A Doctor's Pre-Planning Prescription

For Ryan Bell, cemeteries have always been sacred places of story and connection, not sadness. Growing up in Alaska, his grandparents lived beside a state cemetery where family gatherings took on special meaning.

"As a kid, we'd go there with my grandma every spring to tidy up the graves when the snow melted," Ryan recalls. "We'd hear stories about folks who you had met or people in your life who were no longer there. They were always very peaceful."

These early experiences fostered a lifelong fascination with burial practices across cultures. Ryan remembers being captivated by the diverse monuments he encountered—from a Native Alaskan chief's grave marked by whale rib bones to Russian Orthodox cemeteries with their distinctive spirit houses.

From Admiration to Critique

Ryan's appreciation for cemetery aesthetics continued into adulthood, particularly during medical school when he lived across from Mount Hope Cemetery, "America's oldest and largest Victorian cemetery in the natural style." He would wander among its hills, valleys, grottos, and pools, admiring the 19th-century funeral statuary.

But his perspective evolved when facing the practical realities of funeral planning during family losses.

"When you actually have someone in your family die, you realize that trying to arrange the funeral is just this extravagant expense," Ryan explains. "Folks are at their worst day and they're being asked to make important and urgent decisions.”

Ryan witnessed how families making arrangements during grief often choose higher-priced options out of guilt or feeling they should "do more" - what he calls "emotional overspending”. These experiences left a "bad taste" in his mouth and sparked his interest in both alternative approaches and a way to spare his family both emotional and financial burden.

Pictured above: The graveyard outside of the St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Eklutna, Alaska (a combination of Russian Orthodox tradition and Native American funeral practices).

A Natural Progression

As Chief of Psychiatry at Oregon State Hospital, Ryan approaches end-of-life planning with thoughtful practicality. His interest in natural burial options began with considering simpler approaches: "No embalming, pinewood box, cotton shroud. Initially this is a less expensive way to manage a funeral."

But he recognized limitations even in green burial practices. "Depending how deep you're buried, you may not actually be in the living elements of the soil or contribute much.”

This realization led Ryan to explore more innovative methods of returning to nature—methods that would allow his body to truly contribute to the living world.

The Perfect Solution

When Ryan discovered Earth Funeral, the pieces fell into place.

"When I found Earth Funeral I said 'well, that's just perfect,'" he remembers. "You pre-plan and pay in advance. My family doesn't worry about anything. It's all done."

Having counseled families through grief, Ryan values how pre-planning protects surviving family members—from both emotional distress and financial burden. "The financial burdens are off them, the pressure of decision-making is off them, they have space to grieve and celebrate."

For Ryan, the appeal extends far beyond convenience and cost. It's about purpose and contribution.

"You're taking your body and you're converting it into something that's actually useful. You're putting it someplace where it actually is going to be of use to the environment," he explains. "Your remains are actually going to serve a purpose."

A Thoughtful Metaphor for Life and Death

Ryan articulates his decision through a compelling analogy about how we distribute our possessions after death:

"When you die, you're distributing all your material goods. I'm going to give my car to my nephew because he always wants to drive it. I'm going to take my cash and convert it into donations to different charities."

Ryan sees his body as another material possession that should benefit others after his death: "Your body is a material object that you currently will at that point have no further use for. So you can either bury it in the ground, you can burn it into something useless, or you can give it back to the earth."

"To me it's an obvious decision."

Wisdom from a Life of Service

Through his work, Ryan has developed profound insights into what truly matters in life—wisdom that guided his end-of-life planning.

"When people get down to the end of their lives, what everybody always says is 'time with people I cared about... that's what I wish I had more of.'"

This perspective shapes his counsel to others: "If you love someone, tell them. Tell them today.”

And for those considering end-of-life arrangements, Ryan offers profound advice:

"Ask yourself: What do I value and how, at the moment of my death, can I push those values forward?"

A Hopeful Future

Ryan envisions a time when soil transformation becomes the natural choice: "I just hope that this becomes the standard. I mean, I really wish this becomes just the standard for our country, for the world really."

His enthusiasm for Earth Funeral's mission is palpable: "Why would you not do this?"

As for the stories strangers will hear about him? Well, he's still writing them.