Remembering A Life

Nicholas Welzenbach grew up in funeral service but as a young person he pursued his passions of surfing and skateboarding, convinced being a funeral director was not for him. But the profession kept drawing him back in. Now, as managing partner of Darling Fischer Funeral Homes in California, he joins us to talk about his experiences as a funeral director and why funerals are as relevant as ever.

Every year, people who are incarcerated die in prison, often without the compassionate hospice care that would be expected in other environments. Laura Musselman, Fernando Murillo, and the rest of the team from the Humane Prison Hospice Project are working to change that through an innovative program that trains incarcerated individuals to provide end-of-life care to their peers who are dying.

Richard Schoeller has served grieving families and individuals throughout his professional life, initially as a funeral director and now, since the late 1990s, as a certified medium. Learn how he realized he had this special gift and how he shares information that has helped people move forward following a loss.

Freddie Powell, a funeral director in Salford, England, doesn't fit the stereotype of a funeral director. As a participant on the #1 reality show Love Is Blind UK, he challenged the notion that funeral professionals are grim and depressing. Listen for the inside scoop on how the women on the show reacted to Freddie's profession and how the show made him the UK's most eligible funeral director.

Cemeteries are bursting with history and, as we found out on a recent visit to Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, also a fair amount of drama! Join cemetery docent Cyndi Kramer on a walkabout of this 175-year-old cemetery that is the final resting place of the famous and not so famous, including beer barons, ship builders and flappers.

Benny Capaul doesn’t fit the mold of what most people think of when they think of a funeral director. He feels equally at home in the embalming room or on stage doing vocals with his ska-punk rock band. He’s also a death doula, podcaster and death/grief consultant. In this episode we talk about the societal shifts that have changed how we honor the dead and why ceremony is still important.

What happens when someone is near the end of their life but they don't have family or friends to sit with them in their final days? For Tannis Dorscht, the answer is simple. She will, as a volunteer with the No One Dies Alone program, sit with someone she has never met, sometimes in complete silence, as a source of comfort and companionship as they approach the end of life.

CW: Discussion about the mass shooting at Columbine High School

Chuck Bowman and John Horan were funeral directors at Horan & McConaty Funeral Home on April 20, 1999, when two assailants killed 13 people at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. They, Jennifer McBride, Director of Grief Support and Community Education, and coworkers helped seven families say goodbye to their loved ones.

Tim Purves, Chairman and owner of William Purves Funeral Directors in Edinburgh, managed the Scottish element of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. From the initial days at Balmoral Castle where The Queen died to the carefully managed boarding of a London-bound aircraft, Tim had the honor of accompanying The Queen on her final journey. This is a fascinating behind-the-scenes conversation.

Darnell Lamont Walker, Emmy-nominated television writer, content creator, filmmaker, healer, and death doula. His credits include writing for children’s programming, including Blue’s Clues & You and Karma’s World; and work as a filmmaker for Seeking Asylum, Outside the House, and Set Yourself on Fire. In this conversation we talk about his work as a death doula and grief in the Black community.