Death doulas are a 'gift for families' at end of loved one's life

FARGO — Long before Gail Christopher officially became a death doula, she was already supporting people at the end of their lives.

While working as a director of nursing at a Grand Forks nursing home, she recalls a resident who was dying — a priest — who had requested a visit with her.

He started asking her questions about dying. What was it like at the very end of moment of life? Would there be pain? What could he expect?

Christopher was surprised. She knew priests gave last rites to people all the time, so she assumed they were experts at answering tough questions like these.

“We put clergy on this pedestal that they should know because they’ve been trained and he said, ‘We are as scared as anyone else,’” she recalls. “We can read all the books we want. Life is still life and we are