Minutes from Meeting Nov 22, 2022

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

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…

Benefits of a Home Funeral Vigil

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…

Minutes from Meeting Oct 18, 2022

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…

Expressing Our Grief

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

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….

Minutes from Meeting Sep 20, 2022

We met in the Pioneer Room of the Manson’s Hall. 18 present. Margaret V chaired the meeting. Educational Presentation After our usual time of sharing, Priya Huffman gave an eloquent and thoughtful presentation on “Care of the Body, Jewish Practices.” She shared that Jewish communities have a group of men and women called the Chevra Kadisha, who tend to the…

Probate

If you’re named as the executor in someone’s Will, you may need to probate the Will. Probate is a procedure done in court that confirms the Will is legally valid. Financial institutions and others holding assets of the estate often require assurance the Will presented is legally valid before transferring funds or assets. The executor of the Will may also…