Just kidding! But what is a death doula, anyway, and why might someone consider working with one? We’ll explore three local doulas’ practices, approaches, and perspectives in an audience-led Q&A session moderated by Laurel Hill Funeral Director Pat Quigley.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed about dying or supporting a loved one through the transition process, curious about what death could look like, or tired of death being a taboo topic, this “ask me anything” session is for you. Come with your burning questions!

Death doulas, also called end-of-life doulas, death companions, or death midwives, provide a wide array of non-medical support to people in all stages of life – not only the imminently dying. This support is dynamic, and can take the form of advance care planning, easing death anxiety, supporting grief, answering questions, serving as guides, and much more.

Meet your panelists!

Isabel Knight is the Founder of The Death Designer, a company that provides end of life planning services, including funeral and vigil planning, digital account password management, advance directives, and assistance with reconciling fears of mortality. She takes a human-centered design approach, with a focus on promoting individual autonomy, sustainability, and home deathcare options. Her goal is to create a more humane and equitable end of life experience for all. Additionally, Isabel is a volunteer for Philly Community Deathcare, a group that assists people with after-death care in Philadelphia for free and a board member of the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Pennsylvania, a group that promotes funeral consumer rights and publishes funeral price lists for price shoppers. You can find her on Instagram at @thedeathdesigner.

Nefertiti Moor empowers the Afrikan Diaspora to talk about death & dying without fear. Through mortality mindfulness, green burial + home funeral education, legacy planning, and living funeral ceremonies; she aims to help communities reclaim deathcare, eases anxieties, and creates intentional transitions. Nefertiti is a Anishinaabe (Detroit) native, now living in the Lenni-Lenape (Philadelphia) area. She is a homeschooling SAHM to a powerful & vibrant four-year-old son, and loves to incorporate age appropriate death positivity into his learning experiences. In her free time – Nefertiti loves nature, music, traveling, eating good food and creating. Instagram: @dearlybereaved | Website: www.dearlybereaved.net

Kyra Overmier is a passionate advocate for people, bringing creativity and depth into her work as a death doula. She specializes in creating ritual, promoting and nurturing conversation around death and grief, and building strong community that comes together to support one another.  With compassion for the myriad of emotions around living and dying and an emphasis on the playful intersection of art and the taboo, she is a skillful companion and provider of resources for people and their loved ones before, during, and after death. It is within the wisdom of this work that she believes people can find their own meanings and understanding of life and liberation. Kyra is a mother of two girls residing just outside of Philly, a member of Philadelphia Community Deathcare and conducts workshops and showcases her art at South Street Art Mart and Laurel Hill Cemetery among other upcoming spaces.  She has a special interest in creating safe and inclusive spaces for marginalized groups, with experience specifically with the queer community and our elders.  She loves to integrate nature into her work whenever she can.

Patricia A Quigley became a licensed funeral director in early 2013, and supervisor of Laurel Hill Funeral Home in 2020. Her passion is educating the public about non-traditional options for burial and cremation and the benefits of pre-planning a funeral for yourself or a loved one. She lives in the East Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia with her wife of 35+ years, and they have two adult children. She is the treasurer of A Way In, a Jewish Mindfulness organization, a member of Congregation Mishkan Shalom and the Reconstructionist Chevra Kadisha (Jewish Burial Society), and Vice President of the Bucks/Montgomery PFDA local chapter

tickets:

• $25/General Admission (Ages 13 and up)
• $23/Seniors (Ages 65+) and Students with ID
• $20/Members of the Friends of Laurel Hill
• $2/Access Card Holders (can purchase up to 4 tickets) **

** Access Card + Valid Photo I.D. must be presented at check-in.

Advanced ticket purchases are strongly encouraged!