LIFE LESSONS FROM THOSE WE CALL WHEN WE LAY OUR LOVED ONES TO REST
Michael Schmiedicke, Owner of Strong Oaks Woodshop
I’d been doing woodworking for a while, and it never occurred to me [to make a casket]. But about 12 years ago my mom called and said, “What would you think about doing a casket for Grandma?” She had dementia, and the writing was on the wall. I had to sit down and figure out the general construction problems, but it turned into something really special. At the time, a couple of my younger brothers were here visiting. It was a project that we worked on together and was so completely
different from anything I had experienced up to that point. It was this last gift we could give to somebody that we love.
Jennifer Downes, Co-founder Threshold Circle
When you die, why would you want to be somewhere other than your own home? We feel the tears, but we also feel the love, the connection with other people. I actually experienced this with my own mother. She had dementia, and we brought her to my home in Baltimore and cared for her before she died. At first, when my father saw my mother in the bedroom, lying with flowers and a little curtain blowing
in the wind and music playing, he was sobbing, and said, “I don’t know if I can go back and see her again.” But then other people came, and he saw them go upstairs to spend time with her. He said, “I want to go back up.” And he grew so comfortable.
Johanna Ellsbury, Professor of Mortuary Services
My mother always teased me that she should have known. Since I was a kid, I’ve loved horror movies. I want to be deathly scared when I go to the movies. But I don’t think of embalming as horrific. I know that dying is a part of life. As soon as we are born, one thing is for certain: We will die. Our bodies will stop. It’s my faith that keeps me from being scared. When I embalm, I’m praying for this person’s soul. I’m believing they’ve gone to heaven. That helps, especially when I have to do the
babies. Someone has to do the babies, right? Because it goes beyond the babies; I’m doing this for the mothers, for the fathers, for the families...READ MORE
