A mother of six children (all Waldorf educated) and sixteen grandchildren, Nancy can address the issues of the day and from years of experience, give support and confidence to young parents. She is known for her warmth and humor as well as depth of spiritual insight into the beautiful and challenging work of parenting today. She is also known for her work with death and dying and her book, Living Into Dying, siritual and Practical Deathcare for Families and Communities is widely read. An artist, she has a children's book, too, Mia's Apple Tree.

"The Most Excellent Dying of Theodore Jack Heckelman"

A Full length documentary of courageous and conscious dying, community and hope by Nancy Jewel Poer.

Nancy's brother, Jack, died at home on April 24,2005. Jack and his wife Linda are featured in this month's (September 2005) Utne Reader in an article on conscious dying. Jack faced his death with courage and had the hope of helping many people through his looking at the transition as the "greatest adventure of his life". He worked closely with Nancy in the last weeks and months and she hopes to write more on his passing and how it affected so many people. He talked frankly about how he wanted the funeral, Nancy's daughter, Mary, made his casket, and he wanted the after death vigil at home. Speaking with Nancy on the phone just hours before he passed (he had brain and lung cancer) he reported that it was all going "Just fine!" He further said the casket which he got that morning, was "wonderful" His last words to her, "tell everyone love,love,love!" Further information can be found on the website of his wife, Linda. lindabergh.com

NANCY is a part of a documentary titled, "A Family Undertaking"
produced by Five Spot Film.

"This documentary opens a window onto a compelling new trend in America's treatment of death: the home funeral.

Prior to the 20th century, caring for the dead in our country fell to family and friends. The rise of the more institutional, 'sanitized' funeral has over time served to alienate Americans from one of the most basic facts of life.

Home funeral advocates believe that close contact with the body, even for children, has been shown to help with the grieving process.

Filmed across the country, A FAMILY UNDERTAKING intimately follows several diverse families as they forego a typical mortuary funeral and care for their loved ones at home. The camera also ventures behind closed doors into the world of the American funeral industry, to shed light on some of the tricks on the trade."

This program was broadcast on PBS.

The video of this documentary is available at Fanlight Productions.