Karla Kerr knows a few things about the end of life. In her roles as a Funeral Director at Earth’s Options, and an independent Death Doula, she has seen a lot. That’s one of the reasons she has donated her time and energy to supporting Hike for Hospice year after year.
“Death is not the opposite of life,” she says. “Death is the opposite of birth. Those two processes bookend a person’s life and both can be beautiful. We just need to honour the process.”
As a supporter of Victoria Hospice for many years, Karla spoke recently at a volunteer appreciation event about why she chooses Victoria Hospice to support.
“What makes Victoria Hospice so special,” she said, “is the authenticity of the people. They really walk the walk with compassion and care.”
Karla also spoke about the beauty of a Victoria Hospice honouring ceremony, a simple event offered to all patients and their families that takes place after a person has died at hospice.
During a Victoria Hospice honouring, a funeral director prepares the deceased, moves them to a wheeled stretcher, and drapes a hospice quilt over the person. When it is time to depart the unit, a nurse will gently play the singing bowl.*
The resonant tone of the singing bowl beckons all staff, volunteers and family members to gather around the main elevators. Everyone gathers in silence and reflection as the funeral director brings the deceased inside the circle. The nurse approaches the quilt and speaks directly to the person who has died, addressing them by name, thanking them for their life and for allowing us to care for them. Then the funeral director and the deceased take the elevator downstairs for transfer.
Karla has seen three Victoria Hospice honourings. “Each time, I have been struck by the genuineness, the authenticity of everyone stepping away from what they were doing to honour, to take that time. Because in the end, it all comes down to what you choose to honour with your time, and that begins with simply pausing.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere else,” she says.
This is Karla’s tenth time running the refreshment tent at Hike for Hospice, and she has no plans to stop. “Victoria Hospice is unique. It’s special. The honouring ceremony practice is such a beautiful bookend to a person’s entire life, and I am happy to support any way I can.”
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*Singing bowls are idiophonic musical instruments—a type of standing bell—that produce sustained, resonant tones and vibrations when struck or rubbed with a mallet. Often used in meditation, sound healing, and yoga, they are typically made from metal alloys (bronze, copper) or quartz crystal, creating calming vibrations believed to promote relaxation, reduce stress, and improve mental clarity.