ABOUT US

Terry Dalsemer 

I was a psychotherapist who worked primarily with individuals and groups. Upon retiring, I was still interested in using those skills in new and different ways. I was also curious to learn more about how my own advancing years might evolve. 

I became a hospice volunteer. I was privileged to accompany individuals and often their families on some of their end of life experiences. Additionally, for many years, I ran support groups at senior centers, often exploring issues of aging, families, and end of life concerns. 

These experiences have given me a rich appreciation for the journeys we are all on.

Marcia Hofer

I’m a retired clinical psychologist and former professional dancer. ln 2021, my family traveled to Switzerland so that my husband, Ricardo, could have a medically assisted death. Ricardo had been diagnosed with dementia. He wanted the right to die at home, on his own terms, with dignity. But under the current laws in the US, he did not qualify for Medical Aid in Dying. In Switzerland, he was able to have a peaceful, painless death, surrounded by his loved ones.

After Ricardo’s death, I helped form A Better Exit, a nonprofit organization committed to education and advocacy around end-of-life choices. I hope that Mortality and Choices will provide the opportunity for us to talk openly about what we want, what we fear, what we value, and how we hope to shape the final chapters of our lives.

Katrina Mainetti 

 I am a Certified Dementia Practioner and have spent the last 10 years providing education about Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias to those living with a diagnosis and their care partners. I helped provide staff training to several independent and assisted living facilities in the Western region of the United States before starting my role with Terwilliger. My exposure to Alzheimer’s disease and the dying process came from my first-hand experience in navigating care for both of my grandparents. Neither of whom qualified for Medical Aid in Dying due to their disease.

I feel passionate about leaning into the discomfort surrounding the topic of mortality and challenging stigmas or assumptions related to death. Mortality and Choices provides a unique space to foster vulnerability, honesty, and access to pertinent information vital to those equally motivated to preserve their dignity through end of life.

Dane Moseson 

My interest in Mortality and Choices comes from both personal and professional experiences. I trained in internal medicine, and then surgery with an oncology fellowship year sponsored by the American Cancer Society. I was the medical director of the Lower Columbia Region Cancer Center.  Here we worked to offer patients the “choice” of clinical trials for investigational  therapy as well as consideration of  Hospice care when standard therapy held little hope. With increasing specialization and progress in medicine, it seemed to most of us that “choices” patients “apparently made” were different from those many physicians or nurses would consider. The modernization of medicine had some unintended consequences. In 2010, in response to “how modern medicine changed the end of life” the Institute for Healthcare Improvement initiated a program to encourage patients and families to start talking about “choices”. At Terwilliger Plaza, I have found a rich community willing to learn from each other as we advance in age. 

Jan Reynolds   

I am an interfaith Spiritual Director and retired Presbyterian Pastor. I’ve accompanied many people discerning their way as they near life’s end and have provided care for long-term caregivers. 

My personal experiences also inform this work:  My Mom died with Alzheimer’s; my Dad and another relative took their own lives due to lack of choice in dying; this year, my husband John and I had to make immediate end-of-life decisions in the ICU on our son’s behalf.  I am currently in treatment for the recurrence of cancer preparing for my own death, whenever that comes. Mindfully approaching the inevitable ending of our lives can be a meaningful time as we savor our life’s joys, and “take care of business” to ease the way for ourselves and our loved ones.