The Family Plot Blog
A Send-Off for Craig Stiniker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK0SasFqaH0 The passions of Craig Stiniker - motorcycles, hot rods, Corvettes, and travel - drew me to his funeral. He was 64, born in 1945, the first of the Baby Boomers. A cancerous brain tumor took his life, but not his dear friends who came to pay their respects. Upon entering the funeral home, everyone was given a black wristband with the word "Remember" highlighted in white. In the chapel, Craig's Harley...
American Legion Salute to Ray Schroeder
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MDPqQFk4PQ At the American Legion Post 49, a small group of people gathered to remember Raymond "Ray" Schroeder. His son Mark, a pastor of a church in Los Lunas, ran the service. He started out saying, "This is a sad day for me," and went on to quote psalms and scripture for words of hope and comfort. Ray was remembered as a most faithful, dependable, reliable person. He was artistic, patriotic, organized, highly...
Celebrating Katherine Spates Buell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkPsrctYbsQ The obituary for Katherine Spates Buell, 83, named 34 surviving relatives and mentioned there were 22 great-grandchildren. While that in itself was impressive, it was this sentence that made me want to come to her celebration of life: "She loved her family, her many, many dear friends, Lobo basketball, the casino, an occasional margarita, and a good piece of chocolate." How could I resist? At least 200...
Graveside with Ovidia Gil
“I love you too much” was Ovidia Gil’s phrase on the memorial photo board, on the prayer card, even on the headstone that sat waiting to be installed.
Jim Henderson Celebrated at Hoffmantown
The obituary for James T. Henderson, 71, said, “a sinner saved by God’s Grace, went to see his Lord on November 7, 2010.”
Funeral for Ruth Mildred Border
At Ruth Mildred Border’s funeral, she was remembered as a loving mother, grandmother, and wife. Her casket was adorned with a red carnation flower arrangement.
Herb Bischoff Loved His Beagles
Walter Herbert Bischoff’s obit said: “He was grateful to the NM Beagle Rescue for helping in the adoption of his beloved dogs, Otto, Brownie, Charlie, and Blue…”
Gail Marie Matthews: Celebrating a Remarkable Life
The celebration of Gail Marie Matthews’ life filled the funeral home chapel to overflowing with people who came to remember and honor the memory of an awesome woman.
Timothy Wiles Died Young
Timothy Byron Wiles was a Marine who had served overseas in Jamaica, Greece, Iraq, and Kuwait. He died at the age of 30 of undetermined causes.
Gail Shirley: A Red Hat Celebration of Life
Gail Shirley, 85, was an active member of the M&M Red Hat Sisters. Two entire pews were taken up by twenty Red Hatters in full regalia, purple clothes and red hats.
Deputy Dean Miera Police Funeral
Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Deputy Dean Miera, 48, was tragically killed in a three-vehicle automobile accident.
Larry Leigh’s Military Honors
The obituary for Larry Lyle Leigh’s funeral indicated the service would have military honors at the funeral home chapel.
Carol Ann Exley Celebration of Life
Carol Ann Exley’s life celebration at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church had two to three hundred people in attendance.
Andrew Ellis Winchell
Andrew Ellis Winchell was only 31 years old when he died, but the fact that he lived to that age is a medical miracle.
Richard Abruzzo Tribute
More than 800 people – family, friends, admiring public – came the the tribute service for Richard Abruzzo to celebrate his remarkable life.
30 Funerals Challenge Overview
An overview of why Gail Rubin attends 30 funerals or memorial services in 30 days, starting October 30, 2010 – the 11th annual Create a Great Funeral Day.
Article in Entrepreneur.com
Entrepreneur.com just posted an article about "Weird Companies That Work," and yours truly is featured as the first weird company. Here are the first few paragraphs: A Good Goodbye Description: A funeral event planning firm Founder: Gail Rubin Founded: March 2010 Location: Albuquerque, N.M. Think of Gail Rubin as a modern-day Maude (from the cult film Harold & Maude). A breast-cancer survivor and former PR professional/event planner (as...
Dear Abby on Living Memorial Services
Today's Dear Abby column addresses the idea of living memorial services or life celebrations while a terminally ill family member is still alive. Rabbi Albert Slomovitz wrote in that he had been asked by a funeral director to talk with the family of a terminally ill woman. He was impressed by her bravery and sensitivity in confronting her disease. The family move up their celebrations of all holidays, secular and religious, plus birthdays and...
Monday Radio Interviews
This Monday, October 25, you can listen to some interesting conversations about funeral planning for those who don't plan to die, not once but twice! At 5:40 a.m. Mountain Time/7:40 a.m. Eastern Time, I'll be speaking with Bulldog and The Dude on the Rude Awakening program on WOCM-FM out of Ocean City, Maryland. Click on the station call letters to listen live online. I have many fond childhood memories of summers in that seaside town. Then in...
Life Insurance Survey Says We Don’t Talk About Death
The economic downturn of the past two years has impacted family budgets in some unexpected ways - such as couples not talking about death and life insurance. Maybe if we pretend to ignore death, it will leave us alone. Not that it's a topic couples usually discuss with any regularity, but according to a new survey by State Farm® Life Insurance Company, couples are avoiding the awkward conversation even more with the stresses of recent economic...
30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge
Starting October 30, 2010, the 11th annual Create a Great Funeral Day, event planner Gail Rubin will launch the “30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge.” Rubin, the author of A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die, will attend 30 funerals or memorial services in 30 days and write about each on her blog, The Family Plot (http://TheFamilyPlot.wordpress.com). The 30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge is designed to bring light to a...