Tag Archives: Seven Ponds Lakes

Why Traditional Coffins are Going Under

My Cameo Visit to Aurora Casket Co.

As we begin spreading the word about SevenPonds, it’s only natural we take a trip to Michigan (given that our business is named after the Seven Ponds lakes located there). We hit the Detroit area circuit just a week ago … Continue reading

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Love and Death, Carried by Fire

Is Cremation the New American Way?

“Let not their dust be parted for their two hearts in life were singe-hearted.” — Purified by Fire Our world is always changing; and today, the scattering of cremation ashes onto the open winds ritualizes the loving act of letting … Continue reading

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Dying is Not Always a Sad Process

My grandmother's glorious last hurrah

We think of dying as something sad — a path paved only with despair. But my grandmother Ida taught me otherwise. One day, at age 81, she awoke with difficulty swallowing. My mother took her to the doctor, who fed a … Continue reading

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An Unexpected Death Brings Our Family Together

One winter night in 2005, I received a phone call – one of those dreaded calls we all know could happen at any moment, try as we might to forget it. But I will never forget the warbling pitch of … Continue reading

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SevenPonds

Our Beginning

While this marks the first entry into the SevenPonds blog, this is not the very beginning. The beginning was all the summers I spent with my Swiss-born grandparents, Otto and Ida Gilomen, at their home on the shores of Seven Ponds, a group of seven small glacier-cut lakes in Metamora, Michigan. The person I am today is greatly shaped by the time I spent with my grandparents and my heartfelt memories of Seven Ponds. Both my inspiration for SevenPonds.com and my progressive views about the end of life originate at the Seven Ponds lakes, where my grandparents’ ashes are scattered.

Life is an amazing process full of intense experiences all culminating to an inevitable end. How that end comes about is a completely different experience for each of us. The end of life should be treated as an important occasion, just as every day of our life should be. Continue reading

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