Started with Regrets, Devoted to Comfort
Last Farewells co-founder and CEO Estrella Quiroz tells the story of helping people connect after death with people who love them
The experience of loss is a heavy emotional and psychological trauma and at times, physical pain. One company focuses on lessening that suffering through connection.
Last Farewells assists customers with creating and scheduling last communication between the deceased and their loved ones.
“Leave no words left unspoken,” is how it describes its work.
Estrella Quiroz, co-founder and CEO, spoke of how the company fulfills a critical need.
“Once someone is gone, what’s usually left behind is paperwork or silence,” she says. “No one tells you how loud that silence can be.”
Loved ones try to stay close in small ways, yet they may prove emotionally insufficient.
“You’re sitting there, trying to hold onto whatever scraps you can, such as old voicemails, random texts, memories that start to blur and you’d give anything just to hear their voice again,” Quiroz explains.
There are also thoughts about what might have been, she adds, as in wondering, “what they would’ve said to you on your wedding day. Or what they would’ve written to your child. Or if they were proud of you.”
Communication After Death
”We give people the chance to leave behind messages that live on,” Quiroz says. ”Videos, letters, voice notes, even a personalized memorial page. All of these gifts will provide peace, connection or even laughter during the moments that matter most.”
The company was, for Quiroz, birthed on the foundation of pain.
“For me, it started with regret,” Quiroz recalls.
“I didn’t answer my dad’s birthday calls. A few days later, he died,” she says. “He had been deported and I had to leave the country for the first time to attend his funeral. I was 18. I stood over his casket, holding his head and said, ‘I’m sorry.’”
Her father’s voice meant deeply-desired connection.
”After finding his last voicemails to me, I felt so much love and comfort,” Quiroz says. “In one of them, he said, ‘I hope a million angels take care of you. I love you.’”
This led to an important conversation years later. Quiroz shared her story with her CEO at a travel company, Troy Peden, who told her about the idea for Last Farewells. He added to her that the driving force was, “originally inspired when a friend’s brother passed away unexpectedly in the ‘80s,” Quiroz says.
“The postcards he’d sent to his mom kept arriving after his death in a car accident. They brought unexpected comfort.”
He invited her to become a co-founder and she accepted.
Quiroz posted on Instagram that “Troy had the idea for Last Farewells in the 1980’s, he just had to wait for me to be born so we could bring it to life!!!”
The company offerings have proved deeply meaningful to customers.
“Some of the most powerful feedback has come from people who were left with a lot of emotional weight after losing someone,” Quiroz says.
“One woman shared that she had been really struggling with the aftermath of a loved one’s final months. He had acted out of character and she was left feeling hurt and confused. But when she watched the videos he recorded, she said it felt like him again.
“He sounded calm. Clear. Loving. She said it brought her peace she didn’t think she’d ever feel. That it reminded her of who he truly was before the chaos of the end.”
Missing Communication and Understanding Emerges After Death
”There was comfort in hearing things he’d never said out loud,” Quiroz added.
“And a deep sense of relief that the last thing she got to hold onto wasn’t pain, but love. That’s what these messages can do; bring a version back of someone they want to remember.”
Inspiring Action Now
“It’s not just about after someone dies,” Quiroz stresses. “It’s made people act while they’re still here.
“One woman reconciled with her daughter after five years, just from writing a message she never thought she’d send. Sometimes, thinking about the end helps us show up better now.”
Our words and voices often matter more than we realize.
“What's stood out is how many people never plan for end of life because they just don’t think they have anything to offer,” Quiroz says. “People don't realize yet just how priceless their words will become to someone who will grieve their loss.”
The Unexpected
“What also surprised me is also how emotional this work is, every single day,” Quiroz has learned. “You think you’re building a tech platform. Then you find yourself crying in the middle of the day because someone just recorded a goodbye for their daughter’s future wedding.
“The love people have and the impact I know this will have for grievers is what keeps me going. And the tissue box I had to make because I cried so much. That helps too.”
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