In 2001, David Hlavsa and his wife, Lisa Holtby, lost their first son, James, at 20 weeks gestation. In 2007, this loss inspired David’s first essay, “My First Son, A Pure Memory,” which was featured in the “Modern Love” column of the The New York Times.  He later penned the critically-acclaimed memoir, “Walking Distance: Pilgrimage, Parenthood,…

Growing up on the family rhubarb and pumpkin farm, Shannon Ritscher’s life was like that of most small-town teenagers. In 1986, all that changed when Shannon’s brother, Steve, killed himself. Devastated by the loss of his son, four years later, Shannon’s father David, also took his own life. Despite these set backs, Shannon found a…

Co-founders Mark Brewer, Mike Walas and Brandon Patty were on a mission: to create an eco-friendly way of honoring the dead.   After years of working with leading soil scientists and arborists, The Living Urn was born.  With its biodegradable planting systems now available online and in over 250 Funeral Homes nationwide, The Living Urn…

When Annie Garretson and Sally Rothstein met, they never imagined their friendship and love of music would find them at the bedside of those at life’s precipice. The Pikes Peak Threshold Singers aren’t just any choir. They are a group who share the final moments of strangers, community members, and, even their loved ones lives,…

Pamela Skjolsvik never dreamed that a misrouted phone call would change the course of her master’s thesis and, ultimately, her life.   When the call, originally intended for her graduate advisor, was mysteriously redirected to a funeral home, a seed was planted. That seed grew into the now critically-acclaimed book, “Death Becomes Us.”   What…