My work in death care started at home with my father in 2020.

I was his caregiver for three years as his colon cancer progressed, but he was so much more than a cancer patient. He was a brilliant engineer, an inventor, and man who had a plan for everything - including the end of his life.

I learned so much about what it means to die in America. I witnessed and signed the paperwork. I became his healthcare advocate. I communicated with Oncology staff, hospice staff, funeral directors, lawyers, and countless customer service reps from credit card companies to Social Security as executrix of his estate. This piled on top of my shoulders as I was also trying to carry the grief I’d held since my father told me his cancer had returned and metastasized.

I couldn’t let go of everything I had learned in the process of his death, but I also couldn’t forget all the people who helped teach me this valuable information - CNAs, nurses, chaplains, legal professionals, and, to my surprise - death workers. Incredible people who, had I known about before my father’s passing, I’d have called on for help through many grueling moments.

Once I found death work, I immediately had to dive in. More commonly known as Death Doulas, I was drawn to the practice and began my training with Alua Arthur and her incredible team at Going with Grace in September of 2024, then receiving my National End-of-Life Doula Alliance (NEDA) micro credential in 2025.

Simultaneously, I was receiving my 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training certification. The philosophy and intentional movement of yoga helped steady and ground me during the tumultuous times of caregiving. I feel the mental and physical benefits of yoga go hand in hand with facing the end of life and managing the stress of caregiving. I graduated and registered with Yoga Alliance in the summer of 2025. Since then, I have become certified in Yoga Nidra (Yogic Sleep) and specialize in gentle yoga classes and guided meditations.

My mission is to help my community and provide aid to the dying and their loved ones as a Death Doula and yoga teacher, in honor of my father, Thomas F. Papallo, Jr. It is my hope that the peace we make with our deaths allows us to live a fuller life while we’re present.

In my downtime, I can be found at home with my little black cat, Anaheim, snuggled up with a book. Another happy place is in the woods with my partner, Adam. I enjoy attempting to sew and play piano, making a cup of tea, attending yoga classes or practicing at home, and watching Anaheim slowly warm up to Adam’s 5-pound, toothless chihuahua, Earl.