I was introduced to the Honor My Wishes guidebook when a friend from Enumclaw shared it with me. I was impressed with how comprehensive the information was. I used my Honor My Wishes book to start the end of life discussions with my own family. I am a member of the Board of Directors for Willamette Valley Hospice, Salem, Oregon. Our non-profit hospice works every day to help families deal with end of life issues. I shared several copies with the Director of Willamette Valley Hospice for their staff to identify families who can use Honor My Wishes. I want to thank the organization that did the difficult work to develop and share this wonderful book.
Patricia P. L. Salem, Oregon
My husband died suddenly in 2001. Fortunately I knew bill-paying and where all of our paperwork was kept. We had also prepared wills and a community property agreement. The prepared paperwork was very effective. But as I was grieving, I realized that I had to prepare new documents. And since we’d had no children, I needed to find someone trustworthy to take care of my affairs. About that time I began working with Honor My Wishes. We were preparing a Guidebook with three sections – Dignity (making sure official documents are in place), Security (having all the financial paperwork in order) and Peace (writing an obituary, eulogy and putting family documents in one place). While working on my Guidebook, I discovered I had no documentation that I owned my home! I searched through paperwork and found that a line of credit, previously repaid, had not been released. It took a while, but eventually I had documents in place recording my home ownership. Through Honor My Wishes I have learned to be open about discussing end of life issues. I have written my obituary and my eulogy (who knows me better than me?!). I have helped acquaintances, college friends and neighbors organize their affairs. It is a privilege helping others with end of life preparation. The volunteers at Honor My Wishes are knowledgeable and more than willing to share their skills with others.
Mary O’Connor,
I am always looking for that "value added" service for my clients. Honor My Wishes is just that. Several clients used the materials to guide them through a loss of a loved one, and others have used it to prepare for the future. I encourage others in the accounting and financial service field to introduce their clients to Honor my Wishes.
Deanna Kaster, Cacade Accounting Company, Maple Valley, WA
Most of us find it difficult to think about or talk with family and friends about end-of-life issues. While it is true that these conversations are easier to deal with while we are healthy and before a need arises, every adult at any age should have them. The Honor My Wishes program is outstanding. My husband and I took it and found it to be thought-provoking and enormously helpful. We found the guidebook to be very useful as we collected important information. Feedback from people who also took the classes was equally positive. All of the information was very helpful. I liked the impetus to think about communicating our values and ethics as well as the distribution of our material things. One of the best aspects of this approach is that it is multi-faceted. Nancy Merrill and Trip Hart are excellent facilitators and their sensitivity made dealing with difficult and complex issues much easier.
Linda Henry, Puyallup, WA
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