I’m often asked what brought me to this work. When I look back over my life, I see there were “markers” of significance that seem to suggest I have been headed this way for quite some time, perhaps even as early as grade six when I discovered my fascination with ancient Egyptian Funeral customs. After […]

I love spending time in graveyards. They are, for the most part, quiet, and a good place to hang out in bare feet, without too many people around. The lawns are well manicured. Birds make their homes in trees close by, squirrels and chipmunks can often be seen running around. Often there are lots of […]

All death by suicide is a heavy burden to bear for the survivors who are left to wonder “Why?”  It leaves many questions unanswered, and it causes a lot of internal turmoil searching for the answers to the question of “What if?” All humans are vulnerable to the pressures of trying to meet spoken and […]

As someone who works with families who care for their dead, I respect their wishes when they decide between burial or cremation. However it is clear to me that humans need to give more thought about best practices for the care of our dead with respect to impacts on the environment. In the 1998 World […]

There are certainly some very innovative ideas being explored that are alternatives to cremation or burial. This one is a variation on the burial theme. This may be the “greenest” burial I’ve seen so far. What do you think about it? What are your plans? http://www.urbandeathproject.org/#overview

While many were taking in the Canada Day Festivities, I too celebrated in a more unconventional way. I wasn’t alone, there were others too. I visited the graves of Sir Charles Tupper, and Sir John Thompson, former prime Ministers of Canada, and the grave of Robert Stanfield, another notable Nova Scotian and someone who very […]

Have a look at this short video of a home funeral. This is just one idea. It is very different from the funerals I’ve traditionally attended. I don’t know about you, but I can feel the love, respect and honour for this human being. I feel deep gratitude to Dorothy for sharing her story in […]

Have you ever found yourself doing something you never in a million years thought you’d be doing? Mine is such a story. It is Death that brought me back to Nova Scotia, the death of my Mother. As life would have it, it planted the seed to launch a business as a Funeral Celebrant and […]