When You Ask What to Do When Someone Dies?

SevenPonds' Founder Suzette Sherman greeting guests

This past Tuesday evening, our San Francisco Bay Area vendors and services came together for our first annual meet & greet at our San Francisco based SevenPonds office. A fall celebration decked with white pumpkins and golden flowers, we mingled, introduced ourselves, and enjoyed assorted spirits and nibbles. Our amazing group of professionals, who you will find under our  “Local Resources” section, came together for the first time.

For our users who seek help on what to do when dealing with terminal illness or when someone dies, our Local Resources section of professionals based exclusively in the San Francisco Bay Area help in all aspects of the end-of-life process.

What we discovered at the meet & greet was that many of our fellow-travelers were themselves unaware of the variety of specialized services that we all offer to help someone going through the dying process or dealing with a terminal illness. Since you may not know the wonderful range of options, here’s a list with quick definitions of services and vendors for end-of-life. We also provide images of many of our SevenPonds network attendees:

Jason Buckingham (Attorney at Law), Lisa Clayton (Celebrant-Source Potential), Sherri Wood (Grief Therapy-Passage Quilting), Kristen Callahan (Grief Counseling)

Digital Asset Services: Provide a secure plan for your digital assets, including online passwords and documents.

DNA Testing: Amazing advances in science have made it possible to trace your ancestry through DNA testing.

Jeff Rosenberg (Hospice Care-Vitas), Sara Beth (Grief Counseling for Children-Josie's Place), Liz Matsushita (Content Researcher-SevenPonds)

Holistic Healing: Connect your mind and body with Holistic healing to better deal with terminal illness or the stress of a loss.

Legal Counsel: Help you protect your assets, find elder care, or settle the estate of a loved one.

Dave Gallegioni (Cremation Scatterings Services-SF Bay Boat Memorials, Irene Kane (Celebrant-Ceremonies and Celebrations)

Medicine & Special Transporation: Specially equipped vehicles that offer transport services ranging from errand runs to trips to and from the hospital.

Cremation & Burial products: a selection of beautiful cremation urns, burial shrouds, memorial jewelry, and caskets with a meaningful accent on design.

Jerrigrace Lyons (Home Funeral Consultant-Final Passages), Dawn Gross (UCSF Palliative Care MD-Thought Leader)

Ceremony & Reception Venues: beautiful locations that allow you to come together in unique ways to celebrate or memorialize life.

Ceremonial Musicians: From the soothing notes of the harp to the lively strains of a string quartet, music can provide a warm and lovely atmosphere at your memorial event.

Officiants & Celebrants: Whether you desire a secular, spiritual, or religious service, an officiant or celebrant can help you to create a personalized ceremony.

Ceremony Transporation & Tours: You can arrange transport services to a ceremony, or just enjoy your time together on a sightseeing tour or wine tasting in Napa.

Cremation Scattering Services: creative and lovely ways to scatter cremation ashes, by land, water, plane or boat.

Disposition and Funeral Services: Carefully selected funeral services (cremation, natural burial, and burial at sea) that align with our philosophy on death and dying.

Home Funeral Consultants: Home funeral consultants can assist you with the natural death care process.

Estate Liquidation & Moving: These services can help you liquidate an estate or move beloved heirlooms to a new home.

Home Cleanup & Decontamination: home cleanup and decontamination service in cases of hoarding, unattended deaths, or other difficult circumstances.

Grief Counseling & Therapy: Support and therapy can help you on your personal path to healing following a loss.

Spas & Healing Retreats: A visit to a spa or a retreat can be a calming experience. Our beautiful retreats offer a variety of transition programs to suit your personal needs.

A fun evening for all!