The Family Plot Blog
WGN Radio Interview on Funeral Planning Issues
Gail Rubin was interviewed on WGN Radio in Chicago on Monday night! Here's the description of the show: Bill Leff visits with Gail Rubin, the Doyenne of Death and the author of A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die. In this podcast, they discuss four reasons why it’s good to plan your funeral when you’re healthy, green burials and her annual ’30 Funerals in 30 Days’ experience. And for more information about green...
Pet Loss Issues on Episode 6 of A Good Goodbye TV
Pet loss and ways to memorialize a pet are covered in this week's episode of A Good Goodbye TV. The guests interviewed are pet loss grief counselor Ann Beyke and Vaughn Hendren with Best Friends Pet Cremation Services and Best Friends Forever cemetery. This episode also features the pet loss resources available at Funeralwise.com. This site has information on euthanasia decisions, pet funerals, pet loss and children, and a host of online...
Green Burial on A Good Goodbye Radio
On A Good Goodbye radio this Wednesday, May 15, the topic is green burial and eco-friendly funerals. The guest is Brian Flowers, president of the Green Burial Council, an international non-profit engaged in certifying funeral homes and cemeteries offering green burial as well as green burial products. Brian Flowers is a funeral director and cemeterian with Moles Farewell Tributes and Greenacres Memorial Park in Ferndale, Washington. Brian...
Death Cafe Returns to Albuquerque for Third Time
The Death Café returns to Albuquerque! The third Death Café in Albuquerque will be held Thursday, May 23, 2013 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.at the Center for Holistic Health, 9412 Indian School Road NE (just east of Moon). At this free event, people come together in a relaxed, confidential and safe setting to discuss mortality, drink tea and eat delicious cake or cookies. The objective of Death Café is “To increase awareness of death with a view...
Talking About Sex Won’t Make You Pregnant…
"Talking about sex won't make you pregnant, and talking about funerals won't make you dead." That's the title for my talk on the Main Stage at the Southwest Book Fiesta tomorrow, Friday May 10 at 4:00 p.m. The big event takes place at the Albuquerque Convention Center in the east building. Actually, I won't be talking about sex, but I will be talking about death and funerals, and how humor helps us deal with this inevitability of life. And I'll...
Disney Wanted to Trademark Dia De Los Muertos
The Walt Disney Company tried to trademark the cultural tradition of Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead celebration November 1 and 2, in advance of releasing a Pixar animated film. The trademark story was first reported Tuesday by Fronteras, a coalition of public radio stations based in Phoenix. By the end of the day, Disney had issued a statement saying that it had withdrawn the application and that the company’s intent was only to...
Celebrants and Funerals: Episode 5 of A Good Goodbye TV
Starting today, Episode Five of A Good Goodbye TV looks at the elements of life celebrations and how celebrants make memorial services all about the person who died and the people who love them. The guests interviewed are Paul Layer with FRENCH Funerals and Cremations and Certified Celebrant Samara Rivett. The discussion includes topics such as: The steps a family takes to say goodbye to a loved one How clergy and religion fit into funeral...
Baby Boomers and Funerals: The Party of Your Life?
Who would plan a wedding in only three to five days? Yet that’s what most people do with the life cycle event known as a funeral. Talk about stress! Funeral planning with flair is the topic of the May 8 Internet radio show A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die. The guest is Erika Dillman, author of The Party of Your Life: Get the Funeral You Want by Planning It Yourself. This upbeat book helps baby boomers design a...
EterniTrees Urns Grow a Living Monument
Want to honor your loved one by growing a tree? Here's something cool I saw at the recent ICCFA convention and expo. EterniTrees offers the chance to put cremated remains in a biodegradable urn that contains tree seeds. Your loved one's remains can help grow a tree that's reflective of their character and the climatic zone of your area. EterniTrees won first place in the KIP Awards as the most innovative personalized product in 2012. In this...
Where and How to Bury a Muslim Terrorist
There's a fascinating story in yesterday's New York Times about the funeral director who has the body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the Boston Marathon bombers. Peter A. Stefan, who runs Graham Putnam & Mahoney Funeral Parlors in Worcester, has experience doing Muslim funerals and burial. However, he is stuck with Tsarnaev's body, because he can't find a cemetery that will allow his burial. Tsarnaev's uncle Ruslan Tsarni had requested a...
A Touch From Beyond and Memory Vessels
Toni Noel created A Touch From Beyond greeting cards so those who know they are going to die can send a healing note from beyond the grave to those they love. Her creativity also extends into innovative memorial keepsake jewelry and Faithful Friends, an online community for pets and the people who love them. I had a chance to sit down with Toni at the recent ICCFA convention and expo, where she explained how A Touch From Beyond cards would be...
Starting the Conversation on A Good Goodbye Radio
A Good Goodbye Radio is launching Wednesday May 1, starting the conversation on end-of-life issues with Martha Hayward of The Conversation Project. This Internet radio program covers a wide range of critical information most people don't consider until there's a death in the family. Why it's important to have an end-of-life conversation: 60% of people say that making sure their family is not burdened by tough decisions is “extremely important”...
Green Burial and Eco-Friendly Funerals: Episode 4 of A Good Goodbye TV
Want to "go green" with your funeral or cremation? Episode Four of A Good Goodbye TV looks at green burial and eco-friendly funerals. While most people associate green only with living, green funerals and green burials provide a way to make end-of-life more meaningful. The discussion includes cremation scattering, funeral resource use and ways to reduce environmental impact. The guest for this program is Darren Crouch, president of Passages...
Vermont Funeral Consumers Alliance Talk May 4
I'm speaking this coming Saturday, May 4 at the annual meeting of the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Vermont with funny funeral planning films. A nice article just came out in the Valley News in neighboring Lebanon, New Hampshire. Here's the beginning of the story, titled "The Funny Side of Death: A Conversation Starter" by Katie Beth Ryan: Death and taxes, the two things said to be inevitable for everyone, are also the most dreaded, difficult...
A Simple Thank You Makes Cards Easier to Send
Sending thank you notes is a major chore, if people do it at all. The idea of sending thank you notes after a funeral can be overwhelming to a grieving family. An interesting new product on display at the ICCFA expo that addresses this problem is A Simple Thank You. A Simple Thank You is a digital registry that funeral homes can offer to families. It's an iPad app that takes the place of a hand-written registry at visitations or funerals. It...
Cemetery Q and A: Episode 3 of A Good Goodbye TV
Starting today, Episode Three of A Good Goodbye TV looks at cemetery questions and answers. The discussion includes what you need to know about cemetery costs and trends, memorial QR codes, mausoleums, cemeteries and cremation, and clearing up misconceptions regarding cemeteries. The guests interviewed are Chris Keller and Vaughn Hendren, both with FRENCH Funerals and Cremations. Also featured on the program are Memory Links™ Interactive...
A Different Race to the Finish Line
What was a NASCAR racing simulator doing at the ICCFA 2013 Expo? It encouraged attendees to race around to visit the various exhibitors at the expo so they could win a pair of tickets to a NASCAR Sprint Cup series race. The vehicle was an actual NASCAR racer that had been retired and fitted with a simulator system. Participants get in the driver's seat and see what it looks like to be on the track. A screen on top of the vehicle showed the...
Dear Abby on Photos at Funerals
A recent Dear Abby column dished some good funeral etiquette advice on the question of taking pictures at funerals. DEAR ABBY: What is proper etiquette for someone who takes pictures at a funeral? I am a recent widow who received a package from an out-of-town relative. In it were several envelopes for my family. One of them was for my sister, who lives 40 miles away. I gave my sister a call and told her it looked like it contained a stack of...
Marine Memorial – The Eyes of Freedom
The Eyes of Freedom - Lima Company Memorial tribute is a collection of 23 life-sized paintings of Marines from one of the hardest-hit units in Operation Iraqi Freedom. These men gave their lives while deployed in Iraq between May and August of 2005. The panels in this traveling memorial depict 22 Marines and one Navy Corpsman from Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment, who were killed in action. Most were from Ohio, and the others came...
The Body Scoop System saves backs, not lives
One of the interesting pieces of equipment spotted at the ICCFA convention and expo: The Body Scoop. The Body Scoop is a ceiling mounted lift system that funeral homes and morgues use to move bodies. Check out the video with your faithful correspondent getting a ride from table to casket! http://youtu.be/h6OetMeEQY4 Some key benefits of using the Body Scoop: Eliminate back strain Reduce injuries and liability Save time with one-person transfers...
Cremation Issues: Episode 2 of A Good Goodbye TV
Episode Two of A Good Goodbye TV looks at cremation issues.