“I'd like my death to be as interesting as my life has been.”
- David Bowie
Willow draws on 25+ years of end-of-life experience as:
Live-in Carer for Mom (5 years), and support carer of Dad;
Hospice Volunteer: respite, vigil, and “Bucket List Buddy”;
Three-Time Executor/Trustee: retitled/reorganized bank and investment accounts; sold two family homes and a dozen rental properties; disbursed possessions; created LLCs; worked with counselors to restructure debt; liaised with Lawyers to update Wills and Trusts;
Secretary-Treasurer & Asset Manager for a Non-Profit Cemetery;
Sassy Friend who — with consent! — offers emotional support and guidance for personal finance matters and navigating major life transitions, especially end-of-life and end of relationships.
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National End of Life Doula Alliance | Northeast Regional Group | Facilitator 2023
YourEldr | End-of-Life Planning | Facilitator
Hospice of Orange & Sullivan | Volunteer 2022-2024
Hortonville Cemetery Association, Inc. | Secretary-Treasurer & Board Member
Dying Well-Western Catskills Facebook Community | Organizer/Moderator
Tender Care Conversations Caregiver Peer Support Group | Co-Moderator 2020-2021
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End-of-Life Doula Training | The Dying Year | Feb 2023
End-of-Life Doula Weekly Mentorship | The Dying Year | Ongoing
Regional Group Monthly Mentorship | National End of Life Doula Alliance | Ongoing
Hospice Volunteer Certification | Hospice of Orange & Sullivan | Dec 2022
Advance Care Planning Facilitator Certification | Respecting Choices@ First Steps | July 2020
Hospice & Palliative Care Volunteer Training | VITAS Healthcare | June 2008
Values
Empowering
To help you and your loved ones tap your innate wisdom and compassion. To respect and advance your goals.
Inclusive
To expand access to end-of-life resources for people of all identities, socioeconomic circumstance, and across generations.
Life-Affirming
To view the end as inspiration for all stages of life, to live better now with clearer intention.
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Willow’s Story
I grew up in a lively, close-knit family. We loved to talk — even about the touchy stuff.
Love. Personal Finance. Death.
My parents were vital and in their sixties when they had the foresight to expand the house with “aging in place” in mind. Doorways were widened for wheelchair access. Stylish grab bars were installed in the walk-in shower. In time, we needed all of it.
I was living, working ‘a real job’ and co-parenting four step-kids halfway across the country when old age started closing in on my folks.
The distance was too far to pop in and troubleshoot Mom’s iPad, take Dad to the oncologist, or stock them up on paper goods.
When my folk’s longtime friend who tended their gardens started dropping off groceries sometimes and the home repair-friend drove them to the ER in a jam, I realized how, sooner or later, we all need a circle of caring people.
I hope to share with you a few precious parts of my parents’ legacy: Openness, ingenuity and being on the lookout for beauty and life’s small, daily gifts. Playfulness, generosity, intention to create positive memories and a desire to serve. In other words, Love.
So in 2008 I volunteered for hospice as a way to pay it forward in the community where I lived.
In 2014 my own Dad went on hospice. I opted to move back home to upstate New York to help Mom during his last month. Chronic stress and anticipatory grief weigh heavily on the heart. I stayed on with Mom through profound loss, change and to support her through her own medical odyssey until she transitioned in 2020.
Our last five years were rich, precious — and devastating. In other words: Life.
I am discovering there are few jobs more ‘real’ than showing up for each in frailty, illness and dying.
“The Grave Tour” is a long-standing family ritual. Here’s Mom “jazzing up” wreaths for the five graves we decorate at Christmas. In Autumn, we do mums. In June, a deer-resistant mixed flower basket. Then we get lunch or takeout to make a day of it.
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