As our living has become more complex, so has our dying. End-of-life planning is more important than ever. It’s a big job, and takes considerable time and thought. Ultimately, someone has to do it. The effort you put in now can save others incalculable time, money, heartache, and disagreements later. In broad strokes, there are two categories that need your…
Excerpts from a magazine article by Alan Wolfelt were summarized by Margaret Verschuur. For people who have experienced the death of someone they love, holidays can be particularly difficult. What is intended to be a time of joy, family togetherness, and thankfulness instead brings feelings of sadness, loss, and emptiness. When someone you love dies, the full sense of this…
Before the 1860’s, families and communities took care of their own dead. Historian Mark Harris noted in his book, Grave Matters, that it was after the American Civil War this changed. The bodies of fallen soldiers were routinely embalmed before being transported back to their families in the north. In 1865, Abraham Lincoln’s embalmed body was viewed publicly for two weeks…
15 of us met in the Pioneer Room of the Manson’s Hall, with Fawn facilitating. After our time of sharing, Huguette Ruel, a retired palliative care nurse, talked about “The Moment of Death”. A summary of her presentation is on the following link, as I wrote an article after she shared on Quadra Island several months earlier. The Moment of…
Power of Attorney (POA) is a legal document. It gives someone you trust the power to look after your legal and financial affairs. This might include paying bills, depositing or withdrawing money from your bank account, investing your money, or selling your home. The person you give this power to is called the attorney. In this case “attorney” doesn’t mean…
After a loved one dies, why keep the body at home? What advantages are there to undertaking the death related tasks ourselves? Don Morris, a death educator from Victoria and one of our teachers, has written the following: Enhances participation – Home funeral vigils offer opportunities for participation which fosters healing from grief. Rochelle Martin of Ontario’s Home Funeral Alternatives says, “family…
Choice in Supports for Independent Living (CSIL) is a program offered in British Columbia. CSIL is an alternative way for people with disabilities in BC to receive home support services. When a person has a life-threatening illness, they may require a substantial amount of care for a period of time. Home support services and palliative care benefits are available and helpful,…
21 of us met in the Commons area, as we could not access the Pioneer Room. It was lovely to meet out-of-doors. Sally Houghton, Quadra’s new Notary Public, gave an informative presentation, and answered questions, about “Estate Planning vs. Personal Planning – what’s the difference?” She told us about the documents that are useful while we are still alive: Power…
When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.” ― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh When we are grieving, we may want to distance ourselves from our anger, confusion, or pain….
Aquamation is a method of cremation that is significantly more environmentally responsible than fire-based cremation. Also known as alkaline hydrolysis, resomation, and water cremation, it involves liquefying the body under pressure in a mixture of potassium hydroxide and water. The decomposition process is the same as that which occurs naturally when a body is buried, but at an accelerated rate….