Author Archives: Julie Gesin (Blog Writer, SevenPonds)

Growing Wild: The Path to Natural Burial

Eloise Woods Natural Burial Park allows the dead to become one with the forest

In Eloise Woods Natural Burial Park, of Cedar Creek, Texas, there are no headstones or mausoleums. GPS coordinates mark the plots and there are detailed paper maps, but the monuments that display gravesites in conventional cemeteries do not exist at … Continue reading

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Here They Talk About Death

How choosing their end-of-life care helped residents of La Crosse reduce their healthcare costs

While healthcare costs are among the top concerns for an average American, the small city of La Crosse, Wisconsin spends less on the end-of-life care than any other place in the country. Saving money was not the main goal for … Continue reading

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“Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” from “The Phantom of the Opera”

The young heroine grieves the loss of her father in an unforgettable memorial song

Christine Daaé, once an obscure ballerina, is given a lead singing role in “Don Juan”, an opera written by the Phantom of the Opera, a disfigured man who is obsessed with the lovely, young woman. This opera is actually a … Continue reading

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The Return of the Shrouding Women

Women are reclaiming jobs as funeral directors – a death-care profession dominated by men for over a century

Once death care was viewed as a woman’s job. The shrouding women washed the body of the deceased, anointed it with herbs, dressed and prepared it for a funeral or a wake. Women helped bring life into this world and … Continue reading

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“When I die, will someone please go to my funeral dressed like the Grim Reaper? You don’t say anything, just stand there…”

- Unknown
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A Prairie for Emily

A grieving father restores a prairie habitat in memory of a dead daughter

Lush prairie grasses sway in the breeze and the golden crowns of black-eyed Susans turn towards the summer sun. Emily’s Prairie runs along Salt Creek, behind the Rolling Meadows High School in the suburban town of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Once … Continue reading

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