Trident Society

Trident San Jose’s services and sales teams got together at the Fremont Festival of the Arts to talk to folks about cremation options in their community.
From left, Services Manager Steve Crawford, Funeral Arranger Sharelle Smith, Officer Coordinator Michelle Thurman, and PAA Veronica Johnson.

Last week at the California Funeral Directors Association annual convention, Trident Society San Jose Service Manager Steve Crawford was installed as CFDA vice president (pictured left in the group). Planning has already begun for next year’s convention in San Jose, where Steve will be installed as president. Congratulations, Steve!

Trident San Jose Service Manager Steve Crawford provided public comment to the Board of Trustees of the San Mateo County Community College District, speaking in support of the Funeral Service Education program at Cañada College and the need for educated funeral professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Trident San Jose Service Manager Steve Crawford (second from the left in the back row) attended the California Funeral Directors Association’s recent quarterly meetings where leaders discuss developing new member benefits, reviewing finances, planning annual conventions, and improving services for members and funeral professionals statewide.
The recent April 2024 meetings highlighted plans for engaging activities at the 2024 and 2025 conventions, legislative discussions on industry regulations and societal shifts, robust financial strategies, enhanced membership engagement, professional development initiatives, and improved communication approaches.

Trident San Jose Service Manager Steve Crawford and Pre-Arrangement Advisor Veronica Johnson joined a presentation by SHARE (Social and Health Agency Resource Exchange) at the Pleasant Hill Senior Center on Tuesday. The speaker was Janet Thompson, who spoke to attendees about the importance of having a completed and up-to-date Advanced Health Care Directive to handle your affairs. This also allowed us an opportunity to sign up for the Senior Resource Fair on May 10.

Trident San Jose Service Manager Steve Crawford, right front (in left photo), attended the latest meeting of the California Funeral Directors Association, where they discussed pending legislation, this year's scholarships for Mortuary Science students, the upcoming convention in June – where Steve will be installed as CFDA vice president – and celebrated the retirement of CFDA’s longtime executive director.

Happy Hanukkah!

“Norman lived a life in awe of the world around him,” his family wrote in a statement. “He marveled at his cup of coffee every morning, the shape of the tree outside his window and the sounds of beautiful music. But it was people — those he just met and those he knew for decades — who kept his mind and heart forever young.” [He was] “surrounded by his family as we told stories and sang songs until the very end.”

Norman Lear, TV Legend, Dies at 101 Norman Lear, who revolutionized American comedy with popular early-‘70s sitcoms “All in the Family” and “Sanford and Son,” has died. He was 101.

Paul McCartney, on the last time he saw , who died on Nov. 29, 2001:
"He was very sick and I held his hand for four hours. As I was doing it I was thinking, ‘I’ve never held his hand before, ever. This is not what two Liverpool fellas do, no matter how well you know each other.’ I kept thinking, 'He’s going to smack me here.’ But he didn’t. He just stroked my hand with his thumb and I thought ‘Ah, this is OK, this is life. It’s tough but it’s lovely. That’s how it is.’ I knew George before I knew any of the others and I loved that man. I’m so proud to have known him. Still, as sad as it was, you take the great bit, which was that last time you saw him, and that’s what you remember. That and all the other lovely memories."

Harrison Archive George Harrison and Paul McCartney, 1995; screenshot from The Beatles Anthology. “We held hands. It’s funny, even at the height of our friendship — as guys — you would never hold hands. It just wasn’t...

"My mother was the glue that held our family together," son Chip Carter said of Rosalynn Carter.

The service was Jimmy Carter's first public appearance since he entered hospice care. He was with his wife of 77 years during her final hours.

"He never wants to be very far from her," Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander said. The trip to Atlanta was hard for the former president, but "this is her last trip up and it's probably his, too. He's determined."

Rosalynn Carter honored by family, friends and presidents, including husband Jimmy A gathering of first ladies and presidents joined other political figures in a tribute service. But a parade of speakers said her global stature wasn't what defined her.

Don't (only) take our word about how important it is to pre-plan your final wishes, what a gift it is to your family, both emotionally and financially.
"As costs go up, a lot of people just can't afford a traditional funeral," said Jimmy Olson, owner of Olson Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Sheboygan, Wis. "Everyone needs to plan. Number one: You need to have a conversation with your family."

It's your funeral: Here's how to plan so your loved ones don't have to From burial to cremation to composting, what to know about options — and costs — when planning what to do with your or a loved one's remains.

Maintaining a place for the deceased in our lives can also mean continuing to draw on those relationships as sources of strength — to share our joys with the dead or feel their support in moments of sorrow.

Opinion | It’s OK to Never ‘Get Over’ Your Grief (Gift Article) Traditional mourning practices preserve a place for the dead among the living.

Happy Thanksgiving!

In partnership with For Grief, Trident Society is offering two free webinars for anyone who is struggling with grief this holiday season. We hope you'll find solace in these discussions. 💝

Through the end of November, Trident Society is raising funds to support Operation Gratitude in creating and shipping care packages to U.S. military veterans and deployed troops around the world. Join us in giving thanks for the service of U.S. military members, and for Operation Gratitude's efforts in brightening their day. https://giving.operationgratitude.com/team/385533

“Do what you can to show you care about other people, and you will make our world a better place.”
- Rosalynn Carter,
1927-2023

Rosalynn Carter, compassionate and outspoken former first lady, dies at 96 Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, the closest adviser to Jimmy Carter during his one term as U.S. president and their four decades thereafter as global humanitarians, has died at the age of 96.

We honor you. Thank you for your service.

What awed him most about going into space, Frank Borman said, was his view of Earth from Apollo 8: “The contrast between our memories of the Earth and the color on the Earth and the totally bleak moon was striking.” It was an image, he said, that he would “recall till the day I die.”

Godspeed to Apollo 8 Commander Borman who, from a distance on Christmas Eve 1968, showed us how beautiful, how fragile and precious, our good Earth is.

Frank Borman, Astronaut Who Led First Orbit of the Moon, Dies at 95 He commanded the 1968 Apollo 8 mission that carried three astronauts farther from Earth than anyone had ever traveled. He later led Eastern Airlines.

Kate Bagnati picked up the rotary phone's receiver, dialed a number, and started talking. “Hey mama, I miss you," she said. Bagnati's mother died about a year ago.

"Wind phones" are “a means by which to have the conversations you didn’t get to have ... and know that the wind will carry them to the source that needs to receive them,” said Rev. Deborah Rundlett, pastor at the historic Ridgebury Congregational Church in Ridgefield, CT, which recently set up a wind phone, one of dozens around the country.

'Connected by love': In Ridgefield, an old rotary phone helps people cope with grief In Connecticut and across the United States, ‘wind phones’ provide spaces for people to hold one-way conversations with their loved ones who’ve died.

For the fourth year, Trident Society is proud to support Operation Gratitude! We are raising funds until the end of November to support OG in creating and shipping care packages to U.S. military veterans and deployed troops around the world. If you would like to join us and donate, please click this link: https://giving.operationgratitude.com/give/t385533 #!/donation/checkout

"When a loved one is dying and we get to be by their side, it is a double luckiness — lucky that we got to have the love at all, and lucky, which is not everyone’s luck, that we get to say goodbye. Even so, accompanying a loved one as they exit life is one of the most difficult and demanding experiences you could have."

How to Say Goodbye: An Illustrated Field Guide to Accompanying a Loved One at the End of Life “If you don’t know what to say, start by saying that… That opens things up.”

For the fourth year, Trident Society is raising funds in support of Operation Gratitude through the end of November. If you would like to donate, please click the link below. Donations go directly to Operation Gratitude and are used to create and ship care packages to U.S. military and deployed across the country and around the world!
https://giving.operationgratitude.com/team/385533

“Most of us have small, sad places in our hearts. My father felt deeply but kept his feelings to himself. Or rather, being a writer, he let them escape in his writing. And so such sadnesses as there were put on cap and bells and emerged as Eeyore.”
-- C.R.Milne

Last week was the first official meeting of the California Funeral Directors Association (CFDA), where Trident San Jose Service Manager Stephen Crawford (pictured with CFDA President Sean Douglass) presided as both Treasurer and chair of the CFDA Legislative Committee. "The year has already gotten off to a productive start, and I’m looking forward to the legislative impact we can have," Stephen said.

Happy Rosh Hashanah!

Trident San Jose Service Manager Stephen Crawford had the opportunity to visit his alma mater, Cypress College Mortuary Science, at the invitation of faculty member Jolena Grande (pictured). “I shared insights and experiences with first-semester students in the Introduction to Funeral Directing course,” Stephen said. “I was able to offer aspiring funeral professionals a unique perspective on my journey in the profession since graduating from Cypress.”

We look forward to meeting these young funeral professionals as colleagues down the road!

September marks National Preparedness Month, an annual opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for emergencies that could happen at any time.
For us, *every* month is National Preparedness Month! Ensure your loved ones are protected from future emotional and financial burden. Get your free planning guide here:

Choose from 3 Convenient Ways to Contact Us - Trident Society Contact Trident Society Today. Choose from 3 convenient ways to get in touch: Call over the phone, enroll online or attend a lunch & learn seminar.

"God, his songs make me smile. The man was not immortal, but his music certainly is."

Opinion: Mint juleps, Parrot Heads and Jimmy Buffett in Paris "God, Jimmy Buffett's songs make me smile. The man was not immortal, but his music certainly is."

“I’m avoiding plans,” says Josie Adler, 80.
Adler is like many Americans: Of nearly 800,000 surveyed, only 29% had completed a living will that detailed their care wishes, and only 33% had designated a health care power of attorney.
“When they do not want to talk about anything regarding death, they will say, ‘My kids will deal with it,’” said social worker Barbra Braganza. “Then I say, ‘Oh, do your kids know that?’ Those are perfect open dialogues.”

Have this talk with your parents now to reduce heartache later | CNN Discussions about plans for aging should not wait until people are elderly but should begin early, gerontologists and social workers say.

The outpouring from friends in the entertainment industry shows how beloved Bob Barker was. The defender of animal rights and all-around sweet, funny guy will be missed.

'Price Is Right' Host Drew Carey, Other Celebs Honor Bob Barker: 'I Will Carry His Memory' - TheWrap Carey is joined by Julie Bowen, Michael Rosenbaum and numerous others in remembering the legendary host.

“I wanted to write music that felt like it could’ve been written 50 years ago, tomorrow, yesterday — that had this lost-in-time quality.”

Robbie Robertson, guitarist and songwriter of the Band, dies at 80 Mr. Robertson was credited with helping forge a new genre called Americana that blended country, folk and rock.

Nurse Hadley Vlahos explains hospice, and dispels common misconceptions about who uses hospice, when and why.

A conversation on life, death, and 'The In-Between' with hospice nurse Hadley Vlahos Hospice is something that is often misunderstood and underutilized, but our guest is on a mission to educate us on what hospice care actually does and the quality of life it provides. Interestingly, one of the ways she does that is through her use of TikTok where she has 1.6 million followers. She a...

The Trident San Jose team spent the past weekend at the Fremont Festival of the Arts. We had a great time handing out goody bags to folks in the the community, answering questions about cremation and explaining the benefits of preplanning. Pictured are Pre-Arrangement Advisor Veronica Johnson and Service Manager Steve Crawford.

"I liken grief to another complex and universal human experience: love. Both are things that most people experience in their lifetime. Love and grief can both be simple, yet incredibly nuanced and layered. And both can feel confusing and mysterious."

What You Really Need to Know About 'Grieving Stages' - WYG There are common experiences that serve as the basis of grief theories that involve grieving stages, phases, etc., but you may not relate them.

“If I could say anything to the world about this, I would say don’t discount your elders, don’t leave them behind when things change,” Lady Gaga wrote. “Don’t flinch when you feel sad, just keep going straight ahead, sadness is part of it. Take care of your elders and I promise you will learn something special.”

Lady Gaga shares moving tribute to her 'true friend' Tony Bennett | CNN Lady Gaga is grieving the loss of her “real true friend.”

While it can be sad and frustrating to cope with a loved one's dementia, there are ways you can make life better.

, do you know about the PACT (Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics) Act, passed in August 2022? It expanded healthcare and benefits to 5 million veterans exposed to toxins during the Vietnam, Gulf War & post-9/11 eras.
Unfortunately, there has been an increase in PACT Act scams targeting veterans through email, phone and social media to gain access to their benefits or file claims on their behalf.
This story outlines how the scams work, and ways to protect yourself. Remember, there is no charge to file for benefits. To begin filing a benefit request related to the PACT Act, visit VA.gov/PACT or call 800-698-2411.
https://www.aarp.org/home-family/voices/veterans/info-2022/pact-act-scams.html

AARP Poll Reveals Veterans Susceptible to PACT Act Fraud Veterans who don’t know claims can be filed for free may be more vulnerable to scams

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad,” her family said in a statement. “Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”

R.I.P. Sinéad O'Connor, acclaimed Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor, who had an international singing career dating back to the 1980s, has died at 56