loss,” said Gail Rubin, Certified Celebrant, author and death educator. “There were so many creative, personalized ways people celebrated the lives of those they love.”

Some of this year’s services that were especially memorable include:

• The motorcycle funeral for Freddie Drake
• The Albuquerque Art Museum memorial service for Ernest Garcia
• The home funeral and burial for Kent Gormley
• The memorial service for Charles and Claire Fenolio, who died within 20 hours of each other
• The webcast of the funeral of Rev. Sun Myung Moon, seen in Unification Churches around the world

Download the news release about the 2012 30 Funerals Challenge Results.

The 2011 Challenge

Gail undertook her second annual 30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge during October 2011. She attended and blogged about a funeral or memorial service daily at The Family Plot Blog. The goal: show the many creative and meaningful ways families celebrate the lives of those they love, and help get the funeral planning conversation started.

Like the characters from the cult film Harold and Maude, Rubin attended an Albuquerque-area funeral or memorial service daily. The difference is she posted stories about each event every day at her blog The Family Plot.

She witnessed a memorial luncheon in a bowling alley bar, a funeral for a Dallas Cowboys fan, a memorial service for a young TV news reporter, and a celebration of life for a hot air balloon pioneer. There was “My Big Fat Italian Funeral” home celebration of life, a service that featured a jazz quartet in a club, and a ceremony in a Japanese garden. The memorial service for Erika Langholf (who died at age 53) was so joyous and creative, Rubin decided to focus on baby boomers in 2012.

The 2010 Challenge

The 2010 30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge took place during November. Rubin reported there was no shortage of people dying, creative memorial events are a growing trend, and families are holding a wide range of religious and non-religious services.

Among the most memorable were services with two pews of Red Hat Society ladies in full regalia, a Harley Davidson motorcycle in a funeral chapel, an artist’s remembrance that featured her favorite lemon meringue pie, an AA meeting-style remembrance for an addiction counselor, and a funeral for a fallen police officer.

Check out all the 30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge posts at The Family Plot Blog.