Donna Belk

Life-Cycle Celebrant®
Home Funeral Guide
End of Life Coach

Donna Belk, became interested in funerals following her father's death when she was 16 years old. "His military funeral was a loud, meaningless, and empty affair. Now I work to offer alternatives to that type of death and funeral."

Donna became a LifeCycle Celebrant® in 2005, receiving her training from the Celebrant Foundation and Institute. In 2010, she became a Certified Life Coach through The Life Coach Institute, specializing in death and dying.

She trained as a home funeral guide with Jerrigrace Lyons of Final Passages and Elizabeth Knox of Crossings, and was also inspired by Lisa Carlson and Nancy Poer - pioneers bringing back the simple tradition of families caring for their own.

"Our great-grandparents practiced home vigils and funerals, and to me it seems natural to care for our own in their death, just as we did in their life."

Donna is a founding member and currently serves on the Executive Board of Directors of the Home Funeral Alliance, a non-profit organization educating consumers about home funerals. They promote education, professional development, and community for home funeral guides, green funeral advocates, and all those who support the rights of families and communities to care for their own dead.

Almost forty years after her father died, Donna took what she learned to organize and officiate a meaningful end of life ceremony honoring her father's life the way she thought it should have been done the first time.

For more information or to contact Donna Belk, visit her website, or email her.