The Family Plot Blog
Review: The Soul Sitter’s Handbook
If there's a family member on hospice, before that terminally ill person dies, The Soul Sitter’s Handbook: What to do when your loved one is dying can be a great resource for both the family and the patient. Written by Stacey Canfield with Candace Conradi, The Soul Sitter’s Handbook provides sensitive guidelines on how to be present and supportive in the face of the dying process. The book is an outgrowth of an online community...
Peggy Battin on A Beautiful Death
Last Friday's symposium at New Mexico State University, "A Beautiful Death... What will you choose?" featured Margaret "Peggy" Battin, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Adjunct Professor of Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Ethics, at the University of Utah, presenting the keynote speech. Your faithful correspondent took copious notes to share with you. As a philosopher and bioethicist, Peggy Battin has worked for decades to defend...
CremainGem Makes Photos and Jewelry with Remains
I've seen lots of options for enshrining cremated remains, but making them into ceramic photo tiles is a new approach I hadn't seen before. Like other companies, CremainGem can make jewelry with your loved one's remains, but they can also make a picture with them, a unique keepsake to be sure. CremainPhoto permanently affixes pictures, art, and/or words onto a CremainGem - a round or square mineral comprised of cremated remains. A new exhibitor...
NMSU Symposium a Big Success!
On Friday, May 1, 436 people registered to attend "A Beautiful Death... What Will You Choose?" The Dean’s Health Symposium was held by New Mexico State University’s College of Health and Social Services. At lunch, Gail Rubin, CT, facilitated the largest Death Cafe held in the world to date. Dr. Donna Wagner, the interim Dean of NMSU's College of Health and Social Services, was very pleased with the turn-out and responses to the speakers and the...
Event: May 20 OASIS Class on Religions and Funeral Traditions
To learn what you need to know about funerals for different religious traditions -- Catholic, Jewish, Native American, various Christian denominations, and more - check out Gail Rubin's OASIS presentation on "Religions and Funeral Traditions." The event takes place on Wednesday, May 20, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Albuquerque OASIS offices, 3301 Menaul Blvd NE, Suite 18. The class is $8 plus a one-time $10 processing fee that makes you an...
Event: May 16 Albuquerque Death Cafe
The next Albuquerque Death Cafe will be held Saturday, May 16, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Gail Rubin’s home. Albuquerque was the site of the second Death Cafe held in the United States – the first one west of the Mississippi! 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...
Memorial Ceremonies for Cremation: Free eBook
In 2015, 50% of those who die in the U.S. will be cremated. Thousands of families don’t know what to do with their loved ones’ cremated remains or how to create a memorial service. A new eBook, Celebrating Life: How to Create Meaningful Memorial Services, with Templates and Tips, provides all the answers. The difference between a funeral and a memorial service is the presence of a body. Cremation offers flexibility and creativity to those...
A 400-Person Death Cafe!?
This Friday, the largest Death Cafe in the world to date will take place in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Four hundred people have registered to attend the Dean's Health Symposium held by New Mexico State University's College of Health and Social Services. The free one-day seminar, "A Beautiful Death: What will you choose?" will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday at the Las Cruces Convention Center, 680 E. University Ave. The event, which will directly...
Tile Artisans’ Personalized Granite Urn Marker
You expect to see memorial markers in a cemetery. Surprisingly, they are now showing up in people's gardens, too. The growing rise in cremation gives regular folks the flexibility to give the cremains of beloved people and pets a dignified final resting place in their backyard. At the 2015 International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) convention, Tile Artisans Digital Imaging introduced a granite memorial marker topped with...
Value Caskets from Sauder Funeral Products
Sauder Funeral Products is all about value: They manufacture laminated wood caskets that look like fine hardwood but cost much less. Sauder Woodworking Company was founded in 1934 as a maker of church pews and furnishings. The Ohio-based company has grown to offer a wide range of furniture for homes, businesses and institutions. You'll find many of their laminated furniture products in Target stores. Seven years ago they started making caskets...
Fingerprint and Cremation Jewelry from NMD
As cremation rises in popularity, a wide variety of cremation jewelry is being offered through funeral homes. At the 2015 ICCFA convention, New Memorials Direct displayed their cremation, fingerprint and photo jewelry designed to hold tiny amounts of cremated remains of people and pets. They also offer non-ash-holding styles of jewelry that can be laser engraved with fingerprints, signatures or other memorial motifs. In this video, Michelle...
News and Notes: Back From San Antonio
Death educators with the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) and people in the funeral business with the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) came together earlier this month in San Antonio, when the two conventions coincided in time and space. It was most gratifying to meet people at both the ADEC and ICCFA conventions who told me they enjoy these occasional newsletters. (Davy Crockett was silent...
FPG’s Funerals of the Future
What will the funeral of the future look like? It may have a big Disney Imagineering component. At the recent International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) convention, Brad Rex, President and CEO of Foundation Partners Group (FPG), outlined a bold new vision for the funerals of the future. The Orlando-based organization currently owns 39 funeral homes and six cemetery properties in 13 states, and they served 7,000 families...
New Caskets and Urns at 2015 ICCFA Expo
At the 2015 ICCFA expo in San Antonio, I saw numerous new casket and urn choices on display. Along with new players displaying their wares, long-established companies also offered fresh products. Here’s a quick run-down of new items your faithful correspondent discovered. Aurora Aurora featured a new casket model called Homestead, made of poplar with a distressed wood finish. The look was inspired by an independent manufacturer who created...
Football and Basketball Urns
For the true sports fanatic, what could be better than having one's cremated remains put to rest in a football or basketball urn? At the 2015 ICCFA expo, Husein Somji with Blissful Tribute showed off new aluminum urns, some covered in leather to look like full-size footballs and basketballs. There was also a keepsake-sized leather-covered football urn. The remains are placed inside via an opening on the bottom of the urn. While I was at this...
PawsRest Pet Caskets
Pet loss products were a big category at this year's ICCFA convention expo. Mark Brewer with PawsRest Premium Pet Caskets spoke with me about the quality wood caskets they make specifically for the burial of dogs and cats. When his dog died, Brewer couldn't find many good options for burying his beloved pet. There were plastic and cardboard containers, but nothing designed to truly honor a four-legged family member. He decided to make his own...
Executive Coach Builders Vehicles
You usually see plenty of hearses and limos on display at a funeral industry expo, and there were plenty at the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) expo this year. These vehicles from Executive Coach Builders take the concept higher - high enough to stand up straight inside the vehicle! Dave McPhail points out the features in the ECB Family Coach Sprinter, a combination hearse and family limousine. Usually, you'd...
News and Notes: ICCFA and ADEC Converge
Each April, the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) and the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) hold their conventions. As a member of both organizations, I've faithfully gone to both over the past few years. They are usually a week or so apart in far flung cities, but this year, they are both April 8-11 in the same hotel in San Antonio, Texas. Whether fate or fluke, my travel budget is grateful....
The Many Faces of Grief and Mourning in Movies
What does grief and mourning really look like? Movies and television shows can help us understand different reactions to loss. Recently, I presented The Many Faces of Grief: Mourning in the Movies, a new film clip presentation in a Death & Dying class at Central New Mexico Community College (a.k.a. CNM). The presentation examined grief and mourning styles/processes as spelled out in the Association for Death Education and Counseling's...
May 1 Symposium – A Beautiful Death
The largest Death Cafe event in the world to date will be held on Friday, May 1 in Las Cruces at the New Mexico State University’s 2015 Dean’s Health Symposium, presented by the College of Health and Social Services. The theme of the conference is “A Beautiful Death: What will you choose?” There will be a host of stellar speakers and workshops that focus on end-of-life care, advance directives and decision-making. It's a free event, and 350...
Je Suis Speech
Yesterday, I competed in the Toastmasters International Speech competition at the Division level, and came away a winner. My speech, Je Suis, didn't get the top prize, but it made a big impression on the audience. And because it was recorded, you can now see it on YouTube! A big thanks to my fellow Albuquerque Challenge Club members for their excellent feedback and support. If you are interested in improving your speaking skills, consider...