How We Chose Our Grave Marker
April 7, 2017
In 2008, when my husband and I unveiled the first version of Then Departing Details Workbook—originally known in our family as The Doomsday Book—to our two adult children, one of them asked: “Where do you want to be buried? Or do you want to be buried at all?” Despite all our planning, we were shocked to realize that we had no idea.
After a few months of discussion we settled on cremation, with the ashes secured in a bench overlooking the Rocky Mountains at a cemetery near our home in Calgary, Alberta.
Why a bench? After my parents passed away, whenever I visited their gravesite I wanted to stay and reflect but there was nowhere nearby to sit and I always got uncomfortable standing. At the cemetery we chose, we noticed others reading or writing while sitting on grave markers that were also granite benches. We decided a bench marker was the answer. The top lifts off one of the bench legs in order to inter the ashes.
I share this story to illustrate that planning ahead allows you to take your time and carefully evaluate your many options, sparing your family one less task to deal with when you pass away.
This article from the Financial Post discusses a recent poll of Canadian employees, which found that 60% would accept less money for better support of their personal well-being. Read more about how stress is affecting Canadians and the importance they are putting on mental health.
Dr. Ken Druck, one of our featured resources has a new book that is very relevant to our workbook users: "Raising Aging Parents: Guidelines for Families in the Second Half of Life." It is a very comprehensive book, dealing realistically with the trials and challenges of being responsible for aging parents and trying to ensure their lives remain as good as possible. Alternately, the content provides a very helpful perspective for those of us who are intent on planning ahead and leaving a less stressful set of circumstances for our family to deal with if we become incapable or pass away unexpectedly. Please visit www.kendruck.com . We thank Dr. Druck for providing a wonderful compliment to Departing Details Workbook by including a reference to it in the book as a very useful resource, as he details in his video .
This article from Forbes explains the surprising fact that many Americans over 55 don't have their affairs in order. Find out what's holding people back, why estate planning is so important, and some tips for tackling the difficult subject.
