A Path Home

Robert Thurlin Alexander died while undergoing heart surgery in 2018. Robert's mother, Karen Knutson arrived in Oklahoma the night before the surgery. His sister, Tawnya Musser traveled there upon hearing that he didn't survive the surgery to arrange his home funeral at Uncle Bob's farmhouse. Robert was a tissue and cornea donor, a fact that may have given some families pause when c...

Margaret stepped into participating in the after-death care for two community members and her own father after learning it was possible through attending a Death Cafe in her community. Margaret's story illustrates the varying forms home funeral practice can take. It may involve collaborating with funeral professionals in your community. It may not even happen at home. https://deathcafe.com/ S...

On this path home, Sarah Crews shares some helpful ideas for walking with grief through the holiday season. Sarah ends this episode with her song, I need a boat. Here are links to the resources she mentions: https://www.refugeingrief.com/ https://johnpavlovitz.com/2015/12/18/blue-christmas-what-to-do-when-the-holidays-hurt/ https://www.centerforloss.com/ https://www.griefhealingblog.com/ Support t...

After a challenging meeting with a funeral director, Louise Comfort discovered from a friend that there was an alternative approach that felt right to her and her husband, Doug, who was dying from breast cancer. Louise shares the details of how she and Doug made plans together to care for his body at home, the celebration of life and the service that followed as Doug was laid out the library room....

On this episode we hear about the sudden, unexpected death of a young man, Ruis Owin-Brown, and the way his community came together to create a farewell perfectly suited to Ruis' passion for friendship. His father Jeff Brown, and step-mother, Kate Adamson describe the logistical challenges and the healing rituals they experienced along the way. Support the show

On this episode we hear from Marcia Klingzell and her daughters Stephanie and Cortnie who share the details of the beautiful send off they created for their dearly loved family matriarch, Dorothy.  Support the show

On this episode we hear from Rita Cantu. With the help of a large and caring community that formed around her husband, Al Carr, during his dying time in 2004, Rita was supported in keeping his body at home and created a final send off unique to Al's playful personality.  Support the show

On this episode, NHFA President, Dani LaVoire talks with her family about the home funeral they all created for her grandmother, Sherryl Schwartz Morantz in New York State. New York is one of the states with laws limiting family's rights to having full independence in carrying out a funeral for a loved one. Holding a home funeral is still legal in New York, but a licensed funeral director mus...

On this episode we’ll be hearing from Lauren and Christopher Akins. By letting love guide them, along with some practical information they found on line, Lauren and Chris bravely ventured into unfamiliar territory and held a home funeral for their beloved daughter, Nora Rose. Nora Rose died in the hospital while waiting on a liver transplant. She was 11 months old. Chris made a couple of moving vi...

Today we hear from author, home funeral guide and green burial consultant, Lucinda Herring. Lucinda has worked at the cutting edge of the green funeral movement for more than twenty years, beginning with fulfilling a friend's request to care for her body at home. Lucinda is also an interfaith minister and a licensed funeral director in the state of Washington. Lucinda's book Reimagining...

On this podcast we’ll be focusing on reclaiming our innate right to care for our own loved ones at death in natural, and often, environmentally friendly ways. We’ll demystify the tasks related to after death care through hearing stories from people who have ventured into culturally unfamiliar territory and cared for their own deceased loved ones at home, chose a natural burial or both. In this int...