Death Cafe profile for Kristin Steckbauer
Location: United States
About Kristin Steckbauer:
Hello, it's Kristin.
I became a nurse in 1998 and it took me a long time to realize exactly what about it didn't feel just right for me. Then, I stumbled on Death Doula work and it all made sense. Now, I am fortunate to have experience from both aspects, the medical and the personal.
In DD work, my care focuses on the human level of EOL preparation, opposed to trying to fix illness. This movement reorients society to its old traditions that are thankfully resurfacing into modern care.
Personally, as a nurse who has worked in many traditional medical care settings, I know we can't possibly handle it all, even though it is expected. That's where my doula work comes in; to be there when others can't. To fill the liminal space so there are less gaps for the dying and their loved ones.
I look forward to bringing this emerging field of empathetic, death work forward in my unique way. To help familiarize the public, I am starting to offer various public information sessions and I also welcome questions about local or tele-focused work.
I currently have both Instagram and Facebook pages. Soon I will have my website up along with additional social media platforms as well. In addition to that, I will continue to expand my training and services so stay tuned.
Thanks for reading to the end and I hope to see you at some of my cafes. You can contact me directly if you have any questions.
What brings you to Death Cafe?
I am drawn to being a deathcare advocate. Most people don't know of the nontraditional care and funeral options, along with their benefits, that are available. As an educator, I enjoy opportunities to help increase deathcare literacy by guiding the dying as I help support the living. Death Cafes seem to be the perfect avenue to legitimately get the word out and I feel the need to help with that.
I am offering monthly, first Monday of the month, Death Cafes at Horrocks in Battle Creek, Michigan. In the fall of 2026, I am also starting monthly, first Thursday of the month, meetings at the Union Township Library in Union City, Michigan; this ongoing series will be a part of the Branch District Library's community curriculum.
What would you like your legacy to be?
That I made the world a better place as I muddled through; figuring my unique self out, while raising my three wonderful children and maintaining a marriage through life's ups and downs.
Thoughts for sharing:
Make it happen.
If it doesn't cause anyone else harm...why not?
Don't be defeated and don't give up.
Your life is yours, so make it grand in whatever way is best for you and your people.
Contact Kristin Steckbauer
Kristin Steckbauer's posts on the Death Cafe website
With Me, Kristin Steckbauer
July 6, 2026, 6.00 p.m. - 8.00 p.m. (EST)
Free
Death is a natural part of life—so let’s talk about it. Join us for relaxed, group-led conversations with no set agenda by Kristin Steckbauer a nurse, End of ...