Dear Friends,
 
Response to our Spring Symposium on Natural Death Care was so strong that we added a second session. Read on for some of the rave reviews from the dozens of participants who joined us to learn about urban and rural natural burial options, family-directed care for the dead, and the newest eco-friendly alternative, water-based cremation.
 
River View Cemetery Funeral Home is one of the few access points for those interested in Aqua Green Cremation. Available in Portland only since mid-April, we've already had a number of clients express interest. You can watch a KOIN news story on this new service or simply call us for more information about whether this is right for your family.
 
We continue to be gratified by the rising interest in natural burial (2017 saw our whole body burials increase by 12.4%, constituting the majority of interments for the first time in decades.) Our master planning process is now underway to plat out our new green-above-the-ground dedicated natural burial area. Until we break ground there, we are happy to arrange for an eco-friendly burial nearly anywhere on our beautiful cemetery grounds.
 
If you'd like to arrange a presentation on eco-friendly burial options for your neighborhood, professional, faith or community group, please give me a call. And as always, please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have. I can be reached at  503-246-4251  or [email protected] .
 
Best regards,

     

David Noble
Executive Director
Rave Reviews from our Spring Symposium

More than 100 people journeyed to River View on April 14th to hear about greener, more meaningful ways of caring for our dead. Our presentation team - David Noble of River View Cemetery; Jodie Buller of White Eagle Memorial Preserve; Dean Strommer, who's brought Aqua Green Cremation to Portland; and Celebrant & Home Funeral Guide Holly Pruett - received universally high ratings from participants, who had this to say about the event:
  • It was the best event we have been to all year.
  • Excellent, clear information delivered with good nature.
  • I got in touch with my desires so I can give specifics to my kids.
  • Wonderfully presented! In the back of my mind I have wanted a natural burial, but knowing more of the details and the possibilities, I am ready to go forward with my plan.
  • There was not, as my husband feared, an attempt to sell services. The presenters were all engaged and passionate, bringing us tons of information in a comfortable setting.
  • I loved the feel of the cemetery surrounding us and the accessibility of the presenters in such a small group! Supportive and helpful all around!
  • The best parts were having so many knowledgeable, articulate and experienced experts presenting in one seminar - and hearing their passion about returning death care to families and communities & the simultaneous heartache over how far removed American society has become from death and dying.
New to our Newsletter?
We'll contact you only a few times a year with updates on eco-friendly burial options. You may unsubscribe at any time using the button at the bottom of this message. To read a recent highlight,
one family's story about a green burial for their young adult son after an accidental death, click here. 
Natural Burial Products

River View Cemetery Funeral Home offers biodegradable products made from renewable sources, including simple pine coffins and woven grass caskets, shrouds, lowering boards, and urns.

Click here to view a selection of natural burial products.





Did you know...?
River View Cemetery is well-known as a leading resource on natural burial both locally and throughout the industry. Our Natural Burial web page is the most visited page on our site. Contact us if you'd like to arrange a presentation or a screening of the documentary A Will for the Woods. 
At River View, a historic non-profit cemetery, you can plan to be buried nearly anywhere in the cemetery, directly in the earth without chemical embalming, in a biodegradable casket or a simple shroud.  In the future, River View plans to begin construction of a new, dedicated Natural Burial Area - free from harmful chemicals and pesticides. And in coming years, we expect to make natural burial available in our beautiful forested areas. For more information: riverviewcemetery.org