WHO WE ARE

Suzanne wright baumhackl, Co-founder

Suzanne left her 25 year Brand Management & Marketing executive career in San Francisco to start a marriage, a family, and Solstice Wood Fire Cafe in the Gorge in 2006.  Now, she, her husband Aaron, two sons, and the restaurant are flourishing in Hood River, Oregon.

After Suzanne attended her grandmother Emily’s burial service and several other memorial services, she had a suspicion that people might seek more natural, intimate, and purposeful end of life celebrations and environmentally sound burial practices. Her passionate quest for answers guided her toward Orphan Wisdom School, where she is a graduate scholar.

Founding a ceremonial center and green burial site is her purposeful path to guiding people towards conversations about loving, living well, dying wise, and befriending grief.

Suzanne is a caring & connected community member who wants to serve the living while honoring the dead... in nature, in ceremony, and with deep reverence.

russell hargrave, Co-founder

Russell Hargrave lives in Mosier, Oregon with his wife and two children.  He enjoys the outdoor life, his job, and particularly raising a family.  The rugged beauty of the land beckons him to play outdoors every day, as he and his brother did growing up on a small farm.  However, when his younger brother died unexpectedly 10 years ago, he was unprepared for the grief.

With the anguish from his brother’s death still palpable, Russell became faced with the question of where his mother, he, and his wife would be buried.  After realizing they could continue to be a part of this beloved land, Russell became passionate about creating a lasting, natural place that could connect the living and dead.

Russell’s career includes extensive experience in leadership, innovation, and business, working as an executive for high technology companies, and for the state of Oregon.  He is a successful entrepreneur, having co-founded two locally based companies.