News and Notes: Greening Final Arrangements, New Book, Etc.

Nov 17, 2015 | 0 comments

Do you recycle and strive to save energy? If you consider yourself “green” in life, consider greening your final arrangements. This Thursday, I’m presenting an Albuquerque OASIS class on Greening Your Final Arrangements. Among the topics to be covered: green burial opportunities in New Mexico, the carbon footprint of cremation, how Jewish burial traditions are naturally green burial, donating your body to science, and what you need to know NOW before there’s a death in the family.

Hail and Farewell CoverAt long last, my newest book Hail and Farewell: Cremation Ceremonies, Templates and Tips becomes available next week! This concise book, co-authored with Susan Fraser, founder and CEO of In The Light Urns, provides ideas and guidance for memorial services. The book’s title refers to the last line of an ancient elegiac poem written by the Roman poet Gaius Valerius Catullus approximately 2,000 years ago. At only $10, it’s a great deal.  Read more about Hail and Farewell.

For the past three weeks, I’ve been blogging about interesting funeral business developments discovered at the 2015 National Funeral Directors Association convention and expo in Indianapolis. And there are still more blog posts to come! Visit The Family Plot Blog to learn about new products and services you may not have known existed. A few posts are highlighted below.

If you haven’t yet seen the online video of my TEDxABQ talk on planning for and discussing end-of-life issues, watch it online here and feel free to leave a comment!

Please call if I can be of assistance with your personal training for funeral planning, final expense insurance, and Certified Celebrant services – 505.265.7215.

Live long and prosper,

Gail Rubin, CT, The Doyenne of Death®

The Family Plot Blog Highlights

Click on the titles to read the blog post. Review all posts on The Family Plot Blog.Embalming Fluid Bottles

[Video] Explaining Embalming Fluids  Jeff Chancellor, Director of Education, Training & Research with Eckels and Company, explains some of the different conditions various embalming fluids are designed to address.

Synthetic Cadavers for Mortuary Science  SynDaver Labs displayed a synthetic human body designed for anatomy study as an attention getting way to introduce their mortuary science cadaver model.

Using Cremated Remains to Make Portraits  Dusty Jonakin says he’s the first artist to paint portraits of deceased people and pets using only their cremated remains and linseed oil.

Body Donation Details with LifeLegacy Foundation  You can get a free cremation by donating your body for scientific research – but do your own research first.

Upcoming Events and a Humorous Quote

OASIS LogoThursday, November 19, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.  OASIS presentation on Greening Your Final Arrangements. If you consider yourself “green” in life, consider greening your final arrangements. The class is $8 – register for class 12 at the OASIS website.

Monday, November 30, 4:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. Gail Rubin speaks to the Death and Dying Class at Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) taught by Jim Johnson. Gail will share stories of new developments and products exhibited at the National Funeral Directors Association convention. CNM will start using Gail’s award-winning book A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die as a required textbook starting in the summer 2016 semester!

The next Albuquerque Death Cafe will be held in January, date, time and place TBD.

Sunday, February 21, 2016  “Jewish Funeral Traditions on Film” presented by Gail Rubin at the JCC of Greater Albuquerque’s annual A Taste of Honey Jewish learning event.

“Death likes it when you play hard to get.” — Randy K. Milholland

A Good Goodbye