Making History: Linden Grove's First Female Chair

Cole delivering her second TEDx talk at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa in early 2020.

Historic Linden Grove Chair—and Covingtonion—Cole Imperi (pronounced im-PEAR-ee) is a dual-certified thanatologist, two-time TedX speaker, and one of America’s leading experts on death, dying and grief. We could not be more honored for her to serve at as the current leader of the Board of Overseers.

She is best known for her work pioneering the fields of Thanabotany and Deathwork (which includes Death Companioning) and through her development of Shadowloss, Shadowlight and Dremains.

Cole is the founder of the School of American Thanatology, started just last year, which already has students from all around the world. Her work as a chaplain-thanatologist in a jail, mortuary college professor, crematory operator, hospice volunteer, and grief support group leader serve as a cornerstone of institutional knowledge on our cemetery board. In addition to chairing our board, Cole works with death-related businesses through her consulting firm, Doth, and publishes death and loss-related content as the American Thanatologist.

Not only does Linden Grove have it’s first female Chair, Linden Grove celebrates 4 other female community members currently serving on its Board of Overseers! Together, our dedicated board members greatly look forward to the bright future of our historic cemetery and arboretum. With plans for added native plant garden space, educational signage, a unique outdoor event space, and much more… we truly feel the best is yet to come!

Although the pandemic has ruled out public events at Linden Grove for the time being, we could not be more grateful for the outdoor haven our grounds supply to the neighborhood during a time of such isolation. And for a 176-year-old cemetery, we still look and feel pretty good… thanks to so many people who have helped us along the way.

Source: American Thanatologist