Thanksgiving with Dan White

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

The following podcast is a special presentation of answers for elders featuring Evergreen Washelli. And Welcome back to answers for elders in our very special Thanksgiving program and I am here with our wonderful friend Dan white from Evergreen Washelli. He’s the Northwest Territory Manager for Abby View Memorial Park. Dan, welcome to the program thanks to them. Glad to be here. Well, we’re glad you’re here too, and and I know that you’re calling in because we’re having a special program and obviously this is all about our attitude of gratitude here our and I was really excited about your message today. Okay, was awesome. Yeah, so. So, tell us before we start the program tell us a little bit about how what what is Thanksgiving like for Evergreen Wash Elly? Well, Thanksgiving for ever green washed shelley is a lot like most families, time to remember loved ones who have passed. It is a it’s a time to give thanks for all the families that we have served over the many years that we’ve been here in Seattle. It’s also we do one other thing this time of the year. It’s what we call our holiday Remembrance Service, and it it’s something that where we contact all the families who have lost a loved one within the past year, because we know that the first year is definitely the most difficult for people, and especially around around around the holidays. Oh yes, this is something that we do and we usually have some music, we usually have an efficient to speak and just to help people get together with others who have also lost a loved one so that we can remember everybody over the holiday season. You know, what you bring up, Dan is such a very, very important part that we forget, and that is, you know, you’ve talked a lot about how, in you know, when somebody passes away, it’s like there’s families that have left behind and we all have to learn to go on without them. And, like you said, these holiday times, you know, they’re full of memories of those loved ones and I’m sure that you know. I know for me, I there’s many times that I still do this day, I’ll have tears if I’ll pull up an ornament that was my mom’s or, you know, I’ll see a photograph of my family, you know, both of my parents who have now passed, and I realized that. You know it doesn’t. You know, the first year definitely is a hardest, but it goes on forever that you have those moments. It certainly does it him and you know it. So we keep them alive. Yeah, we keep them alive in our memories. And you know the thing that I’m so impressed with is that you guys do this special program now we’re tell us a little bit about you said you have an efficient does it? Is it like a you know, memorial service? How would you know? Tell me a little bit about what that is about. Yeah, well, those families that we contact, like I said, that have lost a loved one in the past year, we give them the opportunity, if they want, to submit a photo. Then we end up playing a DVD that kind of goes through and shows a photo of loved ones and their names, and so we also read off the entire list in honor of them. Well, also give each of the families they get a little I think this year it’s a little tear drop ornament to be able to take home. That’s wonderful and it’s really it’s more of the you know, the process of closure and I think one of the things that you know, we gloss over a lot when when, you know, we talked about our own arrangements. We were just talking about that actually in our academy class yesterday and somebody brought up the fact that, you know, we talked about preplanning and one of the things that you know, there was two senior years in the group and they both said, basically, I want you know, I just don’t want anything. Just just, you know, cremate me and I don’t care. And you know, one of the things that you’ve taught us, which we’re really pleased to have your influence, is those services and the way you remembered is for those that are left behind, is for the loved ones and it’s having that, you know, appropriate closure that you can have with a family that you know that you can recognize that person that you love right. So that’s exactly that’s important. Is Very that’s very important to be able to to do that. And you know, we’ve had some families that continue to come every year out that our at our lifetime celebrations location out there in Bato. We have one family who has been coming for four years and this was from loss of a loved one four years ago and this year they lost another family member and so they certainly will be there again this year. Well, that you know, that’s that’s an important thing and I think about you know, of course my mind is is spinning when you’re sharing with me about that, but it would be really neat to do something for your family caregivers, you know, because that, I think, would be you know, chuck holmsted just talked about you miss the segment it, but he just talked about the fact that when his mom died, the first person he acknowledged when he spoke to his mom’s memorial service was his sister, because she was the caregiver, you know, and all of the things that she went through. And and most certainly, you know, we, as answer for elders, have a great bridge to the that caregiver community and maybe one of these days we could team up and do something special and certainly, you know, provide that kind of support for the you know, the family caregivers well, and it’s funny that you happen to mention that, because something that we do, I know that, Kevin, yes, we do, at least at lifetime celebrations, is that when we meet with a family, we asked them if there was anybody special as a caregiver for the one who has who has passed, and what we’ll do is we collect those throughout the month and then we will randomly select one, and it really is based on feedback from the family and the care the caregiver could be a family member as well, or it could be a hospice nurse or or someone else. And what we do is then we deliver to them, unbeknownst to the caregiver, write a glass plaque and we do a presentation wherever they might be. The family sometimes also comes, and then we also give them a hundred dollar gift card with only one stipulation, one stipulation, and that is that the caregiver must spend it on themselves. Good for you. Okay, so that’s what we do. That and then we do once a year and the twelve winners that we’ve had, or the twelve recipients of the Lord Downe will do once a year and we do a random drawing and then we will give them an addition like two hundred and fifty dollars to do with as they wish as well, just you know, and Dan Way to remember and recognize those the special caregivers and I want to remind everyone that we are talking to our wonderful friend Dan white from Evergreen Wesh Elly and it on this very special Thanksgiving program Dan, I know that that you guys are so much a, you know, a part of the fabric of this community. You know I mean, aren’t you guys like the oldest cemetery in Seattle or something like that? Well, you’re one of the oldest, son. Yeah, one of the oldest. From one thousand eight hundred and eighty four is when we were original started that. That’s where we got our roots anyway. And you have a for long time. And then you also have a very special veterans sex in your main seminary and and main location. Yeah, and that’s that’s really powerful. And then your Abbey View. You know that’s the newer location. Is that correct? Well, it was started in one thousand nine hundred and fifty three, so it is a little newer. And we also we just recently had volunteers come out, some boy scouts and help us put up flags throughout Abbey View Cemetery. We have about eight hundred veterans out there. So we do that. Well, that’s one day and we also do the Special Veterans Day for the Boy Scouts at at our small veteran seminary cemetery. There’s about Fivezero located there and it actually was originally called the Arlington of the West. So Oh, really, I like that. I like have a go. Yes, yeah, so, so there you have it. Yeah, so you have you know, we’re we are recording this before thanksgiving, but we’re airing it after the holiday. And so, obviously, how does Dan White spend his Thanksgiving holiday? Well, with family. We will be having a traditional Thanksgiving meal, Uh Huh. That will be with family and grandchildren and we all get together and and then we watch a little football, of course, of course you have to watch football. So I hope you’re a seahawks fan, right, of course I am. Well, you know, we want to make sure. Yeah, yeah, all the way. Yes, and and also, you know, just really knowing that you guys. I just want to take this time to talk about how grateful we are for the partnership that we have with Wash Elle and and you know, you guys have taught me so much. You know, I’ve learned, and I know that so many of our listeners are also learning so much about, you know, really that it’s okay to talk about, you know, final wishes and it’s okay to talk about death, and it’s also bringing up things that we’ve never really thought of, as as you know, families and and so I am so appreciative of your guidance and of your leadership in and helping our, you know, our families in the northwest just really make those better decisions for themselves and their loved ones. So thank you very much for that. Well, thank you, Suzanne, for that as well. And that’s what that’s what we’re all about. We just want to help people during a very difficult time and we want to help them plan so that they can save the the the grief in and and the responsibility of these for those who are still left behind. Right. So, Dan, how do we reach you? You can reach me by phone. My cell phone is usually the best for two five, two, four, one two eight hundred and fifty three. You can certainly reach me at our Abbey view location at four two five, four eight three, zero five five five, or at our Evergreen Washelli location to zero six three and six two hundred and fifty two hundred, or by email. DanWhite@EvergreenWashelli or certainly visit us on Facebook as well. Dan, thank you so much for being on a very special Thanksgiving program and happy Thanksgiving to you and your wonderful wife Julie. All right, happy Thanksgiving to you and everyone there at the radio station. Until all of our listeners, please gift thanks and be safe and hopefully the power stays all yes. Thank you all right. Thank you for then. This has been a special presentation of answers for elders, featuring Evergreen Washelli. For more information about Evergreen Washelli. Their website is washelli.com. That’s Washelli.com.