Notoriously slow and expensive, you’ve probably heard of probate. You might know it is something you want to avoid, much like a speeding ticket or root canal. But what exactly is it? Probate is the court process often required to begin estate settlement. On average,...

What if technology could allow you to “talk” to someone who has passed away? Several tech companies are working with artificial intelligence (AI) to help make that a kind of reality through the use of chatbots and avatars that simulate conversation with a loved one....

Moved by the deaths of his mother and later his mother-in-law, Ned Buskirk decided to bring people together to collectively grieve, connect and find more “aliveness.” Buskirk’s San Francisco-based “You’re Going to Die” (YG2D) started as an open mic poetry and music...

On Veteran’s Day, the country honors all veterans for their service. It’s a public holiday, formerly Armistice Day, held on the anniversary of the end of World War I to honor American veterans of all wars. It differs from Memorial Day which recognizes those who died...

November is a month devoted to gratitude as well as National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, a time that gives recognition to, and education about, these important end-of-life services. Hospice is often misunderstood. After all, unless you have been there or work...

“I am staying not to cling on, but because sometime, at least once, everyone should see someone all the way through. All the way home.” — John Hodgman, Bettyville “I think we should talk about engaging home health,” Shannon said. As Jimmy’s nurse practitioner, she...

Inspired by the celebration of memories shared, Solace is proud to introduce our first premium urn collection, combining traditional natural materials with modern production methods. For thousands of years, artists have designed ceramic jars to safely hold what we...

As the popularity of Dia de los Muertos has grown, so too has the ubiquity of “ofrendas,” altars honoring the dead. But their popularity has not lessened their meaning, especially in a world craving the rituals lost during the pandemic. Ofrendas are an essential part...

At 16, two things shaped the life of a young Chicago woman who later would work to improve equity in end-of-life care. Nicole McCann-Davis lost both her grandparents, with whom she lived in an intergenerational household, a few months apart. Each died suddenly and...

Michael Brooke is the founder and publisher of the magazine, Concrete Wave. His love of skateboarding inspired him to write a book about death and dying, a field that he’s come to work in as a professional. What inspired you to combine these two subjects of...

You may have already made the choice between burial or cremation, but have you considered a traditional funeral home service versus a direct cremation service? Don’t worry if you are wondering what the difference is — most people haven’t heard of direct cremation....

Northern California hospice nurse and death educator Gabby Jimenez recently made the case for adding end-of-life doulas to the hospice team, a role that in her view “could tie everything together in a way that would make death and dying a little more peaceful for...

Lynnea E. Lindsey is the Director of Behavioral Health Services for Legacy Health. She offers these tips for coping during these difficult times. In the midst of tremendous loss, a normal coping strategy for humans is to disconnect from the constant grief and loss...

Speaker, educator and author, Barbara Karnes, R.N., is a thought leader and renowned authority on the dying process and a leading educator for families, health care professionals and the community at large. She is perhaps most well known as the author of “Gone From My...

I carry you with me into the world, into the smell of rain & the words that dance between people. And for me, it will always be this way, walking into the light, remembering being alive together. ~Brian Andreas “I’m still pretty tired from my radiation treatments,...

Almost two years ago, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote about the dangers of loneliness to our health and efforts to combat it, like the UK’s “friendly benches,” encouraging people to connect. Little did any of us know that the COVID pandemic beginning a...

The “ash” scattering scene of the Big Lebowski gets a lot of attention, but it isn’t the only film where cremated remains steal the scene. Here are 10 movies we found where cremated remains are a key part of the story. By the way, we noticed in many of these films,...

Crystal Meneses wears many hats. She’s a death doula, a chaplain for a local hospice organization, a music therapist, a death cafe facilitator, a grief counselor, a volunteer for several charities and transport worker for a mortuary. But the 39-year-old Oregon native...

Frank and “Mits” (Stefano and Tomita, respectively) float in front of screens of deep blue Pacific Ocean waters on Zoom where they’ve adapted their San Diego Death Cafes since COVID hit last March. Soon little “Brady Bunch” squares appear with six women of all ages, a...

Let’s face it, planning for our own mortality is uncomfortable and hard. No matter what our circumstances or background, we all share some level of discomfort around death and therefore often avoid end-of-life planning at all costs. Even though end-of-life planning is...

A Southern California hospice nurse is sharing facts about death and dying on social media — and tens of thousands of people are listening. “Educating people on what it really looks like to die, what the phases you are most likely going to see, the “abnormal” things...

In recent years, the majority of Americans chose cremation over burial. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the projected cremation rate rose to 56 percent nationwide in 2020, up more than 8 percent from 2015. It’s around 80 percent in Nevada,...

As the world reopens and Americans hit the open road, it is a great time to pay your respects to some of the people who worked to make the country a better place. These monuments and cemetery sites around the country honor a few of our favorite prominent activists and...

When we wrote about memorial fireworks about a year ago, we were surprised to see how popular the idea was with our readers who wanted a festive, explosive show for scattering cremated remains. It turns out that, despite the interest in sending your loved ones’...

As America celebrates both its reopening and its Independence Day, lots of us are getting outside to enjoy the land that we love. For many, it is time to pack up the car and hit the road for a camping trip and or cross country journey. And as we travel from “sea to...

Age is simply a case of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it don’t matter. ~Jack Benny It’s been almost 17 years since my father drew his last breath. He had been fading slowly for months, he was 102 years old, and yet his death was still a blow. When I was a kid,...

Pre-death dreams and visions “have been reported throughout history and across cultures. They are mentioned in the Bible, Plato’s Republic, Shakespeare,” says Dr. Christopher Kerr in a TedTalk about his research of the dreams of hospice patients, viewed more than 3.6...

A recent study of 20,000 millennials who created an estate plan found they group was motivated by parenthood and the pandemic, love their pets, want to give back to charities and science and prefer less traditional goodbyes. The Estate Planning Study by Trust and Will...

In 2014, Jennifer Gable, a transgender woman, was presented as a man at her Idaho funeral. Though she had legally changed her name in 2007, her family chose to refer to her incorrect former name, cut her hair and have her dressed in a suit in an open casket ceremony....

Many may think of Memorial Day as the time to buy a new refrigerator or fire up the grill for the kick-off of summer, but it is also a solemn holiday that celebrates those who died during their military service. Memorial Day was once called Decoration Day and founded...

“I think people that haven’t gone through that kind of loss don’t understand the way it affects everything in your brain and your body and your mind and everything in life,” Jack StockLynn of Portland shares in a new documentary about grief. The documentary, Speaking...

Shortly after my father died in 2013 after a long illness, I volunteered to go with my mom to the local funeral home. My father was a planner at heart and we knew he’d made his own arrangements and pre-paid for everything. After all, he’d served as an officer in the...

Thirteen years ago, Lisa Pahl was the hospice social worker that helped Lori LoCicero when Lori’s husband Joe was dying of pancreatic cancer. Over time, the pair became friends and began on a passionate quest to help others be more prepared for death. The Death Deck...

Is the Force strong in you? Have you always wanted to travel to space? Well, though not possible for most of us in life, it is becoming a more popular destination for a final frontier. Companies like Beyond Burials, Celestis, Aura Flights and California-based Elysium...

At least once, everyone should see someone all the way through. All the way home. — John Hodgman “You have to tell him,” Shannon said. I shook my head. “I can’t.” Jimmy’s latest MRI scan was horrifying. The cancer was everywhere, blanketing his brain and spine like a...

A couple of years ago, Yes! Magazine boldly declared that the future of death is feminist. As evidence of this trend, the magazine pointed to a growing number of death doulas (more than 3,300 have been trained since 2015, most of whom are women) and the predominance...

In a popular TedTalk, Laura van Dernoot Lipsky describes a moment on a cliff in the Caribbean where — she later came to realize — she had nearly experienced a mental health crisis. “I found myself standing on top of a very tall cliff having what I would only come to...

The majority of Americans now choose cremation, in part because of its smaller impact on land and materials. Cremation can be a “greener” choice than burial because no embalming chemicals, casket or plot are needed. But while cremation is an improvement compared to...

Cartoonist Roz Chast admitted in her popular 2014 book “Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?” that her parents’ “ashes” had been in her closet, alongside shoes, clothing and wrapping paper, for more than five years. In the spring of 2016, after receiving a tip...

Families who lost a loved one due to COVID-19 after Jan. 20, 2020 may qualify for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA will award a maximum of $9,000 for funeral expenses with a maximum of $35,500 per application. To be eligible, the FEMA...

After a year of planning, in April of 2019, two guys with an idea launched a company that has now served hundreds of families. Motivated by design thinking and inspired to reimagine the funeral industry, Keith Crawford and David Odusanya launched Solace Cremation,...

There’s a well-known reluctance to talk about death in our Western culture and plenty of explanations for it. Our discomfort with death translates into little planning, despite the fact survey after survey shows most people think it’s a good idea.  As a business...

“I cannot tell you the rapture I felt holding that in my hand. The coldness dropping onto my burning skin, the miracle of it all, the fascination as I watched it melt and turn into water. In that moment, just being any part of this planet, in this universe, mattered...

“There is nothing else that can meet us in our heartbreak, elevate our spirits, move us to laughter and let us dream in the way that music can,” Chris Sikora recently wrote in the New York Times. In this time of loss, the San Diego hospice chaplain tells us, we need...

Christine Borchert and the team at Evening Star End-of-Life Doula Services help explain what a “Vigil Plan” is, and why you may want to create one. What is a Vigil Plan? A Vigil Plan is a blueprint, a set of ideas and suggestions, created by an individual that...

After you receive cremated remains or “ashes,” you may decide to move them to a display urn or take a portion for scattering or use in another small keepsake item or jewelry. For some people, it can be an emotional task, so consider asking a friend or family member to...

“There is no day that goes by where I’m sitting at my computer or doing my work that I don’t think about my mom’s death and I don’t want to have to stop thinking about my mom’s death at three in the afternoon or 10 in the morning … I think similarly, we are watching...

In a back corner of an Olympia, Washington park, hangs a disconnected rotary phone. From it, people who need to talk to someone who is no longer there, can do so from the solitude of the wooded surroundings. The project was inspired by a phone booth set up in 2010 in...

During the pandemic, “Zoom funerals” and other online memorials have become the norm. And many experts think they’ll be around to stay even after we “return to normal” to help those who can’t travel or attend in-person events. But because it can be tricky to create a...

At Solace Cremation, we’ve been designing a better kind of funeral business, one that puts people and families at the center, focused on transparency and ease, and raising a conversation about quality of care before, during and after death. In almost three years in...

Jonathan Bartels started in health care in 1986 and has worked as a registered nurse in trauma care, palliative care, oncology, medical/surgical care and post-op organ transplant. He’s currently working as a palliative care nurse liaison. He created “The Pause” in...

On Christmas Eve, I had the opportunity and privilege to volunteer in our hospital’s newly opened COVID vaccine clinic. First in order of priorities were the health care workers most at risk for COVID exposure themselves. They included nurses, doctors, cafeteria...

End Well is an organization with a mission of “making the end of life part of life.” The nonprofit, founded by Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, brings “well-known and emerging voices to drive a cultural shift around the end-of-life experience.” Solace is a proud sponsor of...

Though most of us would agree that 2020 was the worst year ever, there have been some moments of sweetness — time over a board game with family, silly Zoom calls with the grandparents and trading (socially-distant) treats with our neighbors. There are some of these...

Los Angeles is the home to innovation in entertainment, aerospace and fashion, but probably not as well known is L.A.’s dynamic influence on the rapidly changing funeral industry. It is, after all, the birthplace of the “death positive” movement. There are dozens of...

So many people have died in 2020, it is hard to know where to start to pay tribute to them. The country has lost more than 300,000 people to COVID this year. And many others died of other causes, but because of the pandemic, couldn’t be mourned in traditional ways....

Though there are no health hazards associated with cremation “ashes” (officially cremated remains), there are a few things you should know before you plan your scattering. There are many popular options for scattering, as our colleagues at Better Place Forests have...

From the first day I met David Odusanya and Keith Crawford in a bustling coffeeshop, I knew working for a cremation startup was different. These guys were not the stodgy stereotype you might imagine with cold clammy hands and ill-fitting suits. They were young,...

There is never a convenient time to lose someone, but the current circumstances make a difficult situation even harder. During the holiday season, it can be even harder to cope with loss. Grief expert David Kessler says there is no tidy “cure” for grief, but there are...

Shoshana Ungerleider, M.D., is physician, founder, speaker, producer and writer. In 2017, she founded the End Well Foundation. End Well is a media platform and produces an annual, interdisciplinary gathering which focuses on transforming end-of-life care to make it a...

Though it sometimes may be hard to find, gratitude is a practice that’s at the heart of this season. It boosts health, improves mental health, reduces stress, makes us happier and helps us achieve success. As Michael J. Fox tells the New York Times, “with gratitude,...

Urban legends about Walt Disney have circulated since shortly after his death more than 50 years ago. The legend even sparked a recent quirky comedy film. The truth is, Disney was not frozen. He had a California cremation and his ashes were interred at Forest Lawn in...

Veterans and their families may not be aware of the benefits available to them to honor their service to our country after they pass away. These benefits are for all veterans with an honorable discharge, their spouse and any dependent children. They can help give...

November is National Home Care and Hospice Month, a time to pay tribute to the millions of hard working nurses, home care aides, therapists, social workers and others making a difference in the lives of the families they serve. Hospice workers are everyday heroes who...

We’ve all been thinking about our mortality a lot more than usual as we make our way through the pandemic, but an ancient festival has been celebrating our relationship with the dead for as many as 3,000 years. Whether you consider it cultural appropriation or...

Solace Cremation is thrilled to work in the midst of a sea change in the funeral business. Here we introduce you to some of our colleagues in Seattle who are reinventing the death care industry. Lashanna Williams is a massage therapist, a death doula, deathcare...

The cost of cremation on the West Coast is significantly lower than other areas of the country, according to data from the National Funeral Directors Association. So if you are shopping for affordable cremation in Portland, Seattle or Los Angeles, you will face lower...

More families are turning to cremation than ever before, due in part to the growing expense of traditional burial and funerals. In 20 years, 80 percent of Americans will choose cremation, experts say. Oregon and Washington are already growing close to that level,...

We certainly don’t have to tell you, 2020 has been a tough year. For those who follow celebrities in sports, politics and entertainment, it has been a time of tremendous loss. From Kobe Bryant to Chadwick Boseman and Naya Rivera, we remember those we lost this year...

Malisa Riceci is Solace’s lead funeral director. Malisa is a licensed director and embalmer with over 15 years experience serving families. This is part of an occasional series we call “Ask Malisa.” Read our first “Ask Malisa” blog here. What are cremated remains?...

There are many ways to remember a loved one. Some people keep cremated remains in an urn or scatter them someplace meaningful. A relatively new concept is to turn a portion of cremated remains into a diamond or other jewelry. As our friends Eterneva explain, the death...

In these uncertain times, we wanted to reassure you about Solace Cremation’s health and safety practices. Since March, Solace is proud to have served hundreds of families safely and with minimal in-person contact. Keeping everyone safe At Solace, we are committed to...

While fewer people are choosing traditional burial in cemeteries, families often still want a place to visit — or the feeling of pride that comes with stewardship — as a reminder of their loved one. For many, nature provides the perfect setting. Public green spaces...

California is the only state to require funeral homes to post prices online. It became the first and only state to do so seven years ago in 2013. The Funeral Rule requires all funeral homes nationwide to supply families with general price lists, but the law was...

Cremation is growing in popularity and is chosen now by more than half of Americans, but it is even more popular in Northwest markets served by Solace. According to the Cremation Association of North America, Washington and Oregon are among the states with the biggest...

Innovation is in our DNA. Design is our passion. And disruption is our mission. You may wonder how designers got into the funeral business, but it is really quite simple. We were motivated to create Solace by Design Thinking, a philosophy that brings empathy and...

Young companies need money to grow. But Black tech entrepreneurs say they’ve been left out of the “elusive, secretive and chummy” world of venture capital which isn’t governed by the same civil rights laws that apply elsewhere, the Washington Post reports. Of the...

We’ve shared our unique origin story with you many times. Two good friends, formerly design executives at Nike, came together with a new idea. Inspired by design thinking and the our not-so-great experiences after the death of Keith's father and David's mum, we knew...

We can’t get enough of a beloved scene in the cult classic movie, The Big Lebowski. You know the one. John Goodman as Walter, and his friend (Jeff Bridges) “The Dude,” scatter the ashes of his bowling teammate, Donny, returning his “mortal remains to the bosom of the...

The death certificate is perhaps the most important legal document in existence. It is an official legal record of a person’s death and is used by families as they deal with banks, insurance companies, government agencies and other financial institutions to close...

In Southern California and around the globe, there’s been a growing movement by surfers to honor George Floyd and others killed by racism and fear. Activists have been holding “Paddle Outs,” a traditional Hawaiian memorial ceremony, to show unity with the Black Lives...

For those whose loved one’s favorite holiday was the Fourth of July, was a veteran or just wanted to “go out with a bang,” cremation fireworks may be something to explore. In perhaps its most famous use, “gonzo journalist” Hunter S. Thompson’s ashes were blown into...

After my mum died, my seven siblings and I went to the local pub to celebrate mum. We were telling stories about her and sharing our collective grief over a pint or two when a drunk skinhead started to make fun, as they enjoyed a meal, of my brother and his wife....

A few months ago, dozens of tech-powered companies in the death care space began collaborating on a variety of projects to help families during this challenging time. These companies, like others in this “space,” were inspired to meet the needs of families unmet by...

When we look back over our first year in business, we are so humbled by knowing we’ve helped hundreds of families. After all, we are just two guys retired from the sneaker business trying our hand at something completely different. When we started, our plan was to...

Insurance companies and funeral homes often tout the benefits of the pre-paid funeral plans they sell. The idea is that you will save your family money and anguish when the time comes. The nation’s largest funeral providers made $226 million in pre-need sales last...

It would seem that a pandemic might help the big deathcare businesses. The nation’s largest provider averaged $10,000 in revenue for each of its more than 300,000 cases last year, according to Forbes. But without the ability to “upsell” families and to sell “pre-need”...

There is no getting around it, Mother’s Day is different this year. Brunches in crowded restaurants are out, online playlists are in. Hugs are out, Zoom or Google Hangout video calls are in. Public health experts say staying away is the greatest gift you can give your...

We created Solace Cremation to be different. And like everything that’s new or different, sometimes folks have questions. In today’s blog, Jeremy Frank, COO of Solace, answers frequently asked questions about Solace’s price, plans and processes. Transparency is one of...

We’ve all been adjusting to changes brought by COVID-19. If you don’t know what day it is and your pajamas are the latest in “business casual,” you are not alone. The “new normal” is changing the way we live and how we die. Our lives may never be the same, experts...

As families cope with challenging restrictions during the COVID-19 crisis, a number of digital end-of-life and death care companies are stepping up and collaborating to serve them. Solace is proud to be among those businesses providing digital solutions, but today...

Around the globe, Covid-19 is reminding us all of our own mortality. The virus has brought both this stark reminder and the gift of a lot of free time to check things off our collective “to-do” lists. Surveys show that though most of us agree it is important to...

As we approach the 50th anniversary of Earth Day — the day that marked the beginning of the environmental movement, we thought it would be a good time to talk about Solace’s commitment to the environment. Last year, Solace Cremation partnered with 3 Degrees to offset...

Admittedly, this is a strange time to have a birthday. People are getting creative with Zoom, leaving cakes on porches and holding drive-by birthday parties. As one nurse practitioner told the New York Times, “celebrations are really, truly just about love.” Love is...

Direct cremation is an option that many families may consider because it is quick, affordable and there is no funeral needed — so gatherings can be held at a later time when family members can come together, or loved ones can grieve together online. So just what is a...

This unprecedented time has been heartbreaking in so many ways. Our favorite restaurants, stores, barber shops and bookstores are shutting their doors and we don’t know when — or if — they’ll reopen. But those losses pale in comparison to the grief of those losing a...

Amid the COVID crisis, there are positive stories of families and communities doing what they can to keep up morale. Some are holding birthday parades, online dance parties and drawing chalk rainbows. The crisis has brought a return to phone calls and letter writing....

The COVID-19 crisis has brought about so many questions as we all try to stay well and keep others safe. Like many businesses, the death care industry is adjusting to the changes COVID-19 has brought. We know you have questions and asked our Funeral Director, Malisa...

Guidance about gatherings in the wake of COVID-19 have been changing rapidly, but guidelines recommending that Americans avoid groups of over 10 people have touched every aspect of life, from schools to restaurants and bars, weddings and even funerals. Religious...

As designers, we were inspired to reimagine the deathcare space after having mediocre experiences with the deaths of our father and mother, respectively. We knew there was a better way. We used Design Thinking to blaze a path. So what is design thinking? Here’s a...

Just what is hospice care? Though the number of people receiving care in hospice has been on the rise (1.49 Medicare million patients received hospice care in 2017), there are still many misconceptions that linger about just what it is and who could benefit from it....

As a report by two nonprofit, consumer advocacy groups makes clear, giving consumers transparent pricing for funeral and cremation costs will save them money. Funeral Consumers Alliance and the Consumer Federation of America looked into prices in California where...

You may have heard the term “death doula” in recent years and intuitively understood that it was a growing profession of dedicated people who wanted to help the dying and their families with their end-of-life care. When women began to use birth doulas and midwives,...

This month, we’ve been inviting you to share letters to people in your life who have passed away.  As we shared in our last blog, the act of writing can be healing and sharing those letters can help others. If you’d like to share your letters with us, you can email us...

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, it is the time of year to think about the people we love, even — or perhaps especially — the people who have passed away. If you’d like to join us in celebrating that love, there is more information on how to participate at the...

For the first time since the early 20th century, more people are dying at home than in hospitals. And about half of those who die at home receive hospice help from home health aides, hospice and palliative care workers and nurses. Death doulas are also increasingly...

Writing your own obituary is a great way to help shape your personal life story after you die. There is no right or wrong way to do it, and there are many alternatives to publishing it when the time comes. A recent article in the Seattle Times explained how the act of...

There comes a point when families and patients must decide whether it is time to enter hospice care. There are a number of factors to consider, including whether treatment is no longer effective. It is a difficult decision, but experts agree that choosing to enter...

Just about eight short months after we launched our start-up, we headed south to San Francisco to one of the largest end-of-life symposiums in the country, End Well 19. We knew we would learn a lot about this rapidly-changing field, but we were blown away by the...

With the coming of a new year, many resolve to get in shape or end bad habits. But creating an after-life plan might be the best resolution you’ve ever made because it will take the weight off family members in the future and give you peace of mind right now. Here are...

When someone is grieving, it can be difficult to know what to say. But experts have advice to keep you from either rambling on or saying nothing, both of which could leave you feeling both awkward and guilty. The New York Time’s Crowdwise column has excellent advice...

As more people choose cremation for their loved ones (nearly 90 percent of Northwest residents are expected to opt for cremation by 2030), new markets are popping up with creative options for their “ashes.” A side note: cremated remains, sometimes called “cremains,”...

After losing a loved one during the year, facing the holidays can be tough. But there are small rituals that can help you remember them and give yourself a meaningful, active way to grieve alone or with family and friends. These 10 ideas are just a small fraction of...

As you pull your turkey out of the oven and gather friends and family around the table, why not make room for an often uninvited guest — death. According to “Death over Dinner” founder, Michael Hebb, dinner is the perfect opportunity to discuss a topic that’s been...

By now, you’ve probably heard our story. Two “Nike guys” leave the sneaker giant in 2017 and launch our own creative agency, CO-Lab. Then about a year ago, we start exploring a new business idea. We discover that people want an alternative to the traditional funeral...

Families of veterans may not be aware of the many benefits due to them to honor their loved one’s service to the country after they pass away. These benefits can help defray the cost of arrangements as well as give special meaning to their service, even if they served...

Among the usual pumpkins, ghosts and goblins on neighborhood porches in celebration of Halloween, you may have seen a growing number of Dia de los Muertos-themed decorations and traditions popping up -- altars to relatives who have passed away, brightly-colored, folk...

Learning the difference between palliative care and hospice can be confusing, since both are centered on giving the patient comfort for their symptoms. But palliative care and hospice care, though related, are not the same. Comfort for Symptoms According to the...

Solace Cremation is Bringing Innovative Death Care Services to Seattle Seattle has long been a trend-setting city. The home of Boeing, Microsoft, Starbucks and Amazon, the Emerald City is often on the cutting edge of social trends and inventions. From evaporated milk...