Posts by O'Connor Mortuary

Noreen Carrington, is a licensed marriage and family therapist and a fellow in thanatology, who has worked in the fields of death and dying and grief and loss for the past 19 years. Noreen’s extensive experience in the field includes creating and directing a comprehensive educational and clinical rotation for marriage and family therapist graduates and post-graduates in the specialty of grief and loss. Currently she is the Regional Director for the Volunteer and Bereavement Programs for Health Essentials LLC and is a faculty member at the CSU Institute for Palliative Care at California State University San Marcos which trains [...]

Nancy has a heart for children, values diversity and equality, and is motivated to help make the world a better place. She has been involved in the Irvine community for over 30 years. She is the executive director of Irvine Prevention Coalition a.k.a. Irvine Community Drug Prevention. This nonprofit coordinates with community partners to enhance prevention services, decrease substance abuse, and increase youth resiliency. Current programs include Red Ribbon Week, Pennies for Prevention, Red Ribbon at Ruby’s Diner, Coordinating meetings and general meetings of Irvine Prevention Coalition, and Outstanding Supporters of Prevention Awards. Nancy has over 40 years’ experience in [...]

Linda McMahon, MS, MA is the Bereavement Services Manager at VITAS Innovative Hospice Care in Orange County. She has an extensive health care and pastoral care background. Her undergraduate degree, a BSN, is from the University ofPennsylvania. And, her graduate degrees are a Master ofScience in Nursing and a Master ofArts in Theology from Texas Woman’s University and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Texas and Indiana, respectively. She has completed an Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) Chaplain Residency program (in acute healthcare settings) in San Diego and also Continuing Education courses through the National Center for Death Education (NCDE) and [...]

For the past three years Jenna has served as the Assistant Director of Interfaith Relations for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Laguna Niguel. She additionally serves as Secretary for the South Orange County Interfaith Council, and is an integral part of the annual Prayer Breakfast planning committee. Jenna’s charity of choice is the Somaly Mam Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to ending human trafficking. Jenna is passionate about local and global change. She helps to locally organize and implement the annual Helping Hands food and clothing drive held the 4th Saturday of April each year. Jenna [...]

Donna Beattie is an LVN (Licensed Vocational Nurse) with VNA Hospice. She has “officially” been a hospice nurse for 4 years, but realizes that this has been her calling all of her life. Out of high school Donna joined the United States Air Force, then became a dental assistance working at a boys’ prison, from there she was the compliance specialist for Capistrano Valley Christian School: when she lost her job at the school due to budget cuts, Donna chose to go back to school and become a nurse. She chose to become an LVN because she knew her passion [...]