Sandy’s Blog

On Tuesday April 26, 2016, over 35 people came to a “Death Café” hosted by the Granby Free Public Library, Granby, MA.  Refreshments were served and we gathered in small groups at different tables to talk about death. The conversations were…

Discussing Mortality:  A Community Conversation.  During March and April 2016 many libraries in Franklin and Hampshire Counties are participating in a regional program coordinated with staff from Cooley Dickinson Hospital and inspired by Dr. Atul Gawande’s bestselling book, Being Mortal.  The…

Five (or More) Shades of Green is the topic of our Program on Sunday October 18, 2015. Five panelists will discuss environmental aspects of final arrangements.  How “green” are the choices?   • Carol Coan – How green? Burial pod, cremation urn with seed, vertical…

A joint report prepared by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the Funeral Consumers Alliance (FCA) documents difficulties in obtaining funeral pricing information. These two organizations request that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) update the Federal Funeral Rule to…

The Massachusetts Board of Registration of Embalming and Funeral Directing welcomed us today (June 16, 2015) and received our comments about the revision of their rules and regulations.  Carol Coan, Susie Maddern and I traveled to Boston in response to this invitation…

“A Project to Turn Corpses into Compost” is the headline on an article published in the Science section of the New York Times on April 13, 2015. It describes the work of Katrina Spade, a woman who studied sustainable agriculture…

On Saturday March 28 Peter Stefan gave a passionate presentation about the importance of respectful funeral rites for each deceased person – rich or poor, famous or infamous. He was speaking at the Annual Meeting of the Funeral Consumers Alliance of…

Beware of “Burial insurance” advertisements. Today I received an email with the subject line:  “Get-Low-Cost Burial Insurance: No__Medical Exam.”  Here is the text: “Get $20,000 Burial Insurance for $2.50/Day*You are eligible for burial insurance. No_medical_Exam required.Payout is guaranteedBenefits never go away because…

FCAWM hosted an educational forum Wednesday, October 15, 2014, 1:00 – 2:30 pm: Dispelling Myths about Funeral Prepayments, at Rockridge Retirement Community, Northampton. See flyer (pdf). Panelists Morgan Mitchell, Funeral Director, Mitchell Funeral Home (Easthampton) and member of the state Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers (Boston),…

“Reforms aim to end funeral swindles”  This headline on the front page of the Daily Hampshire Gazette on September 30 drew attention to an excellent article by staff writer Dan Crowley.  “A state funeral industry regulator is proposing reforms…” “One proposal would stop…