Lady of Death

Send us Fan Mail The hardest part of losing someone is not only saying goodbye. It’s waking up the next day to passwords you don’t have, bills in the wrong name, banks that won’t talk to you, and an estate process that can stretch for months while you’re running on grief brain. We sit down with Serlina Chu, co-founder of Herekind, to talk about the real work that starts after the funeral: estate a...

Send us Fan Mail Death stops us; conversation moves us. We sat with Irene Montefiore, a founding member of the Albany Death Cafe, to explore how a simple table, a pot of tea, and the courage to speak out loud can turn fear into clarity and isolation into connection.  We walk through what a Death Cafe truly is: a confidential, not‑for‑profit space where ordinary people share stories, questions, and...

Send us Fan Mail Most people never think about the environmental cost of a funeral until they have to plan one. I sat down with Tamsin and Alyssa, the founders of Heaven and Earth Eco Burial Products, to explore how shrouded burial can be safer for the planet, clearer for families, and gentler on budgets—without sacrificing dignity or ritual.  Their story is as human as it is practical. As young m...

Send us Fan Mail Choice at the end of life isn’t abstract—it’s practical, emotional, and shaped by real laws, real timelines, and real families. We sit down with VAD Care Navigator Laurie Draper to walk through how voluntary assisted dying works in Victoria, what the safeguards look like, and why so many people feel a profound sense of calm simply by unlocking the option. From the first assessment...

Send us Fan Mail What if flowers could tell a life story better than words? We sit down with funeral florist Jamie Shrouders of GrandiFlora to unpack how tribute flowers become anchors of meaning at the hardest moment. Jamie traces her family’s journey from postwar Dutch growers to a Melbourne studio dedicated solely to funeral flowers. She shares how personalisation actually happens: casket spray...

Send us Fan Mail Grief doesn’t arrive with instructions, and it rarely follows a neat timeline. We sit down with Liam, 14, and Toan, 22, to explore how losing a father at the age of eight years old, reshapes identity, school, friendships, and the rhythm of home. Their losses are different—motor neurone disease in one family, alcoholism in the other—but their insights echo: funerals make reality la...

Send us Fan Mail Death isn't a topic most of us eagerly discuss over dinner, yet Mark Sui, owner of Coffin and Casket Victoria, brings a refreshing perspective to this universal experience. His journey into the funeral industry wasn't planned—it began when his family migrated from Hong Kong and formed an unexpected partnership with an Italian stonemason. What started as building monument...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you die without a will? Who decides where your possessions go, who raises your children, or even what happens to your remains? The answers might surprise—and disturb—you. Estate planning specialist Nadya Volishina joins Robyn O'Connell to pull back the curtain on what happens when we fail to plan for the inevitable. With alarming clarity, Nadia reveals that...

Send us Fan Mail Death appears in whispers and shadows throughout our lives, yet we rarely make space to truly understand it. In this enlightening conversation, Robyn O'Connell speaks with her nephew Luke O'Connell about his transformative journey as a hospice volunteer in Busselton, Western Australia. Luke's path into end-of-life care began with personal experiences that subtly gui...

Send us Fan Mail What does it truly mean to die with dignity?  Behind the clinical terminology and medical frameworks lies a deeply human experience that most healthcare systems aren't equipped to honour.  In this powerful conversation, Callie Watt takes us through her 31-year nursing odyssey from remote indigenous communities to emergency departments, and finally to founding Wattletree Healt...

Send us Fan Mail In this candid conversation, cemetery veteran Shane Freeman takes us inside his world as Senior Supervisor of Funeral Services at Lilydale Memorial Park. With refreshing honesty and occasional humour, he walks us through the mechanics of cremation—addressing the questions most people are afraid to ask.  From the technical details to the emotional realities, Shane demystifies the p...

Send us Fan Mail From the moment four-year-old Ellese Templeton announced to her aghast mum that she wanted to become a mortician, a remarkable journey began. Twenty years later, Ellese owns Templeton Family Funerals, a thriving boutique funeral home where perfection isn't just a goal—it's a calling. Ellese's path was anything but conventional. Breaking into the male-dominated funer...

Send us Fan Mail Jason Khune from Still Moments in Time reveals the art and impact of creating photo tributes for funeral services. This conversation explores how modern technology and thoughtful design transform personal photographs into meaningful visual memorials that celebrate a person's life journey. From his Perth-based studio, Jason reveals the meticulous process behind each tribute –...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever wondered what happens after we die? For Sharon Lee, psychic medium with over 50 years of experience, the answer is crystal clear – our souls continue on a never-ending journey while our physical bodies do not. Sharon takes us deep into her world of spiritual communication, revealing the profound differences between being a psychic and a medium. While psychics read yo...

Send us Fan Mail Death may be universal, but what happens afterward remains shrouded in mystery for most of us. Terry Clifton, with his 38 years in the funeral industry, provides a rare glimpse behind the curtain in this fascinating conversation about the misunderstood art of embalming. "I work with a scalpel, not a wand," Terry explains, dispelling the notion that embalmers perform magi...

Send us Fan Mail What truly happens behind the scenes of a funeral ceremony? Brisbane's renowned celebrant Suzie Philp unveils the shroud of the life of a funeral celebrant. Suzie dispels common misconceptions about her work, revealing the 10+ hours that go into each personalised ceremony.  Through candid conversation, Suzie offers wisdom for celebrants and those that don't know about th...

Send us Fan Mail Step into the world that many fear to discuss—death, grief, and the stories that intertwine them. This episode features Robyn O'Connell, affectionately known as the Lady of Death, who brings over two decades of experience as a funeral celebrant to our ears.  In a warm and engaging conversation, Robyn encourages us to unpack the often-taboo topic of death, sharing lessons and...