The Family Plot Blog
Before I Die NM Festival Celebrates Day of the Dead and More
The second annual Before I Die NM Festival, six days of death positive events to discuss mortality and plan ahead, is expanding from its Albuquerque origins to include Santa Fe and Belen, New Mexico. The festival will take place October 30 to November 4, 2018 in multiple locations. The 2018 Before I Die NM Festival will celebrate the rituals and meaning of Dia de los Muertos. Day of the Dead celebrations start the evening of October 31 and end...
Sincere Emotions Misinterpreted From Fake Flower
When a funeral director picks up a deceased's body at home, a nursing home, or sometimes even a hospital, some make a thoughtful gesture of leaving a flower on the person's recently-vacated bed or pillow. Some use fresh flowers, others may use artificial (but long lasting) flowers. This Dear Abby letter writer brings up a powerful consideration for funeral directors. If you're giving bereaved families flowers, should they be fresh or fake? DEAR...
These Colorful Stone Markers are Amazing!
You might think granite markers in cemeteries as somber and gray. But the colorful examples OM Stone showed at the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association's (ICCFA) annual expo will make you think twice. Bob March with OM Stone describes the Bronzstone process in this video below. They use a laser process that reaches 3,300 degrees. It actually melts the silica in granite and they add color to create detailed images. These...
June 10: Jewish Section Dedicated at Natural Burial Ground
The first Green Burial Council-certified natural burial ground in New Mexico will dedicate a section specifically for Jewish burials on Sunday, June 10, 2018, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. The Jewish Federation of New Mexico and La Puerta Natural Burial Ground worked together to create this section specifically for Jewish people and their families. Rabbi Min Kantrowitz will lead the dedication ceremony. All are welcome to attend and learn more about...
Think It’s Too Soon to Preplan a Funeral? You’re Wrong.
Funeral directors hear it all the time: "Oh, it’s too soon for me to preplan my funeral." The common refrain: "It’s always too soon, until it’s too late." How do you create a "good goodbye"? Think about this: funerals are a life cycle event much like a wedding, best planned more than a few days ahead of time. They have the same elements of party planning as any other get-together. You decide on a date, time and place, work with clergy or a...
June 24: Albuquerque Death Cafe
The next Albuquerque Death Cafe will take place on Sunday, June 24 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Fifth Floor Lounge at Manzano del Sol Village, 5201 Roma NE, Albuquerque, NM. If you want to attend, let host Gail Rubin know by sending an email to Gail [at] AGoodGoodbye.com or join the Albuquerque Death Cafe MeetUp group. Just what is a Death Cafe, you may ask? The Death Cafe movement started in September, 2011, when Londoner Jon Underwood and...
Videos: Great TV Ads for Funeral Preplanning
It's amazing how much you can convey in a 30-second TV ad. FRENCH Funerals & Cremations just came out with two attention-getting commercials that convey the importance of pre-need funeral planning. This first one, "Coffee Can," starts with a mother and daughter eating together at home. The mother says, "Why are we talking about this over the dinner table? Just put my ashes in a coffee can, or something. Please pass the salt, dear." As she...
Videos: Unique Funeral Products at the ICCFA Expo
Every year, the range of cremation products at the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) expo expands as the U.S. cremation rate keeps going up. Here are three unique funeral products which were introduced at the 2018 convention in Las Vegas, NV. SongPods of Solace™ AmyLee has been making SongPods Of Solace™ for decades. These hand-welded metal musical instruments gently chime when they are shaken. They...
May 31: How to Downsize and Organize Your Stuff
In “KICKING THE BUCKET LIST: Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die,” Gail Rubin presents creative ways to downsize and how to organize for end-of-life issues well BEFORE someone dies. This talk will take place on Thursday, May 31, 1:15 to 2:30 p.m. at the Meadowlark Senior Center, 4330 Meadowlark Lane, Rio Rancho. Do you plan to live forever? Good for you! Do you ever plan to move? Depending on where you’re going, you can’t take...
Love These Creative Urns from Mexico!
With the growing U.S. cremation rate, there's a growing market for creative urns to hold cremated remains. Sacbé Urns from Mexico brought a host of their handmade urns for people and pets to the 2018 convention and expo of the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association. In the video below, Daniel Aguilar, North America Director for Sacbé, shows the wide range of colorful urns in styles that include hand-painted ceramics, mosaic...
May 20: Albuquerque Death Cafe
Time again for tea and cake and mortality conversations! The next Albuquerque Death Cafe will take place on Sunday, May 20 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Fifth Floor Lounge at Manzano del Sol Retirement Village, 5201 Roma NE. The objective of the Death Cafe is “To increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.” It’s all about an interesting, unstructured conversation – open and free-flowing...
How to Pay for a Funeral
Think about it – could your credit card limit handle a charge of $8,000 to $15,000 or more for the products and services of a funeral home or cemetery? However, think of the points, the miles if you could! "The reality is that seven out of ten people today simply haven't set aside funds for a crisis," said Bruce Moore, Principal at MemorialFunding.org. "Our company works with funeral directors throughout the country, so they're able to finance...
From Photos to Treasured Keepsakes on Canvas
Photo boards and video tributes are common elements of today's funerals and memorial services. What isn't as common, but is very well received by families, is when funeral directors make those photos into keepsake gifts. For example, Funeral Home Gifts makes pictures of loved ones into beautiful tribute blankets that are displayed at a memorial service and can be ordered by the attendees. PhotoPros recently debuted their service of providing...
How to Honor the Cremated Remains of Loved Ones in a Mini-Mausoleum
With the skyrocketing trend of increasing cremation rates in the United States, cemetery operators are looking for ways to stay relevant. If there's no body to bury, what do you do? You look for ways to make placement of cremated remains an attractive option. Coldspring, one of the largest natural stone manufacturers in the United States, has some ingenious ideas. At the 2018 convention and expo of the International Cemetery, Cremation and...
Why not Spend Eternity in a Great American Pyramid?
If you're looking for a final resting place that makes a big statement, look no further than The Great American Pyramid. This new exhibitor made a big splash at the expo of the 2018 International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) convention in Las Vegas. This structure will be huge: 600 feet tall and and 1,200 feet wide at the base on each side. For comparison, the largest Giza pyramid in Egypt is 455 feet tall and 781 feet...
Fun Photos from the ICCFA Funeral Convention
So much to see at the 2018 International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) convention and expo! This year's theme was "All In." Even with three days to visit the expo, I still didn't get to see everything. But the new exhibitors I interviewed have some interesting offerings you'll see in my YouTube videos in the coming days and weeks. What happens in Vegas will not stay in Vegas. Meanwhile, here are some fun photos from the...
EternityGardens.com Sponsors Before I Die Festival in New Mexico
Two pioneers in death education, Gail Rubin, CT, and EternityGardens.com, a funeral industry technology platform, have teamed up to help people talk about and plan ahead for end-of-life issues. EternityGardens.com is the first national sponsor of the Before I Die ABQ Festival, taking place in the Albuquerque/Santa Fe metro markets October 30 to November 4, 2018. Chicago-based EternityGardens.com provides a website that connects individuals and...
Death News: Green Burial, Decomposition, Obituary Scams, and Buying Local Urns
It's the day after Easter. As the days get longer, we celebrate spring and the revival of life after a cold, dark winter. Here are several recent news stories about new trends in death, including how decomposition works, green burial, how to avoid scammers who harvest information from obituaries, and how one funeral home is buying local artists' urns to offer their customers. The New York Times, March 31, 2018: Decomposition: An Easter Story...
April 29: Share your thoughts at the next Death Cafe
The objective of the Death Cafe is “To increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.” It’s all about an interesting, unstructured conversation – open and free-flowing with no specific agenda. The Death Cafe concept was started in the United Kingdom by Jon Underwood. He was influenced by the ideas of Swiss sociologist Bernard Crettaz, who started holding Cafe Mortel events in France and...
Lessons on Grief and Mourning in Cartoons
Who can resist Saturday morning cartoons? Come laugh and learn at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 21 at the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association's (ICCFA) annual convention in Las Vegas, NV. At that time, Certified Thanatologist Gail Rubin will present "Lessons on Grief and Mourning in Cartoons." Animated movies designed for children can also address the grief of adults. This presentation incorporates clips from popular...
Couples Focus on Winning The Newly-Dead Game
Since 2011, The Newly-Dead Game® has been a feature of the wild and wacky Frozen Dead Guy Days Festival. At the 2018 event, four different couples competed in three sessions of the game. The Newly-Dead Game® tests how well couples know their partners' last wishes. Each session takes about 20 minutes to complete with four couples playing. An emcee (in this case, game creator Gail Rubin) explains the rules: The emcee will ask all four couples...