Green burial is a respectful disposition of the dead without undue burden on the living. It allows nature to take care of us like it has for thousands and thousands of years. For some, it can be a part of a beautiful celebration of life. For others, it’s a little strange. Today, Anne Weston from…

Have you ever thought about donating your body so scientists and students could learn more about anatomy, diseases, and how to take care of humanity? Gwendolyn Keith is the Program Coordinator of the Anatomical Gifts Program at Duke University School of Medicine, and she comes on to tell us all about how Anatomical Gifting works….

Have you ever wondered how to become a funeral director?  What’s required for a job that seems to be part family therapist and part coroner?  On today’s episode, host Joe Smolenski talks to Amie Sexton and Heather Hill, funeral directors at Renaissance Funeral Home and Crematory and recent graduates of the Fayetteville Tech Funeral Service…

Organ and tissue donation is something that you’ve probably heard about. Maybe you’re listed as an organ donor on your driver’s license. Maybe you saw that episode of Grey’s Anatomy or another hospital show where someone’s life was saved by an organ donor. But how does it all work? And what’s the difference between organ…

Today we’re going to dig deeper into the industry of death because there are many questions that most of us are afraid to ask but we’ve always been at least a little curious about. Joe Smolenski, Vice President of Renaissance Funeral Home in Raleigh North Carolina and Renaissance funeral director Heather Hill come on to…

UPDATE: Robert Xavier Morrell, Jr. died at his home in Raleigh, NC on May 17, 2020. See full obituary from Renaissance Funeral Home. On this podcast from Renaissance Funeral Home in Raleigh North Carolina, we go beyond the obituary to get a better sense of who those people were who have passed on. What were…

Heidi Gessner is the palliative care hospital chaplain and bereavement coordinator at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill NC.  Today she talks about what a hospital chaplain does, her personal story on how she got into the industry, different ways people can grieve, and some of her favorite stories from her 17 years as a chaplain….

On this podcast from Renaissance Funeral Home in Raleigh North Carolina, we go beyond the obituary to get a better sense of who those people were who have passed on. What were some of the stories that define them?  We’ll hear from the people who loved them because they are so much more than a…

On this podcast from Renaissance Funeral Home in Raleigh North Carolina, we go beyond the obituary to get a better sense of who those people were who have passed on. What were some of the stories that define them?  We’ll hear from the people who loved them because they are so much more than a…

On this podcast from Renaissance Funeral Home in Raleigh North Carolina, we go beyond the obituary to share memories of loved ones who have passed on. We’ll also hear from some people in the death industry – hospital chaplains, therapists, clergy, and (like today’s guest) cemetery directors. Robin Simonton, executive director of Historic Oakwood Cemetery…