Final Disposition: Feb 27 Zoom Class

Final Disposition

Meet my friend Mark, seen here shrouded in the back of the ‘62 Suburban that served as his hearse. Mark died in his sleep five months shy of turning 50. He’d often told his beloved wife Phyllis, “If I die, pack me on ice and take me to our family’s pioneer cemetery.” As Phyllis says, “It turns out it’s more complicated than that.” But with the help of friends, she made it happen.

Learning death, before our own — what will happen to your body once you die? How will your death certificate be filled out when it comes to your final disposition?

Join me February 27th for the second of my current Befriending Mortality sessions. We’ll consider the full range of final disposition options including:

  • Home burials like those of newborn Vera Luna or lavender-lover Jamie
  • Green burials chosen by Marcy and Jake as they anticipated their impending deaths and by Linda as she prepared for the death of her daughter Heather
  • Green burials arranged against all odds, as by Keelia after the death of her son Max, Zaakera after the death of her daughter Mikaela, and Phyllis for her husband Mark
  • Natural organic reduction aka human composting made possible in part through the pioneering choice made by Briar
  • Donating your body to science and other conventional and emerging options
  • (Familiarize yourself with these and dozens of other deathcare terms by browsing the Oregon Funeral Resources & Education Glossary)

BONUS MONTHLY DEATH CAFE: I host an optional, no-cost, open-format conversation for class registrants to share with each other what’s up regarding befriending mortality. Dates and access to zoom link will be shared during class sessions.

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Befriending Mortality Monthly Topic Classes

New Offering! Monthly “Befriending Mortality” classes via Zoom

WHAT: Attend the monthly classes of your choice. Sessions are 75 minutes long and include information, reflection, and group participation centered on a rotating topic. See topics below.

WHEN: The first Tuesday of each month at 5pm pacific (2nd Tuesday in January):

  • Befriending Mortality – October 3, 2023
  • Final Disposition – November 7, 2023
  • Remembering Together – December 5, 2023
  • The Dying Time – January 9 (2nd Tuesday), 2024
  • From Death to Disposition – February 6, 2024
  • Making a Death Plan – March 5, 2024

Scroll down for topic descriptions.

WHERE: Via Zoom

HOW MUCH: Sliding scale $20 – $45/ class; $120 – $270 for the series

NEW ADDITION! MONTHLY DEATH CAFE: Between each Monthly Topic Class I will host an optional, no-cost, open-format conversation for class and cohort members to share with each other what’s up regarding befriending mortality. Dates and Zoom link will be sent to those registered for monthly classes.

Pre-registration for each monthly class is required via Eventbrite:

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Befriending Mortality 6-Week Cohort

This fall I’m launching a series of Befriending Mortality Monthly Topic Classes, along with the committed six-session cohort described here. Same content, two different formats – attend the monthly classes of your choice OR read on to consider participating with a small, supportive cohort in a biweekly series of sessions, culminating in the creation of an individualized written death plan.

Befriending Mortality Cohort Fall 2023

Six sessions held on Zoom every other Wednesday at 5pm pacific. Sessions are 90 minutes long and include information, reflection, and sharing within a small, supportive cohort. Self-paced worksheets enable you to continue reflection between sessions and end the series with a written plan, if desired. Enrollment capped at 12.

Inaugural Cohort Dates:
  1. Befriending Mortality – October 4, 2023
  2. Final Disposition – October 18, 2023
  3. Remembering Together – November 1, 2023
  4. The Dying Time – November 15, 2023
  5. From Death to Disposition – November 29, 2023
  6. Making a Death Plan – December 13, 2023

Scroll down for more on content and pricing.

Read More

Befriending Mortality Classes & Cohorts

This fall I’m launching a series of monthly Befriending Mortality classes, along with a committed six-session cohort. Same content, two different formats – attend the monthly classes of your choice OR participate with a small, supportive cohort in a biweekly series of sessions, culminating in the creation of an individualized written death plan.

Befriending Mortality Monthly Topic Classes

Monthly sessions on Zoom the first Tuesday of each month at 5pm pacific. Sessions are 75 minutes long and include information, reflection, and group participation centered on a rotating topic. Pre-registration for each monthly class is required.

Click on topic to register for each Monthly Class:
  1. Befriending Mortality – October 3, 2023
  2. Final Disposition – November 7, 2023
  3. Remembering Together – December 5, 2023
  4. The Dying Time – January 9 (2nd Tuesday), 2024
  5. From Death to Disposition – February 6, 2024
  6. Making a Death Plan – March 5, 2024

Scroll down for more on content and pricing.


Befriending Mortality Cohort Fall 2023

Six sessions held on Zoom every other Wednesday at 5pm pacific. Sessions are 90 minutes long and include information, reflection, and sharing within a small, supportive cohort. Self-paced worksheets enable you to continue reflection between sessions and end the series with a written plan, if desired. Enrollment capped at 12.

Read More

Washington Funeral Resources & Education

In Washington, as in most states, no one is required to purchase the services of a funeral director or funeral home when a death occurs. Many don’t know that families and community members may conduct most of the tasks commonly performed by a funeral home. This new non-commercial, pubic interest website aims to fill that information gap.

In addition to detailing death care law in the state, Washington Funeral Resources & Education walks readers through the practical “How Tos” of whichever aspects of after-death care they want to handle, and provides guidance in how consumers can get what they want from professionals they hire or authorities they encounter when a death occurs. The site features stories of how others have cared for their dead and concise, professionally-specific in-service training materials along with resources for use in community education.

The site has already expanded access for Washingtonians wanting to handle death certificate filing without hiring a funeral director. After our team initiated outreach to the Department of Health to highlight the discrepancy between Washingtonians’ rights under the law and the current practice of restricting filing to professionals with EDRS access, DOH published a clarification titled Families Acting as Funeral Directors. (Read more.) The sister website, Oregon Funeral Resources & Education, has spurred changes in hospital body release and family information policies.

It’s been my honor and privilege to work on this project with Jodie Buller at White Eagle Memorial Preserve; Lee Webster, who created the model and then built both the Oregon and Washington sites; the mourners and advocates who shared their stories; and the Washington organizations and individuals who provided research and review. (Read the full honor roll.)