Praise You Only Die Once by Margie Jenkins

Our company, Abiding HomeCare, was a sponsor of the Jenkins’ seminar, “Finishing Well: Living with Grace and Gusto” at Central Kitsap Presbyterian Church in Bremerton, WA.

This seminar could not have been more timely. As an owner of a senior home care agency, I see the pain, frustration, and stress that’s generated when people are entering their final days without having adequately prepared themselves or their family. As a son of parents who are in their late 70s, I have been personally concerned about this for a long time. In fact, when this conference took place, in Sept 2009, I already had tickets to fly home to Texas the following week with the primary purpose of helping my parents get organized and plans made.

This was not the first time my brother and I had met with our parents to work through these difficult issues. Previous attempts had fallen short because we didn’t have a good system or support materials. Margie’s book and planner made the difference. In one week, we accomplished so much that it set my parents on the road to completion.
Randy E. Hardin, CSA, Executive Director, Abiding HomeCare, Silverdale, WA

You Only Die Once Seminar, offered by Margie Jenkins, psychotherapist and nationally recognized for her work on end-of-life issues, is a most helpful and gratifying experience. You will leave ready to get your end-of-life plan started with the essential tools the seminar provides. My Personal Planner is the essential companion to You Only Die Once and the book "begs" to be implemented by the planner. Virtually everything you need to do is included in this well laid out workbook to assist the user to prepare for the end of life. Get to this seminar in the city nearest you!
Pastor David Wilder, Pastor for Senior Ministries,
St. Luke Lutheran Church, Portland, Oregon

I was privileged to attend the workshop, “Finishing Well”, conducted by Margie and her husband Bob (Jenks) at Central Kitsap Presbyterian Church, Bremerton, Washington, Saturday, September 19, 2009.

This experience with Margie and Jenks was, without question, absolutely the finest workshop in which I have shared. Their personal “grace and gusto” is pervasive, bringing life and vitality to a subject with which many people dread dealing. With remarkable insight and appropriate humor they get to the heart of the matter of preparing for a good death as an expression of living a good life.

Margie and Jenks do more to help us focus on a life well lived consummating in an appropriate death than anyone I have known. To learn with and from them is a profound spiritual experience in the best sense of that term.
Paul W. Murphey, Ph.D., Retired Navy Chaplain

In May of 2008, First Presbyterian Church of Battle Creek hosted the Margie and Jenks workshop "You Only Die Once". We had over 150 participants and the critiques they completed at the end of the day had a repetitive theme..."the resource material is the most comprehensive I've ever seen" and the antidotal stories demonstrated how pre-arrangements made by loved ones are not always helpful to the family if they're not done correctly. Personally, I learned that there's a lot to consider to prepare for your end-of-life and Margie explained that you just need to do a little bit at a time and the workbook takes you through that process.- Cheryl Luts, First Presbyterian Church Jenkins Project Publicity Chair

After reading You Only Die Once, I invited Margie Jenkins and her husband to lead some seminars in our part of Florida. The pastor of one of the churches that was hosting a seminar called and said only five people had signed up. I asked if Margie could speak for a couple of minutes during the worship service the Sunday before that seminar. She agreed. After hearing Margie, over 100 people attended the seminar two days later. They all agreed that it was well worth the time and the nominal fee. In the five presentations the Jenkins gave in our area, nearly 500 people were encouraged to spare their relatives the agony of searching for important documents and wondering what to do with precious possessions. Using their invaluable workbook, Margie and Jenks give a lighthearted, but serious approach to planning for death. They cover all the important topics, with suggestions on how best to accomplish the necessary tasks. To my knowledge, theirs is the only presentation that covers what we need to identify and do as we get organized for our last act on earth – and once organized, we can live bodaciously until that time. In today’s lingo, their seminar gets five stars! - James M. Cummings, Lakeland, Florida

Who else than Margie Jenkins could guide us with loving firmness through the end-phase of our life? Her encouragement to remain in control by organizing and planning ahead perfectly fits the tenets of the Funeral Consumers Alliance (www.funerals.org). Margie Jenkins has been a member and strong supporter of the Houston chapter for years. Her engaging way to approach end-of-life issues has earned her a high regard in FCA communities nationwide. As a much sought-after speaker she has given successful presentations at annual FCA meetings in Houston, Austin, Modesto, CA, and Burlingame, CA. - Erda Hillmann, Funeral Consumers Alliance of Houston

Margie and her husband, Jenks, spoke to a crowd of about 65 or so people, mostly community hospice supporters, volunteers and Board members. A common challenge we face is how to enroll participation in public programs dealing w/ death and grief when our culture would rather not talk about it or acknowledge it. Enter Margie, stage right... with skill and ease, she and her husband Jenks set the tone for a lively and robust evening of learning, laughter, and engaging discussion about death, of all things. We hoped that they would put people at ease, inject some much needed humor, and teach our audience some concrete tools for starting the dreaded conversation about the end of life with those we love. Margie and Jenks delivered! Broaching the topic of dying never seemed so natural and non-threatening. To learn from such a dynamic, confident, and energetic couple of octogenarians was reassuring and inspiring. We are grateful for their gifts. - Patty Dunn, Executive Director, Hospice Volunteer Services, Middlebury, VT