I attended a very early morning lecture on Friday, March 22, 2019, at the Cummings School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. The lecture was entitled “When a Colleague Dies: Growing Through Tragedy.” The lecture was presented by Dr. Michael F Myers, a psychiatrist from New York. The...
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Executor / Executrix – Are you the best person for the job?
Being an Executor or Executrix is likely something you have never done before. You don’t know what you don’t know, and no one hands you a manual with clear steps to take, because every Estate is different. There are people in business to make you feel you need their...
Advanced Care Planning – Personal Directives
I attended a series of presentations an independent MLA hosted in Calgary on Saturday. First, I want to applaud his effort for bringing together experts to discuss issues that not only impact Seniors but, frankly, us all. Advanced Care Planning was the last presentation on the agenda. During the...
Do you have a right to privacy while grieving at an end of life event?
A few weeks ago I officiated at a Celebration of Life Ceremony at a church in Calgary. At the end of the tribute, I noticed when I returned the headset to the technicians, that they were video recording the event. Having spoken with the family prior to the event,...
Some BIG news!
Hello from snowy Alberta! This may come as a bit of a surprise to some of you, not all of you, that I have moved across this great country yet again, returning to Alberta. It took seven years to complete the matters related to my Mother’s estate, with a...
Should you pre-pay your funeral expenses?
Are you thinking you should write a cheque to a funeral home to prepay for your funeral or memorial costs? This may be a good idea for you, but have you done your research into other options? The attached photo is of a bill for a “pre-need” funeral that...
Going bankrupt after paying for a funeral?
End of life and death can be expensive. I had lunch with someone the other day, and of course, the conversation went in the direction of death and funerals. People feel comfortable talking to me about this topic. I feel grateful for their level of comfort. The story was...
Cremation – by Water?
It seems that “Water Cremation,” aka Alkaline Hydrolysis, is gaining some popularity in some places, like California, where the laws changed to allow for this process to be done. Basically, a “bath” is prepared for the human body, made from water and lye, inside a pressure vessel and then...
Dalhousie University Lecture on Dying Inmates in the Canadian Prison System
Dalhousie University’s Schulich School of Law, held a presentation in Spring Hill, Nova Scotia last night, called Preserving the Rights of Aging Prisoners, with Professor Dr. Adelina Iftene. Wow, what an eye opener! The prison system in Canada sounds pretty archaic in how it treats the sick, terminally ill...
Sickboy Podcast – Hanging out with the Guys!
On February 19, I was invited to sit down in the studio with Sickboy Podcast’s own Jeremie, Brian and Taylor I must have been feeling excited because I arrived before 7, thinking that was the time I needed to be there. Turns out I had it down in my schedule for 7:30,...