Graduating from the San Francisco College of Mortuary Science in 1986 (the original Post Street location), I worked in the funeral industry for 25 years as a licensed Embalmer, Funeral Director and Cemetery Counselor in Palo Alto, CA before retiring in 2011. As those of you in the industry know, it’s a tough but very rewarding career. The incredible stories and lives we are allowed glimpses into can be life changing.

I’ll never forget the privilege of humbly sitting and listening to Holocaust survivors, World War I & II Veterans, love stories, journeys and struggles that would rival anything Hollywood could dream up. From the richest Silicon Valley residents to the poorest, none escape darkening our doorways and none can hide from the shared human experience of loss. From that, we hopefully learn that life is short, to have a sense of humor, that everyone we pass has a story; sometimes an incredible one and to grow old gratefully since not all are given that chance.

Since retiring from the industry, and now living in Buffalo, Wyoming with my husband, I’ve enjoyed new pursuits such as e-commerce, mosaic art, as well as a cooking channel on YouTube.

I started this site to give an insiders view and bring some light humor to, what I know, can be an industry with a heavy emotional toll.

Joanie K.