Deathcare Superconference!

On September 28, I was lucky enough to virtually attend the first annual Deathcare Superconference—which is its actual name! Gotta love a compound word.

Organized by the Funeral Consumers Alliance, the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance, the National Home Funeral Alliance, and People’s Memorial Association, the conference theme was “Building Bridges in in the Deathcare Landscape.” And build bridges we did, even in the Slack channel. I made lots of wonderful connections, and I’m excited to stand side-by-side with them as we create the future of deathcare.

Here are my three big takeaways:

• There’s an appetite for change in the deathcare industry. The traditional model isn’t working anymore—it’s not diverse, it’s not affordable, and it’s not friendly to the planet. The good news is that everyone who attended the conference is committed to transforming the industry.

• There’s still a death logistics gap—one that I aim to fill. Even among these bold deathcare visionaries, the focus was still on convincing people to plan for a good death, rather than addressing the needs of people who are currently facing the death of a loved one and who have no idea what to do next. That’s where this whole website comes in. That’s my niche.

• DEATH IS GAY! Or at least, that’s what one of the first panelists proclaimed. (Those of us in the Slack channel are still waiting for our “Death is Gay” t-shirts—ETA?) But it’s true. As straight, white men begin to retire from the deathcare industry, women and LGBTQIA+ folks are stepping up to fill those roles. According to this 2016 article, “morticians, undertakers, and funeral directors” is ranked #11 on a list of jobs with the highest proportion of queer workers.

I had a great time, even though I couldn’t make it to Seattle in person. Maybe next year!