Unlike most people, Anne-Marie Keppel isn’t afraid to talk about death. From her home office on Craftsbury Common, she works as a death doula and life cycle funeral celebrant through her businesses Stardust Meadow and Village Deathcare. When jewelry maker and Hardwick resident Cecilia Leibovitz lost Michael Secore — her partner of nearly 18 years — to cancer last September, Anne-Marie was there to help ease the transition and provide support to the family during their time of grief.
Now Cecilia makes memorial jewelry to commemorate loved ones, using pieces of clothing and personal artifacts. We sat down around Anne-Marie’s table with glasses of mint tea to talk about our experiences with death and why we are so afraid to discuss it openly.
Organized by Anne-Marie, the Vermont Death and Dying Symposium will be held Friday through Sunday, September 13 through 15, in the Northeast Kingdom. Cecilia will be there Friday night with her memorial jewelry.
Shooting date: 8/12/19
Music: Kevin MacLeod, “Garden Music”
Emily Spray, “Beautiful Dreamer Mix 2” composed by Stephen Foster
This episode of Stuck in Vermont was made possible by
New England Federal Credit Union
This article appears in Sep 4-10, 2019.
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Thank you for such a wonderful story on such heartwarming end of life caregivers. While in LA, I had the great fortune to associate with death midwife Olivia Barham of Sacred Crossings. What struck me most in these ceremonies is the reverence paid in the preparation of the body – the cleansing and anointing of oils on the body, the decoration of the vessel…all very powerful and cathartic for those involved, both doula and loved ones.