The Family Plot Blog
Curating Family Photos with Martie McNabb
Have you inherited your family’s photo collection? Is it overwhelming your life? What can you do to manage these photos, and how do you deal with the emotional baggage tied to all these things? Martie McNabb, a personal historian and founder of Show & Tales and Memories Out of the Box, has helped hundreds of people deal with these issues. In this video interview, she encourages people to have hope when dealing with an overwhelming task....
March 20 Online 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 next Albuquerque Death Cafe will be held online on Sunday, March 20 at 3:00 p.m. MDT. Get the link for this online conversation through this Meetup group event listing. During the...
The Pandemic Changed Our World Two Years Ago Today
Wednesday, March 11, 2020, the pandemic shut down our world as we knew it. I was packing my car to drive to Colorado to present The Newly-Dead Game® at the Frozen Dead Guy Days festival in Nederland. With the announcement of the pandemic by the World Health Organization, Nederland's Town Council voted to cancel the festival two days before it was going to start. I remember how shocked and confused we all felt about how the virus was circulating...
Albuquerque Business First Gives Best Nonprofit Board Award to Historic Fairview Cemetery
The Board of Historic Fairview Cemetery was recognized by Albuquerque Business First's 2022 Philanthropy Awards for Best Boards. Gail Rubin, President of the Board of the nonprofit organization and The Doyenne of Death®, accepted the award. The award ceremony was held March 10, 2022 with a crowd of more than one hundred in attendance. “We have a very dedicated all volunteer Board that gets involved in the cemetery and makes things happen to...
Historic Fairview Cemetery Board Honored with Philanthropy Award
Cemetery History Group Honored The Board of Historic Fairview Cemetery is being recognized by Albuquerque Business First's 2022 Philanthropy Awards for Best Boards. The award ceremony and summit will take place on Thursday, March 10, at Sandia Golf Club, 30 Rainbow Road NE, Albuquerque. Here is information that helped Historic Fairview Cemetery earn this recognition. What is the mission of your nonprofit? To preserve and maintain the Historic...
Video Interview: Navigating the Pandemic
Pondering the Pandemic In this "Books to Die For" interview, Teresa Schreiber Werth talks about the book, "Navigating the Pandemic: Stories of Hope and Resilience." A certified funeral celebrant, Werth brought together the writings of 38 individuals in this book. They reflect on the many losses brought on by the pandemic, but also share uplifting thoughts for humanity. This collection of poetry, stories and honest feelings focuses on the...
Learn From These Before I Die Festival Videos
All of the videos from the 2021 Before I Die New Mexico Festival are now available online! The 5th annual Festival took place in-person in Albuquerque and online with four days of death-positive conversations and experiences October 30 to November 2, 2021. The Festival featured entertaining and educational elements, including field trips to funeral homes and cemeteries, speakers and panel discussions, hands-on workshops, and more. While the...
How Being Prepared for End-of-Life Helps Us with Our Grief
How Being Prepared for End-of-Life Helps Us with Our Grief Over these past two pandemic years, the shadow of death and grief has touched many of us. I recently saw a billboard for a local funeral home: “Good grief comes with instructions. Preplan.” Boy, that hit home. My longtime friend Gary Mayhew had taken my advice. He’d written an 11-page letter titled Upon My Death. What a gift that turned out to be. Tall and skinny, witty and kind, Gary...
Talking About Near Death Experiences and Shared Death Experiences
You may have heard about Near Death Experiences (NDEs), when someone's body is clinically dead for a period of time. The person's consciousness leaves the body and travels to mystical realms before returning to life in the body. A Shared Death Experience (SDE) is when a person who is not dying shares the experience of someone who is dying. In this video, William Peters, author of At Heaven's Door, talks with @Gail Rubin in her Books to Die For...
Desmond Tutu’s Funeral Featured Plain Pine Coffin and Aquamation
Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s funeral made several environmentally supportive statements. His coffin was a plain unvarnished pine box with rope handles. He requested no extravagant spending on the services. And he taught the world about alkaline hydrolysis, a water-based disposition method also known as Aquamation. It was his requested disposition method, before his remaining bones were interred in St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa....
Festival Video: Grumpy, Cranky, Fussy: The Unspoken Symptoms of Grief
Grief is a shape-shifting emotion. It's not just expressed through depression or tears. We may not recognize that grief can show up in demeanors that are unpleasant or hard to live with. In this talk, “Grumpy, Cranky, Fussy: The Unspoken Symptoms of Grief,” learn how to recognize and react to grieving people. This eye-opening talk is presented by Todd Van Beck, a funeral educator, historian, consultant and gifted storyteller. In this video, at...
Festival Video: Meaningful Memorials and How to Create a Digital Legacy
Manage Your Digital Legacy A digital legacy consists of all of the photos, videos and posts on social media you've put out there. What happens to all that information about you after you die? Mandy Benoualid, Co-Founder and President of Keeper, presented "Meaningful Memorials: How to Create a Digital Legacy for a Loved One (or Yourself!)" as part of the 2021 Before I Die New Mexico Festival. She shares some great information about managing your...
Festival Video: Estate Property Distribution and Downsizing
Downsizing is a Challenge Do you have a problem with downsizing? Overwhelmed with the details of handling a loved one's estate? You may find this video helpful. “Estate Property Distribution and Downsizing,” presented by Karen Hyatt, owner and manager EstatePros LLC, can help you get a handle on what you need to do when faced with dealing with a deceased loved one's home and everything in it. In addition to the checklist below, she talks about...
Festival Video: How to Make Your Money Outlive You
Will Your Money Outlast You? One of the fears of growing old is running out of money before you die. That's why this Before I Die New Mexico Festival presentation with Steve Margulin, CPA, CFP® is so important. In this video, "Don’t let your savings suffer a pre-mature death," Steve shares valuable information about how to make your money last into your golden years and the elements of successful aging. Among the topics covered are the three...
Festival Video: Making Altars to Honor the Deceased
How To Make Altars Honoring Deceased Loved Ones “How to Make an Altar Honoring Deceased Loved Ones” was a 90-minute workshop with Annie Mattingley, part of the 2021 Before I Die New Mexico Festival. In this 30-minute video, Annie gives an overview of ways to connect to our deceased loved ones. Making Altars Workshop At this hands-on workshop, participants were provided with...
Abraham Lincoln, Embalming and Springfield’s Oak Ridge Cemetery
“Abraham Lincoln’s Impact on Modern Embalming” is a Before I Die New Mexico Festival session that covers the history of modern embalming. The practice took off in the United States during the Civil War. You’ll learn how the huge number of deaths during the war, President Lincoln’s assassination, and the funeral procession that took his body across the country influenced death care in America for the following century. The history of embalming...
Video: Gary Mayhew Memorial Service
Gail Rubin conducted this memorial service for Gary Mayhew on November 5, 2021. Speakers included his sister Debbe Noto, friends from his gaming group and music groups, and math students Gary taught. This video starts with a photo montage of Gary throughout his life, and a video message from Gary in 2013 at the end. A Moving Testimonial about Gary Mayhew Just before the event, held...
Gail Rubin Presents New Video Illustrated Talk Online December 9
On December 9, pioneering death educator Gail Rubin presents a new video-illustrated talk on Zoom: Not Planning to Die with The Kominsky Method. As the saying goes, getting old ain’t for sissies. Aging holds challenges for all of us: physical declines, beloved people and pets dying, and unrelenting changes, many not for the better. With video clips from the award-winning Netflix series, The Kominsky Method, laugh and learn about planning ahead...
Festival Video: Who Will Speak for You?
In this video from the 2021 Before I Die New Mexico Festival, Althea Halchuck, EJD, CT, presented “Who Will Speak for You? Medical Surrogacy Questions Answered.” During this presentation, you will learn why your husband or child might not be the best choice to make end-of-life decisions for you when you can’t. Learn what personality traits to look for in choosing an effective surrogate to ensure your end-of-life wishes are honored. Learn...
Why Aren’t More New Mexicans Claiming COVID-19 Funeral Expenses?
Funeral Expenses Covered for COVID-19 Deaths Would you take advantage of free funeral expenses? According to the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, just 35% of eligible New Mexicans have registered for FEMA’s COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Program. This program reimburses residents for up to $9,000 in funeral costs related to deaths due to COVID-19. Authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act, the program is...
Obituary for Gary Mayhew
Gary Mayhew would rather not make a fuss over his death on October 26, 2021. He died at home on hospice for end-stage COPD at the age of 76. Born in California to Bill and Dorothy Mayhew, he inherited his dad’s dry sense of humor and his mother’s kindness. The family moved to East Palistine, Ohio, then settled in Albuquerque, where Gary lived the rest of his life. Gary graduated from the University of New Mexico, where he studied mathematics...