|
|
|
Founding Members and Associates
Lee Webster* is a writer, editor, public speaker, conservationist, hospice volunteer, and avid gardener. She is the past President of the Green Burial Council International (GBCI, education); former President of the National Home Funeral Alliance (NHFA); and founding board member of the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance (NEDA), End-of-Life Doula Council with the National Hospice Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), and the Conservation Burial Alliance (CBA). She also co-leads the state-by-state home funeral education website effort Funeral.Org. Her latest book is Changing Landscapes: Exploring the growth of ethical, compassionate, and environmentally sustainable green funeral service. Central NH & the Lakes Region 603-236-9495, nhfrea@gmail.com
Julie Lanoie* is a Registered Nurse, Clinical Mental Health Practitioner, and director of Crossings, a bereavement support program for children and families in the Mount Washington Valley. She serves on the interdisciplinary hospice team for Visiting Nurse Home Care and Hospice of Carroll County. She received her home funeral training from Final Passages and through multiple experiences in her own family and community as an active advocate of family directed funerals. She enjoys wildcrafting, cultivating medicinal teas, and walking with goats. Mount Washington Valley
Susan Curtin* is an experienced hospice volunteer, birth doula, and nonprofit board and management team member, with degrees in gerontology, clinical and counseling psychology, and chemical dependency, in addition to medical assistance studies. Susan's current efforts include the establishment of a green burial cemetery in southwestern NH. She is a "7th generation local", animal welfare advocate, sports enthusiast, and bookworm, and received training from Final Passages. Monadnock & Southwestern NH.
Deana Darby has worked in the healing arts since 1990. She is a certified Shiastsu massage therapist and classical Homeopath. Founder of Bodhi Tree Holistic Health Center and Full Circle Center in Napa, CA, she now pursues her passion as a consultant for conscious living and dying in New Hampshire and is a founding member of Threshold Care, a New England based network of trained practitioners who provide practical and spiritual care before, during, and after death through hands-on support and education. Wilton & Southwestern NH
Janet Ellis is a home funeral guide and educator, serving as an alternative educator through the Human Action Foundation. She is a homeschooling mother of seven, gardener, dance mom, costume seamstress, and an advocate for homeschooling freedom, serving in Concord on the Home School Advisory Council. She joined NHFREA as a Board of Director in 2018. Seacoast Area
Michael Whitman has made simple pine caskets in the traditional New England style since 1981, is a juried member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, has been a consumer advocate since the late '70s, and gives workshops on funeral planning as a volunteer for the Funeral Consumers Alliance. Michael is a long-time crusader about ways to save on expenses and still have healing, meaningful funeral experiences. Upper Valley and Connecticut River corridor
Chuck Lakin is a retired college librarian, master woodworker of fine furniture and caskets, and dedicated home funeral educator with Maine's Last Things. His experience when his father died has led him to offer people the information they need to have the personal experience he wanted with his father. Chuck was blessed with the opportunity to care for his wife of 44 years, Penney, through her illness, home funeral and green burial in 2017. His booth at the Common Ground Fair is one of the highlights of the event. Chuck is always ready to discuss ways to conduct your final affair.Waterville, ME and surrounds
Joan Maione is a licensed Funeral Director, a licensed Insurance Agent and a Hospice Volunteer. She has been in the funeral business for more than 10 years. The now works as a Funeral Consultant, meeting with families before visiting or selecting a funeral provider or funeral plan, helping families better understand the process and determine the best funeral home to meet their needs and budget. She has also been instrumental in researching NHFREA's 2020 Funeral Home Cost Comparison Survey. Merrimack
*Founding members
