The baby boomer generation is gradually becoming aware of its mortality, and true to this generation’s pioneering ways, the 80 million boomers in the U.S. are changing the approach to death.
No traditional funerals for this crowd! Celebrating life, and natural burial, a.k.a. green burial, is of growing interest to the aging men and women born between 1946 to 1964.
On the latest A Good Goodbye Radio interview on FuneralRadio.com, host Gail Rubin, CT, interviews Linda Canyon and Donal Key, founders of La Puerta Burial Ground in central New Mexico. They discuss the need this burial ground fills, the growing awareness of the natural/green burial movement, and how this burial ground will remain in a natural, high-desert state. Listen to the interview here.
Dr. Donal Key
Dr. Donal W. Key has a doctorate in human development and counseling. He worked for decades in mental health private practice, healthcare management and consulting. He has been a hospice director and radio host, and is a national speaker on the topics of “Cancer Treatment: Beyond Survival” and “Death and Dying Rights and Choices.”
Linda Canyon
Linda Jo Canyon, OTR/L, is a registered, licensed occupational therapist with a dual degree in psychology and specialties in the rehabilitation of cancer patients and hospice care. Linda is also a national speaker on the topics of “Cancer Treatment: Beyond Survival” and “Death and Dying Rights and Choices.”
Donal and Linda have worked for decades in health care, including hospice, and were intimately involved with the dying and their families. The need for a kinder, gentler, affordable, environmentally sound, and respectful end to life became clear to them. Founding a natural burial ground became their mission.
The La Puerta Burial Ground consists of 41-acres located in Valencia County south of Albuquerque. Located at the base of the Manzano Mountains, it borders 14,000 acres of open space that will be preserved for generations. Members of the Green Burial Council and the National Home Funeral Alliance, the La Puerta Burial Ground’s website is www.NaturalBurialNewMexico.com.
For a PDF of a three-page fact sheet that answers questions about natural burial, environmental impacts of burial and cremation, and green burial standards, enter your information in the form below and you’ll get instant access!