Blogs | Koch Funeral Home : State College, Pennsylvania (PA)

#BePresentWithKoch

#MondaysMoments

Q&A With Remembering A Life

What is an End-of-Life Doula or Death Doula? The National Funeral Directors Association Remembering A Life team asked Jackie Naginey Hook to be part of their Q&A Remembering A Life blog to tal...

Q&A With Remembering A Life

What is a Celebrant? The National Funeral Directors Association Remembering A Life team asked Jackie Naginey Hook to be part of their Q&A Remembering A Life blog to talk about, "What is a Cele...

Love is Stronger Than Death

Love is Stronger Than Death The National Funeral Directors Association Remembering A Life team asked Jackie Naginey Hook to write an article for their Remembering A Life blog. Click here...

After Death

This month Jackie Naginey Hook talks to Holly Reigh about the importance of having conversations and being present before and after death. Holly is a nurse who passionately advocates and cares for ...

Whole, But Not the Same

This month Jackie Naginey Hook talks to Jennifer Stubbs about being whole but forever changed as the result of pregnancy and early infant loss. After the loss of her first son, Jennifer became a pa...

Finding Balance

This month Jackie Naginey Hook, MA, and Evelyn Wald, MS, M.Div, LPC, discuss ways to find balance after the loss of a loved one. Evelyn has more than 25 years as a grief counselor, is the program d...

Why Are Rituals Important?

This month Jackie Naginey Hook and F. Glenn Fleming, supervisor and funeral director with Koch Funeral Home, have a conversation about why rituals are important. They also discuss the Because LOVE ...

Welcome to #BePresentWithKoch

Welcome to the the new monthly #BePresentWithKoch series Hi, I’m Jackie Naginey Hook, a spiritual director, celebrant and end-of-life doula and...

To Embalm or Not to Embalm

To Embalm or Not to Embalm When a loved one dies, family members are confronted with decisions regarding how they would like to honor the life that was lost. One of the first questions the funeral...

How did you choose the funeral director profession?

How did you choose the funeral director profession? “I like helping people and making them feel better in times of need.” For Katie DeCapria, funeral director intern, that sums up why she chose th...

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November 21 2022

Thanksgiving is this week. If you’re grieving the loss of a loved one, you might have mixed emotions about taking part in the festivities. I encourage you to create space for grief to be your frien...

November 14 2022

Thinking of our theme, “Is Grief Your Friend or Your Enemy?” I appreciate this quote by author C. S. Lewis when he was writing about the death of his wife, “And suddenly at the very moment when, so...

November 7 2022

This month our theme is “Is Grief Your Friend or Your Enemy?” I think for many of us grief feels like both -- it just depends on the moment. Initially when we’ve lost a loved one, grief may feel li...

October 31 2022

As we close out this month and its theme of “Harvesting Your Thoughts.” I want to share the David Whyte poem, “Start Close In.” While on the grief journey with its many thoughts and emotions, it ca...

October 24 2022

A third strategy to help us believe that we can handle the difficult emotions of grief is spending time in nature. This is one of my favorites. I’m continually surprised by the profound effects nat...

October 17 2022

A second strategy to help us believe that we can handle the difficult emotions of grief is expressive writing. Journaling is often recommended for grievers. Moving our thoughts and emotions from th...

October 10 2022

As we continue our discussion of “Harvesting Your Thoughts,” we will talk about strategies to helps us believe that we can handle the difficult emotions of grief. One is the practice of mindfulness...

October 3 2022

This month our theme is “Harvesting Your Thoughts.” When we’re grieving the loss of a loved one, we have many thoughts and emotions. What we may not recognize is that the two are connected. Our tho...

September 26 2022

As we close out this month thinking about opening to moments and transitions, please hear these words by John O’Donohue: “…You can trust the promise of this opening; Unfurl yourself into the grace...

September 19 2022

When we think about opening to moments and transitions, it helps if we feel grounded. If we feel like we’re just hanging out on a limb, opening is rough. But if our feet are firmly planted on the g...

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#BePresentWithKoch

#MondaysMoments

Q&A With Remembering A Life

Q&A With Remembering A Life

Love is Stronger Than Death

After Death

Whole, But Not the Same

Finding Balance

Why Are Rituals Important?

Welcome to #BePresentWithKoch

To Embalm or Not to Embalm

How did you choose the funeral director profession?

November 21 2022

November 14 2022

November 7 2022

October 31 2022

October 24 2022

October 17 2022

October 10 2022

October 3 2022

September 26 2022

September 19 2022

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