The inaugural Before I Die ABQ Festival drew 600 participants to 22 events all around Albuquerque over the course of six days. Not everyone could make every event, so we video recorded the panel discussions, the demonstration of the Jewish tahara ritual of washing and dressing the dead, and a talk on autopsies. All the videos are now online, and collected here for your ease of viewing.

Funeral Director Panel on “What You Need to Know Before You Go”

Got questions about funeral planning or cremation, but uncomfortable going to a funeral home before you “have to”? This panel discussion with local funeral directors fields queries on everything related to undertaking. The 80-minute talk was recorded October 20, 2017 at Albuquerque Oasis.

Moderator: Gail Rubin, Certified Thanatologist, A Good Goodbye, speaker, author, and coordinator of the Before I Die ABQ Festival

Funeral Directors:

• Terence Shotkoski, Managing Partner, Berardinelli Funeral Home, Santa Fe, NM;
• Jonathan “Buck” Dyck, Location Managing Director, French Funerals & Cremations, Albuquerque, NM;
• David Slaten, Funeral Director, The Neptune Society, Albuquerque, NM.

When is an Autopsy Necessary?

Vidal Herrera, founder of private autopsy service 1-800-AUTOPSY, has more than 40 years of experience as a coroner investigator. In this video, he talks about the business of forensics, CSI TV shows, and options for families when they have questions about a loved one’s death. Their motto is, “The deceased must be protected and given a voice.” This 54-minute talk was recorded October 21, 2017 at Cooper Art Studio, Albuquerque, NM.

Living Well Until We Die – Part One

Modern medicine can extend your life. Modern medicine can also extend your dying. You can control the extent of medical interventions by writing out your advance healthcare directives, naming a healthcare power of attorney, and knowing your options when end-of-life issues arise. These panel discussions answers the questions “What should we be talking about?” “When and how is the best way to discuss these issues?” and “Now what?” The one-hour, 47-minute discussion was recorded October 22, 2017 at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of New Mexico. The panelists are:

• Nancy Guinn, Medical Director of Presbyterian at Home and developer of the NM MOST form (Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment, a document designed to help healthcare providers honor the treatment wishes of their patients);
• Jan Wilson, Compassion & Choices;
• Joan Gibson, The Conversation Project in New Mexico;
• The moderator is Gail Rubin, CT, death educator and coordinator of the inaugural Before I Die ABQ Festival.

Living Well Until We Die – Part Two

How do we make the most of this lifetime, even while staying aware of our inevitable mortality? This panel discussion answers some tough questions with humor, warmth, and wisdom.The one-hour, 11-minute discussion was recorded October 22, 2017 at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of New Mexico. The panelists, from left to right are:

• Dr. Aroop Mangalik, retired oncologist and author of “Dealing with Doctors, Denial, and Death”;
• Shelley Drake, a death educator living with cancer;
• Stacy Sacco, lecturer and Director of the Small Business Institute at the University of New Mexico Anderson School of Management and TEDxABQ speaker;
• The moderator is Gail Rubin, CT, death educator and coordinator of the inaugural Before I Die ABQ Festival.

Jewish Burial Equals Green Burial

Did you know Jewish burial is naturally green burial? And New Mexico now has a green burial ground for those who want to return to the earth as naturally as possible. This panel discussion answers questions about green burial and Jewish funeral traditions.

This one-hour panel discussion took place at the Jewish Community Center and was sponsored by the Jewish Federation of New Mexico. The event was recorded October 24, 2017. The panel participants, seated left to right, are:

• Rabbi Arthur Flicker, Albuquerque community chaplain;
• Donal Key, La Puerta Natural Burial Ground;
• Emet Ma’ayan, Fathers Building Futures;
• The panel moderator is Gail Rubin, Certified Thanatologist, speaker, author, and coordinator of the Before I Die ABQ Festival. She is also a member of the Chevrah Kaddisha, Jewish volunteers who wash and dress bodies for burial.

Tahara Ritual Demonstration

Tahara, the ritual of washing and dressing a body in the Jewish tradition, is often held behind the scenes at a funeral home. It’s a great mitzvah, a good deed, to participate in a tahara, but because it is done anonymously, many Jews don’t know about this aspect of Jewish funerals.

Using a dressed-up plastic skeleton as the body, three members of Albuquerque’s Chevrah Kaddisha, the Jewish burial society, demonstrate the tahara ritual as practiced in Albuquerque. The participants are: Gail Rubin, coordinator of the Before I Die ABQ Festival (in black jacket), Libby Hopkins (in magenta sweater), and Charna Lefton (in striped shirt). The event was recorded October 24, 2017.

The ritual is always conducted by women for a female who has died, and by men for a male. For more information, visit AGoodGoodbye.com and search for “Jewish funeral traditions.”

Financial/Legal Panel on “What You Need to Know Before You Go”

In this 43-minute panel discussion, expert advisors discuss end-of-life issues related to estate planning, financial planning, and aging-in-place.The discussion was recorded October 25, 2017 at the Horn Family YMCA in Albuquerque, NM as part of the inaugural Before I Die ABQ Festival. The panelists are:

• Jim Plitz, estate planning attorney, Morris Hall PLLC;
• Steve Margulin, CFP, CPA, Retirement Extender;
• Tracy Ahr, tax and estate planning attorney with Express Legal Solutions and Lasting Legacy, LLC;
• Moderator: Gail Rubin, CT, death educator, author, speaker, coordinator of the inaugural Before I Die ABQ Festival.

Many thanks to the sponsors who made the Before I Die ABQ Festival possible:

• A Good Goodbye, funeral planning for those who don’t plan to die;
• French Funerals & Cremations, Albuquerque’s largest and oldest family-owned funeral service company;
• The Neptune Society, America’s most trusted cremation service;
• Lasting Legacy, Inc., providing estate and trust services to New Mexico families;
• Express Legal Solutions, LLC, offering “documents you need at a price you can afford;”
• Retirement Extender®, a team of specialists making the most of your finances;
• Morris Hall, PLLC, a premier estate planning law firm;
• LifeIZShort.com, practical guides for dealing with the inevitable by Peter Callan;
• The Old Pine Box, specializing in pine and cedar coffins and caskets, and specialty urns;
• My Final Checklist, a master file for personal information;
• Zia Trust, Inc., serving clients in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and 38 other states;
• 1-800-AUTOPSY, a thanatology specialty company.