Cemetery History Group Honored

The 2022 Board of Historic Fairview Cemetery

The Board of Historic Fairview Cemetery is being recognized by Albuquerque Business First‘s 2022 Philanthropy Awards for Best Boards.

The award ceremony and summit will take place on Thursday, March 10, at Sandia Golf Club, 30 Rainbow Road NE, Albuquerque. Here is information that helped Historic Fairview Cemetery earn this recognition.

What is the mission of your nonprofit?

To preserve and maintain the Historic Fairview Cemetery and share the history of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the United States through the lives of the individuals buried there.

What was the nonprofit’s biggest success of 2021?

The Memorial Day tours of the cemetery on May 31, 2021 were a huge success. The four scheduled tours sold out, ticket sales raised more than $3,000, press coverage was plentiful and positive, resulting in an additional $6,000 in donations from family funds.

The tour introduced visitors to local notables in commerce, politics, and military conflicts. Many visitors commented that they didn’t know about the cemetery and its historic significance before taking the tour. This event was nominated for the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association’s KIP Award for outstanding event.

The Board also raised additional funds in 2021 outside of the Memorial Day event totaling $9,000. Some of the funds raised in 2021 were spent on re-setting headstones, repairing breached walls, creating cemetery signage and installing road signs to facilitate navigation of the grounds.

The cemetery also received major press coverage in the Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque The Magazine, New Mexico Magazine, and American Cemetery and Cremation (trade magazine). The Daughters of the American Revolution Lew Wallace Chapter honored HFC President Gail Rubin with their award for Excellence in Historic Preservation.

What is the nonprofit’s biggest goal for 2022?

We are applying for grants in the hopes of raising $100,000 or more to improve and landscape the grounds, continue to re-set fallen markers, place more road signs and add interpretative signage to tell the history associated with the cemetery, and build partnerships and visibility within the community. We will continue to hold our volunteer clean up days on the first Saturday of the month and hope to add more community clean up days, as we did with the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS® in October, 2021.

The current Board members for Historic Fairview Cemetery:

Gail Rubin, President: A pioneering death educator, award-winning author and speaker, as well as a public relations professional and 2019 Women of Influence Award winner.

Patricia Milner, Vice President: Financial services executive with ambition and determination to preserve the historic value of the cemetery and a quest to promulgate this history to the general public, especially our youth.

Janet Saiers, Treasurer: A resident of Albuquerque since 1955, she is president of the Albuquerque Historical Society and past president of the Historical Society of New Mexico.

Sara Sather, Secretary: She and her husband Ed are Directors and Lead Investigators of the Duke City Paranormal Research Society, they were both history majors in college and have a passion for researching history connected with the cemetery and preserving the veterans areas of the cemetery.

Ed Sather: Director and Lead Investigator of the Duke City Paranormal Research Society with his wife Sara, they were both history majors in college and have a passion for researching history connected with the cemetery and preserving the veterans areas of the cemetery.

Claude Valles: Has been a neighbor of the HFC for decades and got involved to get to know it better.

Pamela Steibler: A resident of Albuquerque since 1971, she is a retired science teacher, small business owner, and genealogy researcher.

Lisa Roberts: An expert in xeriscaping and natural gardening, she has been interested in history and historical cemeteries since childhood. She became interested in HFC after the 2021 Memorial Day tours and sees educational opportunities for youth through the cemetery.

Learn more about Historic Fairview Cemetery at www.HistoricFairviewCemeteryABQ.org.

The post Historic Fairview Cemetery Board Honored with Philanthropy Award first appeared on A Good Goodbye.

Pondering the Pandemic

In this “Books to Die For” interview, Teresa Schreiber Werth talks about the book, “Navigating the Pandemic: Stories of Hope and Resilience.” A certified funeral celebrant, Werth brought together the writings of 38 individuals in this book. They reflect on the many losses brought on by the pandemic, but also share uplifting thoughts for humanity.

This collection of poetry, stories and honest feelings focuses on the transformational time during the first nine months of the COVID pandemic. The book is available to order from your local bookstore, or use this affiliate link to Amazon to order the book. Proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the Society of Refugee Healthcare Providers, a U.S. non-profit organization dedicated to improving the healthcare of refugees and asylum seekers, as well as addressing equity in healthcare. Learn more at www.DandelionBook.com.

Pandemic Silver Lining Thoughts

Wirth reflected, “Someone recently asked me if I thought there was “a silver lining” to the pandemic. I think it is the same “silver lining” I realized from my stage 3 triple negative cancer diagnosis almost 13 years ago….mortality awareness. That situation in my life, and the pandemic for all of us, has brought our mortality into sharp relief with living as if our life will go on forever. We waste the opportunities to be more present, to savor moments and people, to live out our humanity in more compassionate ways, to appreciate the ordinary things. That is the “micro” silver lining.”

“The macro silver lining is the many ways the pandemic can be transformative — we have limitless opportunities to do things in new, different, better ways, to make the world a kinder, safer, more inclusive planet if we choose to do so. That transformation is not a “pie in the sky” goal. Every one of us has opportunities to do that every single day as we interact with people, make choices about the food we eat, the way we care for the earth, and each other.”

“One of the reasons I was insistent that we have the real time COVID-tracker on our website is because it is too easy to forget that this pandemic is raging all over the world. If you want to see what’s happening in other countries or states, you can see the data in real time and reflect on what others are going through because of their living conditions, lack of vaccines, poor healthcare.”

“Most of us are rookies at handling this kind of trauma. But, some groups (people of color, Asians, the incarcerated, the homeless, Indigenous people) have been facing these kinds of struggles forever and may be better equipped (ancestrally) to handle the brutal disparities the pandemic has revealed. I just know it would be tragic if we don’t learn some serious lessons and make some dramatic changes going forward.”

Funeral Industry Impacts

“The funeral industry has been turned on its head in all of this. The businesses that will survive and thrive will be those who, having made significant changes, will embrace those changes and grow their business. I think streaming and videotaped funerals are here to stay. I think that while cremation is more often chosen over traditional embalming and burial, even more earth-friendly options are taking off and will become more widely available options. I think in this country people have adjusted to less calling hours but have felt an even stronger need to gather in honor of a life lost, even if that gathering and celebration of a life has to be postponed for months. We must still live through our grief journey, but it may be a new and different route.”

About Gail Rubin, CT

Gail Rubin, CT, is a pioneering death educator. She works with companies to connect with baby boomers concerned about end-of-life issues. A featured speaker at TEDxABQ in 2015, she’s the author of three books on end-of-life issues, including A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die and KICKING THE BUCKET LIST: 100 Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die. In a previous lifetime, she was a public relations professional and an event planner.

Gail Rubin was recognized with the 2019 Women of Influence award by Albuquerque Business First. Find out why.

As a professional speaker, Gail uses humor, videos and outside-the-box activities to help people plan ahead for end-of-life issues. She also consults with businesses and individuals that want to host their own Before I Die Festivals. Check out and subscribe to her YouTube channel.

The post Video Interview: Navigating the Pandemic first appeared on A Good Goodbye.

Todd Van Beck, funeral educator, consultant and historian, speaks online at the Before I Die NM Festival.

All of the videos from the 2021 Before I Die New Mexico Festival are now available online! The 5th annual Festival took place in-person in Albuquerque and online with four days of death-positive conversations and experiences October 30 to November 2, 2021. The Festival featured entertaining and educational elements, including field trips to funeral homes and cemeteries, speakers and panel discussions, hands-on workshops, and more. While the confidential Death Cafe conversations were not recorded, the speakers and panel discussions on a host of topics were recorded and are now available on YouTube and through the Festival website.

Festival Videos Session Topics

Festival videos include these fascinating topics:

• “Estate Property Distribution and Downsizing,” “Don’t Let Your Savings Suffer a Pre-Mature Death,” “Gathering from Afar: Bringing Communities Together to Celebrate a Loved One,” “Everyone has an Estate: Learning What Legal Documents You Need,” “Meaningful Memorials: How to Create a Digital Legacy for a Loved One (or Yourself!)” and “Who Will Speak for You? Medical Surrogacy Questions Answered.”
• “What You Need to Know about Body and Organ/Tissue Donation” panel discussion about how to arrange for anatomical donation, questions about free cremations, and the need to have a Plan B.
• “Accessing Medical Aid in Dying in New Mexico” on the new law that supports terminally ill people’s options for a peaceful death.
• “Grumpy, Cranky, Fussy: The Unspoken Symptoms of Grief” on how grief can take many forms and how to recognize and react to grieving people, as well as “How to Heal Hearts: Grief Recovery for Adults and Children.”
• “The Art and Craft of Excellent Obituary Writing,” “Behind the Scenes in the Prep Room,” “The Woo-Woo Side of Death,” and “How to Make an Altar Honoring Deceased Loved Ones.”
• “Abraham Lincoln’s Impact on Modern Embalming” with a virtual visit to Lincoln’s Tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois.

There’s also a behind-the-scenes tour of Strong-Thorne Mortuary in Albuquerque, NM and the “Millennial Morticians with ABQ Brews” panel discussion with young funeral directors talking about the business and new trends in death care.

Watch the Festival Video Playlist

Videos from Cemetery Stories

The closing event of the Before I Die New Mexico Festival was a community story slam called “Cemetery Stories: Life, Death and Beyond.” This event was held outdoors at Historic Fairview Cemetery, 700 Yale Blvd. SE in Albuquerque.

The evening event featured 16 people speaking about encounters with the mysteries of death and dying. Many of the stories are funny and uplifting. The stories have titles such as “A Fun Funeral,” “A Tale of Two Funerals,” “Prince Matchabelli,” and “Bodies in the Living Room?”

The closing event was created in cooperation with the New Mexico Humanities Council and Festival charitable partner, Historic Fairview Cemetery. Watch all the Cemetery Stories in this video playlist:

Thank You to Our Sponsors

• A Good Goodbye – Gail Rubin puts the “fun” in funeral planning. AGoodGoodbye.com
• Beloved – providing custom personalized obituaries and eulogies. Beloved-Press.com
• Compassion & Choices – improving care, expanding options and empowering everyone to chart their end-of-life journey. www.CompassionandChoices.org
• Daniels Family Funerals & Cremations, Fairview Memorial Park, Gabaldon Mortuary, Sandia Memory Gardens and Vista Verde Memorial Park in Albuquerque.
• EstatePros LLC – offering professional dispersal of personal possessions due to a move, illness, or death. EstateProsNM.com
• Final Exit Network – educating about and defending the right to choose at end-of-life. FinalExitNetwork.org
• French Funerals & Cremations and Sunset Memorial Park in Albuquerque.
• GatheringUs – providing in-person and virtual memorial services and online memorial pages. GatheringUs.com
• Keeper – providing hybrid & virtual memorial services and keeping memories alive with online tributes to preserve, celebrate and share life legacies. MyKeeper.com
• Morris Hall PLLC – estate planning attorneys in New Mexico and Arizona. MorrisTrust.com
• Remembering A Life – your guide to honoring a life well lived, from planning a tribute to mourning a loved one. RememberingALife.com
• Retirement Extender® – investment management services with a personalized strategy recommendation based on your needs and objectives. RetirementExtender.com

A portion of the sponsorship proceeds and ticket sales from the Before I Die NM Festival were donated to 501(c)(3) charitable partner, Historic Fairview Cemetery, established in Albuquerque in 1881. The cemetery is the final resting place of 12,000 individuals, with remarkable stories reflecting the history of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the United States of America. The website is www.HistoricFairviewCemeteryABQ.org.

Festival Coordinator and Video Host

Gail Rubin, Certified Thanatologist and The Doyenne of Death®

Festival coordinator Gail Rubin, CT, is a pioneering death educator. She works with companies to connect with baby boomers concerned about end-of-life issues. A featured speaker at TEDxABQ in 2015, she’s the author of three books on end-of-life issues, including A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die and KICKING THE BUCKET LIST: 100 Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die. In a previous lifetime, she was a public relations professional and an event planner.

Gail Rubin was recognized with the 2019 Women of Influence award by Albuquerque Business First. Find out why.

As a professional speaker, Gail uses humor, videos and outside-the-box activities to help people plan ahead for end-of-life issues. She also consults with businesses and individuals that want to host their own Before I Die Festivals.

Check out and subscribe to her YouTube channel.

The post Learn From These Before I Die Festival Videos first appeared on A Good Goodbye.

How Being Prepared for End-of-Life Helps Us with Our Grief

Over these past two pandemic years, the shadow of death and grief has touched many of us. I recently saw a billboard for a local funeral home: “Good grief comes with instructions. Preplan.”  Boy, that hit home.

Gary Mayhew, man of math and music, wrote an Upon My Death letter, with his usual humor.

My longtime friend Gary Mayhew had taken my advice. He’d written an 11-page letter titled Upon My Death. What a gift that turned out to be.

Tall and skinny, witty and kind, Gary was a man of math and music. He taught advanced mathematics to high school students. He could play all kinds of music on guitar, from Bach to folk. I loved that he could sing and play humorist Tom Lehrer’s song, “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park,” – by heart.

He was a confirmed bachelor and creature of habit. Monday and Thursday, he played strategy games with “the boys.” Wednesday night was guitar group. And every other Tuesday, Gary took me out to dinner. This continued after I married my husband, Dave. Gary played guitar at our wedding 21 years ago. Dave joined us dining out, and Gary always picked up the check.

Gary’s Upon My Death letter addressed his sister with his usual humor.

Dear Debbe,

I am addressing this document to you because you are the family member most likely to bear the burden of cleaning up after my demise…. Frankly, I wish there were some sort of hassle-free automated system to take care of these end-of-life matters quickly and painlessly, but sadly, there is always work to be done by those closest to the deceased (that would be me, in this case). The best I can do is to smooth the path as much as possible. That’s the purpose of this letter.

Gary smoked earlier in life. Smoking led to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD. For more than five years, he was tethered to an oxygen tank or a concentrator. Eventually, walking just a few steps exhausted him. He went on home hospice care for three months.

During that time, Dave and I brought dinner to Gary’s home every Tuesday night. The day Gary died, I called at 11:00 a.m. to discuss what we’d eat. Green chile cheeseburgers, an excellent choice. I called back at 4:00 to confirm what kind of cheese he wanted – no answer.

While I had a key to his house, usually, the door was unlocked when we came over. Not this time. The lights were out. Gary wasn’t sitting on his usual chair in the dining area. I followed the oxygen tube into the bedroom. He wasn’t there. The oxygen tube ended at the door to the bathroom.

There was Gary, curled up on the white tile floor. No pulse, room temperature, quite dead.

Now Gary’s letter and preplanning proved so valuable. I called the hospice for a nurse to come make the official pronouncement. The nurse called the funeral home where Gary had pre-arranged his cremation 10 years earlier.

I called his sister Debbe in California. His friend Rick would call the gaming buddies. Doc would call the music friends. I let his landlord know his 20-year tenant had left the building.

We knew where to find important papers and the passwords for online accounts. He provided contacts for his bank, credit card, retirement pension, and utilities. Three pages of his 11-page document were devoted to describing his multiple guitars, their history and value.

When Gary’s sisters arrived a week later, we had a plan to disperse his possessions in three days. The guitars were professionally crated and shipped to California. Friends were invited to come take what they wanted. There were hundreds of vinyl albums and books, games, DVDs, household goods. Most of the albums were donated to Goodwill. They filled the cargo area of my Subaru Outback. A service called Junk King cleaned out what was left in 45 minutes.

Gary wrote, I request that I receive no funeral, but I think Gail will insist on organizing a memorial service. I’m ambivalent about that, but being dead, there isn’t much I can do about it. Of course, we held a memorial service, outdoors in a park near my house. No pigeons were poisoned. Then we had a party.

Gary’s life was worth celebrating… and yours is too. Who will need to be called upon your death? Better start writing.

One of the items I saved from Gary’s house was a Tom Lehrer songbook from 1954. It includes the song, “Be Prepared.”

Be prepared! That’s the Boy Scouts’ marching song. Be prepared! As through life you march along. Be prepared to hold your liquor pretty well. Don’t write naughty words on walls if you can’t spell. Be prepared!

Because good grief comes with instructions.

Gail Rubin, Certified Thanatologist and The Doyenne of Death®, is an award-winning speaker, author, and coordinator of the Before I Die New Mexico Festival (www.BeforeIDieNM.com). She is also available as an informed advocate and consultant for planning ahead. You can download a free planning form to write your own Upon My Death letter from her website, www.AGoodGoodbye.com.

The post How Being Prepared for End-of-Life Helps Us with Our Grief first appeared on A Good Goodbye.

You may have heard about Near Death Experiences (NDEs), when someone’s body is clinically dead for a period of time. The person’s consciousness leaves the body and travels to mystical realms before returning to life in the body. A Shared Death Experience (SDE) is when a person who is not dying shares the experience of someone who is dying.

In this video, William Peters, author of At Heaven’s Door, talks with @Gail Rubin in her Books to Die For interview series. The book’s subtitle is “What Shared Journeys to the Afterlife Teach About Dying Well and Living Better.”

Topics of Discussion

In this interview, Gail Rubin and William Peters discuss:

1. The differences between Near Death Experiences and Shared Death Experiences.
2. What drew the author to this field of study.
3. How are people who experience SDEs affected afterwards?
4. Why don’t people want to talk about SDEs with others?
5. The most prevalent features of a SDE.
6. Study results of SDEs conducted by the Shared Crossing Research Initiative.

In spite of the loss of loved ones, those who experience a Shared Death Experience are comforted. They are relieved to know their loved ones are happy on the other side. They heal from loss faster, and realize they have less to fear about death themselves. During this long pandemic, this is a redemptive and healing message to receive.

William Peters has experienced both NDEs and a SDE, and founded the Shared Crossings Project to scientifically research and document the Shared Death Experience phenomenon. Recognized as a global leader in the field of shared-death studies, he has spent decades studying end-of-life experiences. A practicing psychotherapist, his work on the end of life is informed by his therapeutic work with individuals facing grief and bereavement, personal experiences with death and dying across cultures, and his family’s own end-of-life journeys. Peters wrote At Heaven’s Door with Michael Kinsella, Ph.D., chief researcher at the Shared Crossing Research Initiative. Learn more at www.SharedCrossing.com.

Gail Rubin, Certified Thanatologist and The Doyenne of Death, helps start end-of-life planning conversations with a light touch on the topics of death, dying and funeral planning. She is an award-winning speaker, author, Certified Funeral Celebrant and coordinator of the Before I Die New Mexico Festival. Learn more at www.AGoodGoodbye.com.

The post Talking About Near Death Experiences and Shared Death Experiences first appeared on A Good Goodbye.

Wood caskets built by Fathers Building Futures

Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s funeral made several environmentally supportive statements. His coffin was a plain unvarnished pine box with rope handles. He requested no extravagant spending on the services. And he taught the world about alkaline hydrolysis, a water-based disposition method also known as Aquamation. It was his requested disposition method, before his remaining bones were interred in St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa.

Tutu campaigned for gentler stewardship of the Earth and fought against climate change. His choice of Aquamation, which uses a fraction of the energy used in flame-based cremation, prompted widespread coverage of this disposition technology. News outlets worldwide, including NPR, The Washington Post, and The Guardian in the UK, ran stories explaining the process.

A natural gas-powered flame cremation of an average size person generates 532 pounds of CO², a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. Multiply that figure by more than 1.8 million, the number of people in the U.S. cremated in 2020, and you’ve got a significant carbon footprint!

Alkaline hydrolysis is essentially an accelerated version of what takes place during natural decomposition. Water, elevated temperature, and alkalinity are used to speed the process of reducing tissue to the basic building blocks of life: nucleic acids, proteins, lipids (fats) and glycans (sugars). The process generates a sterile coffee colored liquid, free of DNA, RNA and any drugs that were in the body. The remaining fluid, pH-balanced to be slightly alkaline, is beneficial for municipal sewage systems, which regularly deal with acidic effluent.

Some interesting facts:

• Alkaline hydrolysis uses up to 90% less energy than flame-based cremation.
• Unlike flame-based cremation, these systems generate zero greenhouse gasses.
• Alkaline hydrolysis returns 20% more cremated remains to the family than flame cremation.
• When given a choice with no price difference, 80% of families choose alkaline hydrolysis over flame cremation.

Low pressure alkaline hydrolysis system from Bio-Response Solutions.

There are two types of alkaline hydrolysis systems: high-temperature/pressure and low-temperature/pressure. Both can handle a body of up to 500 pounds. The body is placed in the tank, where the tissue totally dissolves. Remaining bones are processed like the bones left after fire cremation, in a cremulator (basically a blender for bones). Both systems take longer to process a body than fire-based cremation.

High-temperature Aquamation systems operate at 300 degrees Fahrenheit at 65 PSI (pounds per square inch). It takes 4-6 hours to process the body with this system, enabling a funeral home to handle seven bodies every two days. Low-temperature systems operate at 200 degrees at atmospheric pressure – no added PSI. It takes 14-16 hours to complete the process with this system, enabling a funeral home to handle three bodies every two days.

Learn more about alkaline hydrolysis in this Family Plot Blog post. If you’d like to get a brochure about Aquamation, email your mailing address to Gail@AGoodGoodbye.com. You can also learn more about alkaline hydrolysis and which states in the US allow the process at www.AquamationInfo.com.

Watch This Video!

This video with Samantha Sieber of BioResponse Solutions shows how the alkaline hydrolysis system works.

The post Desmond Tutu’s Funeral Featured Plain Pine Coffin and Aquamation first appeared on A Good Goodbye.

The post Festival Video: Grumpy, Cranky, Fussy: The Unspoken Symptoms of Grief first appeared on A Good Goodbye.

The post Festival Video: Meaningful Memorials and How to Create a Digital Legacy first appeared on A Good Goodbye.

The post Festival Video: Estate Property Distribution and Downsizing first appeared on A Good Goodbye.

Will Your Money Outlast You?

One of the fears of growing old is running out of money before you die. That’s why this Before I Die New Mexico Festival presentation with Steve Margulin, CPA, CFP® is so important. In this video, “Don’t let your savings suffer a pre-mature death,” Steve shares valuable information about how to make your money last into your golden years and the elements of successful aging.

Among the topics covered are the three phases of retirement (The Go-Go Years, The Slow-Go Years, and The No-Go Years), tips for making your elder years healthy, long term care considerations, why being the Bank of Mom and Dad is bad for your kids and your finances, the financial perils of fraud, grey divorces, and inflation, and figuring out how much money you need to retire.

Healthy Aging Tips – It’s Not Just About Money!

Steve offered these tips to enjoy a long and healthy retirement, and avoid added healthcare costs.

1. Eat healthy foods – yes, that means fruits and vegetables!
2. Move every day – stand up every hour. Take a walk or do other exercises.
3. Set a regular sleep schedule.
4. Drink plenty of water – flavor it if it helps you drink 8-10 8 ounce glasses a day.
5. Manage stress in your life.
6. Build a strong social circle.
7. Don’t skip doctor appointments.

About Steve Margulin

Steve Margulin, CPA, CFP®, Retirement Extender®

Steve Margulin is a well-known financial advisor and life coach in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who has guided individuals and families on financial matters since 1993. Steve has made a lifelong commitment to learning and has earned five (5) professional designations.  He customarily takes over 100 hours of continuing education to stay current and learn more about the subjects he advises on.

As a Certified Public Accountant, Steve teaches retirement readiness and enhancing your life in retirement coursework as an Adjunct Professor through the University of New Mexico.  The courses blend financial education with life planning to help clients build wealth, align their money with their values, and teach attendees to pursue to and maintain a healthy retirement.

Steve uses a holistic approach to help clients maintain and improve their financial well-being as a Wealth Advisor and Managing Member of Retirement Extender^®, a Branch Office of CWM, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor.

Steve implements his holistic approach by using an integrated team of investment, planning, & tax specialists at Retirement Extender^®.  His goal is to ensure clients have control over their day-to-day, month-to-month finances; have the capacity to absorb a financial shock; be on track to pursue their financial goals; and have the financial freedom to make the choices that allow them to enjoy life.

A graduate of California State University, Northridge, Steve earned a bachelor’s degree in economics. He has taken graduate coursework in taxation at San Joaquin College of Law and at the University of New Mexico. A former controller of a school district, he has donated time and money to many not for profit organizations including serving as president of the Albuquerque Chapter of Institute of Management Accountants, treasurer of the Society of Financial Service Professionals and also of the Jewish Federation of Central New Mexico.

Steve grew up in the Los Angeles area and has been living in New Mexico for over 30 years, where he enjoys classical music, playing the violin, sports (especially the UNM Lobos and the LA Dodgers), and bike riding. He also likes traveling with his wife, Iris, and visiting her three children and six grandchildren.

Summing up his work, Steve says, “What I want for my clients is their financial freedom. I track their goals, monitor their investments, and provide accountability and life coaching, so they progress in that direction.”

Festival Sponsors

Thank you to these companies and organizations that made the Before I Die NM Festival possible.

• A Good Goodbye – Gail Rubin puts the “fun” in funeral planning. AGoodGoodbye.com
• Beloved – providing custom personalized obituaries and eulogies. Beloved-Press.com
• Compassion & Choices – improving care, expanding options and empowering everyone to chart their end-of-life journey. www.CompassionandChoices.org
• Daniels Family Funerals & Cremations, Fairview Memorial Park, Gabaldon Mortuary, Sandia Memory Gardens and Vista Verde Memorial Park in Albuquerque.
• EstatePros LLC – offering professional dispersal of personal possessions due to a move, illness, or death. EstateProsNM.com
• Final Exit Network – educating about and defending the right to choose at end-of-life. FinalExitNetwork.org
• French Funerals & Cremations and Sunset Memorial Park in Albuquerque.
• GatheringUs – providing in-person and virtual memorial services and online memorial pages. GatheringUs.com
• Keeper – providing hybrid & virtual memorial services and keeping memories alive with online tributes to preserve, celebrate and share life legacies. MyKeeper.com
• Morris Hall PLLC – estate planning attorneys in New Mexico and Arizona. MorrisTrust.com
• Remembering A Life – your guide to honoring a life well lived, from planning a tribute to mourning a loved one. RememberingALife.com
• Retirement Extender® – investment management services with a personalized strategy recommendation based on your needs and objectives. RetirementExtender.com

A portion of the sponsorship proceeds and ticket sales from the Before I Die NM Festival were donated to 501(c)(3) charitable partner, Historic Fairview Cemetery, established in Albuquerque in 1881. The cemetery is the final resting place of 12,000 individuals, with remarkable stories reflecting the history of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the United States of America. The website is www.HistoricFairviewCemeteryABQ.org.

The post Festival Video: How to Make Your Money Outlive You first appeared on A Good Goodbye.