Funerals, Memorials, and Life-Celebrations

• Together with you, I will craft a ceremony that expresses the unique essence of a loved-one who has died.
• I will consult with you in person, or over the phone to learn the details of the life of the deceased.
• From the information I glean from you, I will craft a one-of-a-kind memorial service that highlights the unique characteristics of your loved-one.
• Style can be formal or more relaxed, serious or humorous, whatever you feel would most appropriately celebrate your loved-one's life.

Plan Your Own Funeral

• I will help you craft your own funeral. Planning ahead, even if you're not sick, can be a source of comfort.
• We will create a ceremony that makes your final, loving statement to those you will leave behind.
• If you are already in the last days of your life, I will lead you through a life-review that has the therapeutic benefit of putting your life's accomplishments into focus.
• From this, we will also create a ceremony that best expresses the uniqueness of your life to your loved-ones.

My Training

Even from a young age, I have had an awareness of the sacredness of death and the part it plays in the cycle of our time here on earth. After I had studied music for many years, my grandfather died at the age of 92. I spent many days with him in the hospital, and for the last night of  his life, sang songs to him and comforted him as his body came closer to the last breath. I found the experience profoundly moving, and it made me interested in the possibilities of using my creative skills in the field of death and dying.

In 2013, I took the Contemplative End Of Life Care course from the Institute of Traditional Medicine in Toronto. In six weekends over six months we studied everything working with people who are living their last days, to working with the families of loved ones who have died. 

The final weekend, plus an extended workshop, we were instructed by Jerrigrace Lyons of Final Passages Institute of Conscious Dying. I graduated from her full Death Midwifery Course.  The End Of Life Care Course gave me the designation of Death Doula. It was through these courses that I learned about the career of celebrancy, and I knew that funeral celebrancy was a calling for me.

Through my Buddhist training, I have done special practices based on The Tibetan Book Of The Dead. I have also had the privilege of playing ritual instruments at a traditional Tibetan funeral in Nepal, as well as accompanying my lama as he chants this sacred scripture in Toronto for Buddhists who see their death as a further opportunity to expand their meditation in the final moments of their lives.