The Family Plot Blog
SouthWest Writers Interview with Gail Rubin
The respected writers organization SouthWest Writers recently posted an interview with Gail Rubin about her latest book, KICKING THE BUCKET LIST: 100 Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die. Here is a portion of the Q&A related to KICKING THE BUCKET LIST: What’s your elevator pitch for Kicking the Bucket List? Kicking the Bucket List is two-thirds about downsizing and one-third about organizing for end-of-life issues. We’re...
TEDMED Talk: Lucy Kalanithi on Living Fully When Facing Death
A friend recommended this TED talk presented by Lucy Kalanithi, "What Makes Life Worth Living in the Face of Death." It's a thoughtful discussion of medical care, end-of-life issues and choices. Lucy Kalanithi is the widow of neurosurgeon and writer Paul Kalanithi, who was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer at age 36. She's also an internist at Stanford. Shortly after his diagnosis, Paul wrote about his transformation from doctor to patient,...
Loving Our Pets, and People Too
Here's some news you can use if you are a pet parent. My article titled "What is a Pet Trust and How Can It Protect Your Furry Friend?" recently ran on the popular women's website, Sixty and Me. You can also read the story on The Family Plot Blog. Need a little push to get those downsizing and end-of-life plans in place? Attend this June 13 University of New Mexico Continuing Education class, “Keys to Downsize and Organize Your Life.” The class...
How To Protect Your Pet With a Pet Trust
As I write this, my big black cat Ilsa is stretched out on my desk, snoozing on top of my calendar organizer. Her little sister Yvonne stares intently out the window at the enticing birdies she can’t reach and kill. Such a blessing, our pets. But what would happen to Ilsa and Yvonne should my husband and I die, or no longer be able to care for them? These scenarios that we don’t want to think about are good reasons to set up a pet trust. What’s...
June 13: Osher Class on End-of-Life Downsizing and Organizing
Need a little push to get those downsizing and end-of-life plans in place? Attend this June 13 University of New Mexico Continuing Education class, "Keys to Downsize and Organize Your Life." The class, taught by Certified Thanatologist Gail Rubin, will take place at Del Webb Alegria Active Adult Community in Bernalillo from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Here's the class description: You don’t have to be old or dying to downsize. When you’ve lived in the...
Memorial Day Stories at Sunset Memorial Park
For Memorial Day 2017, Sunset Memorial Park here in Albuquerque, New Mexico hosted a unique storytelling event honoring those U.S. servicemen and women who died in wars. The storytellers were actors who looked like green toy soldiers. "On a day like today, for many of us it's a day off, it's barbecues, it's time for family, and it is. It should be all of those things, but the reason we have all of that available to us is that there are people...
Love New Hampshire’s Motto: Live Free or Die
Just got back from New Hampshire, the Granite State with the motto "Live Free or Die." Of course, you can live free or not. Given humans' 100% mortality rate, the "Die" part is not optional. Phaneuf Funeral Homes & Crematorium in Manchester held two community outreach education events on May 23 with Gail Rubin presenting "Kicking the Bucket List: Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die." Approximately 75 people attended the...
June 17: Albuquerque Death Cafe
Mark your calendars to attend the next Albuquerque Death Cafe, scheduled for Saturday, June 17, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Gail Rubin’s home. 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 an interesting, unstructured conversation – open and free-flowing with no specific agenda and respectful of all points of view. It’s an opportunity to discuss...
June 2: KNKT-FM Interview with Gail Rubin
Mark your calendar to tune in to KNKT-FM 107.1 on Friday, June 2 at 1:00 p.m. MDT to hear a conversation with death educator Gail Rubin on the station's Albuquerque Marketplace program. Host Peter Benson will talk with Gail about practical funeral planning tips such as: 1. The five things you must know NOW about anyone for whom you might plan a funeral. 2. What funerals and cremations cost in Albuquerque. 3. Why you need to shop BEFORE you...
Enjoy These Videos on The Family Plot YouTube Channel
After adding the latest batch of "you are there" videos from the expo at the latest International Cemetery Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) convention, the number of subscribers to The Family Plot YouTube channel has climbed over the 1,000 mark. With more than 400 videos related to funerals, cremation, downsizing, and end-of-life issues, you're sure to find something of interest. If you are a YouTube user, hope you'll subscribe too, if...
Video: Happy Painter Funeral Director Embalmer
John Smith is a funeral director who paints artistic landscapes in under 30 minutes. His brother Matt runs Homeward Bound Shipping, a mortuary service that gets the dead where they need to be, looking their best. The brothers combined their talents to make an attention-getting splash at the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) convention expo. "The primary focus is on great embalming," said John Smith. "Everybody...
Introducing the PICLIF Memorial Video App
PICLIF is an app which launched in January 2017, providing a way for multiple people to contribute photos to instantly create memorial videos. The company was a new exhibitor at the ICCFA expo, there to introduce funeral directors to this groundbreaking service. "Anyone who knows the person who passed away can download our mobile app, or use our website, to share photos directly from their phones, from Facebook, they can use our built-in...
How to Magically Make a Stained Glass Window
If you had a funeral home with a windowless chapel, how could you change the look without having to spend major dollars on a reconstruction? Church Window Film, one of the new exhibitors at the ICCFA convention, has an ingenious solution. The company has been producing custom made stained glass UV window film that looks like genuine stained glass since 1979. They offer colorful custom designs that can be applied to existing windows, changing...
Video: Sich Casket Company at ICCFA
Sirius Chan is very serious about making high quality American style caskets available to U.S. funeral directors at astonishingly low prices. He's able to do that by making Sich Casket Company's products in Ningbo, China and importing them to the United States. At the ICCFA convention and expo, Chan said, "We build all of our caskets in China, but they're all American styled, and made according to American specs.... We're always seeking to...
Video: Interview with Before I Go Solutions
Jane Duncan Rogers is a death educator based in Scotland. She runs a website called Before I Go Solutions, offering information, preparation and inspiration to address death, dying and grief. She provides workshops, programs, and consultations for people to plan ahead. She also does webcasts on her site. Jane recently did this online interview with Gail Rubin, The Doyenne of Death®, whose business is A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those...
Publishers Weekly Gives Rubin’s Bucket List Book a Positive Review!
Publishers Weekly, the bible of the publishing industry, recently ran a positive review of KICKING THE BUCKET LIST: 100 Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die. Here's what they published (with paragraph breaks added to ease the eyes of the reader). Rubin (A Good Goodbye), a certified thanatologist, takes a not-so-grim look at how to reap life’s benefits while preparing for death. Rubin’s common-sense approach is broken down into...
Free Veterans Benefits for Funerals and Burial
Cheryl Ites with the Department of Defense had a booth at the ICCFA expo to help educate funeral directors on the free services to which veterans are entitled. U.S. veterans may not realize the range of funeral and burial benefits they get as thanks for their service. Benefits include: Burial or interment of cremated remains in a national cemetery with one spouse, and depending on individual situations, minor children; A memorial marker in the...
New Developments in Meaningful Funerals and Cremations
Videos of interesting products and services I saw at the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) convention and expo in Nashville, TN are now online. Funeral directors looking for new ways to make meaningful memorial services (to help those who have lost loved ones) found some fresh approaches, as well as tried and true services. Visit the Family Plot Blog to see posts in the Tools of the Trade section of the blog....
Video: Tour This Top-of-the-Line Hearse
The funeral service vehicles on display at the expo for the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) are always a treat to tour. The automotive companies show hearses, family cars, removal vehicles, flower cars, and even party vans. In this video, Gail Rubin, CT, talks with Nathan Hurst, National Sales Manager for Eagle Coach Company and Federal Coach Company. They examine elements of Federal's top-of-the-line Echelon...
May 23: New Hampshire Phaneuf Funeral Home Talks
Attention residents of Manchester, New Hampshire: Gail Rubin is coming to your town to speak! Phaneuf Funeral Homes and Crematorium is pleased and proud to host “The Doyenne of Death®,” Gail Rubin, CT, for TWO end-of-life and funeral pre-planning seminars in May. She's presenting "Kicking the Bucket List: Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die." These events promise to be a lighthearted and educational way to help you learn about...
May 20: ABQ Death Cafe
The next Albuquerque Death Cafe is scheduled for Saturday, May 20, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Gail Rubin’s home. 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 an interesting, unstructured conversation – open and free-flowing with no specific agenda and respectful of all points of view. It’s an opportunity to discuss what’s on your mind or in...