The Family Plot Blog
Scott’s House in Santa Fe Social Model Hospice Home
Scott's House, located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is a one-of-a-kind non-profit organization offering a unique social model hospice dedicated to providing free end-of-life and respite care in a home-like setting. As the only facility of its kind currently in the state, Scott's House offers a compassionate environment for individuals nearing the end of life or in need of temporary respite care. In this interview with Gail Rubin, Scott's House...
Veterans Can Share Their Life Stories Pre-Need with Keeper Memorials
Keeper Memorials, an award-winning digital memorialization platform, has leveraged their Living Memorial profiles to expand Veterans Legacy Memorial (VLM), empowering Veterans to share their own stories and preserve their legacies for future generations. This feature, called “Your Story, Your Legacy,” is powered by Keeper’s online memorial platform and was developed through a collaborative partnership between the U.S. Department of Veterans...
Before I Die Festival Day Four Videos on Unexpected Death
The 2024 Before I Die New Mexico Festival took place November 1 through 4 in different locations around Albuquerque. The fourth day’s topics focused on the theme of Unexpected Deaths. Presentations provided enlightenment on the Bernalillo County Unclaimed Indigent Cremation Program, the Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) in New Mexico, Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) in New Mexico, advance funeral planning, and an interactive session titled,...
Before I Die Festival Day Three Videos on Planning for Death
The 2024 Before I Die New Mexico Festival took place November 1 through 4 in different locations around Albuquerque. The third day's topics focused on the theme of Planning for the Inevitable: end-of-life preparation, working with death doulas, downsizing, and living funerals. The day’s presentations took place at the offices of Death Doula Professionals and Conscious Crossroads End-of-Life Services. Here are the videos of speakers and...
Before I Die Festival Day Two Videos on Hospice and More
The 2024 Before I Die New Mexico Festival took place November 1 through 4 in different locations around Albuquerque. The second day focused on hospice, Medical Aid in Dying (MAID), grief insights, advance medical directives, and veterans benefits. The day's presentations took place at the headquarters of Bosque Trails Hospice. Here are the videos of speakers and activities from that day. Hospice 101 and MAID Rachel Rankin, MD, Medical Director...
Chptr Brings Life-Affirming Obituaries to Local Broadcast TV Stations
I recently had the opportunity to talk with Rehan Choudry, founder and CEO of Chptr. We discussed how his company provides a unique communications service of value for families and funeral homes. What is Chptr and what services do you provide? Chptr is a B2B platform that connects community storytelling with local broadcast media. We specialize in creating, distributing, and broadcasting memorials and death notices. Our platform helps funeral...
Video: Better Place Forests Offers Eco-Friendly Funeral Options
Learn About Better Place Forests Jessica Wakefield, CFSP, Director of Partnerships, Community & Education with Better Place Forests, talks to Before I Die New Mexico Festival participants about their memorial forests. The company offers eco-friendly memorial options for placement of cremated remains and natural organic reduction compost at conservation forests in California, the Midwest, the Northeast and the Southwest. The company works...
Video: Learn About Eco-Friendly Funerals with Passages International
Darren Crouch, President and CEO of Passages International, talks to Before I Die New Mexico Festival participants about consumer trends toward making funerals more eco-friendly. Since 1999, Passages has provided biodegradable, sustainable and eco-friendly funeral products to funeral homes in the U.S. and internationally. Passages hosted the first day of the Before I Die New Mexico Festival at their headquarters in Albuquerque, NM. Watch the...
Celebrating the Life of the Remarkable Ruth Rubin
Ruth Rubin was my mother. As a Certified Funeral Celebrant, I was honored to write her obituary and create this graveside service for her. Here is my script for the service, so you can see the elements of Recognize, Remember, Reaffirm and Release that comprise every good funeral or memorial service. Music (Adonai Li) Welcome. We just listened to Adonai Li, the High Holiday rendition of the last stanza of the song Adon Olam. The translation is...
Remarkable Speakers at the 2024 Before I Die New Mexico Festival
Three of the speakers at the 2024 Before I Die New Mexico Festival are coming to Albuquerque from out of town. These remarkable women are Tammy J. Holmes, Kathy B. Dempsey and Dr. Kimberly Harms. Their presentations will knock your socks off! Here’s some information about each of them and their talks. Tammy Holmes, Saturday, November 2 at 1:00 p.m. MT Tammy is a noted psychic who has spoken at previous Before I Die Festivals. She is speaking...
Video: Millennial Morticians with ABQ Brews Death Doula Edition
The Millennial Morticians with ABQ Brews: Death Doula Edition is a panel discussion with three Albuquerque area death doulas dishing the dirt on what they do. This was a preview event for the seventh annual Before I Die New Mexico Festival, November 1 to 4, 2024. Thanks to Tractor Brewing Wells Park location for hosting the event! Watch the video The death doula panelists and...
Discussing How To Achieve a Good Death on the Doyenne of Death Podcast
On the latest episode of The Doyenne of Death Podcast, host Gail Rubin interviews author Chris Palmer on his latest book, Achieving a Good Death: A Practical Guide to the End of Life. Learn what you need to know before you go! Download and listen to the episode here. Among the topics discussed are advanced care planning, funeral planning, hospice and communicating with loved ones what your end-of-life wishes might be. Author and end-of-life...
2024 Before I Die New Mexico Festival Video and Schedule
Gail Rubin, The Doyenne of Death and coordinator of the 2024 Before I Die New Mexico Festival, has a message for you about the upcoming events, available online as well as in-person in Albuquerque. In-person preview events take place October 24 and 26, and the online sessions will be available November 1-4. The full schedule of events follows. The Before I Die New Mexico Festival...
Cheerfully Discuss Death at the Before I Die New Mexico Festival!
The seventh annual Before I Die New Mexico Festival will take place in Albuquerque from November 1-4, 2024, with preview events on October 24 and 26. With entertaining and educational elements to discuss and plan for end-of-life issues, this festival is a must-attend event for your 100% guaranteed mortality. The festival offers outside-the-box activities and nationally recognized speakers at locations in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with online...
2024 Deathcare Superconference: Building Bridges in the Deathcare Landscape Set to Unite Industry Professionals in Seattle
Attend the 2024 Deathcare Superconference! The vibrant city of Seattle will play host to the much-anticipated 2024 Deathcare Superconference, September 27-29, 2024. This gathering is designed to bring together professionals across the deathcare industry, from funeral directors and cemetery managers to grief counselors and cremation specialists. This event promises to be a cornerstone for advancing practices, sharing knowledge, and building...
New TV Series ‘Mortality Movies’ Takes Death Education to a New Level
'Mortality Movies,' a new television series hosted by Gail Rubin, Certified Thanatologist and The Doyenne of Death®, delves into death education through curated film and television clips. Each 30-minute episode tackles different themes related to death, funerals, grief, and a host of end-of-life issues. Each 30-minute episode has a different theme and supporting clips: Discussing Death Won’t Kill You: Patch Adams, The Mary Tyler Moore Show,...
Hineni Online Information about Jewish Funerals and Mourning Traditions
Jewish funerals are different from the funerals of other faith traditions. In this Q&A with David Zinner, Chair of the Jewish Association for Death Education (JADE), he explains a new online tool to help people understand Jewish traditions around death, mourning and Jewish funerals. What is Hineni and who created it? The Hineni tool is designed to give succinct information about Jewish death practices. The word, Hineni, is the...
What is MAID – Medical Aid in Dying? A Report from UNM’s Conference
MAID, which stands for Medical Aid in Dying, is a legal option in New Mexico. The University of New Mexico medical school recently held the first state level conference to help educate clinicians on this option. No other state that has MAID laws has had its own conference on medical aid in dying. In many ways, New Mexico is exceptional in its implementation of MAID. Here are some notes from that conference. An Overview of MAID Lonny Shavelson,...
Death and Humor on The Doyenne of Death Podcast, Part Three
Death and Humor: Laughing in the Face of Death In this episode of The Doyenne of Death® Podcast, host Gail Rubin continues her conversation with speaker and author Greg Bennick about the pioneering work of Ernest Becker, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Denial of Death. In part three of this conversation, Gail and Greg discuss death and humor, helping us to address the double bind of our existence. Listen to Part Three of the...
Discussing Self Esteem and Death with Greg Bennick, Part Two
On Self Esteem and Immortality In this episode of The Doyenne of Death® Podcast, host Gail Rubin continues her conversation with speaker and author Greg Bennick about the pioneering work of Ernest Becker, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Denial of Death. In part two of this conversation, Gail and Greg discuss self esteem, Becker's work related to the Terror Management Theory, the "Pearls Before Swine" cartoons of Stephan Pastis,...
The Not Just a Widow Guidebook on The Doyenne of Death Podcast
Not Just a Widow! In this episode of the Doyenne of Death Podcast, host Gail Rubin talks with Patty Desiderio and Doug Robinson, co-authors of The Not Just a Widow Guidebook - a widow's guide to surviving her new reality and transforming into her new self. Patty and her husband Basil were married for decades before he died from cancer and heart issues. When he died in the middle of the night on February 21, 2011, she knew, as so many widows...