LISA CARLSON

LISA CARLSON of Hinesburg, VT died June 4, 2023, at the age of 86. In 1987 she wrote the book “Caring for Your Own Dead,” the first manual of practical care for the dead written for lay families. In 1996, she revised and greatly expanded her book into a new edition. “Caring for the Dead: Your Final Act of Love,” adding advice for families who wished to use a funeral home. That same year, Lisa became executive director of the Funeral Consumers Alliance. She assisted Jessica Mitford on the 1995 updated edition of “The American Way of Death.” Lisa retired in 2002 but remained active through her own nonprofit, Funeral Ethics Organization. In 2011, she teamed up with her successor at FCA, Joshua Slocum, to co-write a third edition of her book, titled “Final Rights: Reclaiming the American Way of Death.” Per her request Lisa’s body was donated to the University of Vermont for anatomical study.