Beaufort, South Carolina — June 1, 2026 – Joél Simone, founder of The Multicultural Death & Grief Care Academy and internationally recognized as “The Grave Woman,” is proud to announce an official partnership with Keeper Memorials, an ICCFA award-winning digital memorialization platform dedicated to helping funeral homes, cemeteries, and families preserve stories, memories, and legacy in meaningful and accessible ways.
This partnership reflects a shared commitment to honoring remembrance through innovation, education, storytelling, and culturally responsive care. Together, Joél and Keeper Memorials will work to foster conversations around legacy preservation, representation, memorialization, and the evolving ways families and communities remember those they love.
For the past six years, Joél has had the privilege of collaborating with Mandy Benoualid, President of Keeper Memorials, through her work with Talk Death, a platform known for facilitating thoughtful discussions around death, grief, funeral service history, and end-of-life planning. During that time, Joél has witnessed Mandy’s intentionality and dedication to celebrating, highlighting, and amplifying the stories, work, and contributions of individuals and communities from diverse cultural backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.
As someone whose work centers culture, grief, and legacy, this partnership represents a natural alignment of values and vision.
“Culture is deeply connected to the way we grieve, remember, and carry our legacies forward,” said Joél. “Partnering with Keeper Memorials allows me to continue facilitating important conversations around memorialization, representation, and the significance of honoring the unique essence of every individual, family, and community with dignity and intention.
Online memorials serve as digital altars and spaces of remembrance, and as more diverse communities embrace digital spaces for remembrance, it is essential that those spaces reflect the cultural traditions, values, and stories that shape our lives and legacies. For years, I have encouraged families to utilize photo albums as a tool and resource for starting conversations about preplanning. This partnership takes this principle to another level.”
Through this partnership, Joél will collaborate with Mandy and the Keeper Memorials team to explore educational initiatives, digital resources, community conversations, and memorialization opportunities that support funeral professionals, families, and communities seeking more inclusive and meaningful approaches to grief, remembrance, and legacy preservation.
“I have had the privilege of knowing and working alongside Joél for many years, and I deeply admire the impact she has made through her advocacy, education, and commitment to culturally responsive grief care,” said Mandy Benoualid, President of Keeper Memorials.
“At Keeper Memorials, we believe every life deserves to be remembered in a way that reflects a person’s unique story, values, and traditions. Partnering with Joél is a natural extension of that belief, and we are excited to work together to help more families preserve their legacies for future generations.”
“Throughout my career, I have advocated for recognizing the role culture plays in death, grief, remembrance, and healing,” Joél added. “This partnership creates an opportunity to further those conversations while helping families preserve not only memories, but also the cultural narratives, traditions, and lived experiences that make every life story unique. I am excited about what we can continue to build together.”
“In the past six months, I have lost an uncle, great-aunt, and cousin unexpectedly,” Joél shared. “Knowing that a tool and resource like Keeper Memorials exists to help all families and communities—including my own—preserve precious memories and honor our loved ones in meaningful ways that can be accessed in perpetuity reminds me that digital legacy care is not optional. It is essential.”
Businesses and individuals can visit Keeper Memorials and use promotional code TGW to receive savings on eligible subscriptions.
About The Grave Woman
Joél Simone, widely known as “The Grave Woman,” is a licensed funeral director, embalmer, educator, and founder of The Multicultural Death & Grief Care Academy. Through education, advocacy, and culturally responsive death care initiatives, she works to amplify diverse perspectives in grief, remembrance, funeral service, and end-of-life planning. Her work helps families and professionals navigate death, loss, and legacy with greater cultural awareness, compassion, and understanding.
About Keeper Memorials
Keeper Memorials is a digital memorialization platform that helps families, funeral homes, and cemeteries preserve stories, photographs, videos, and personal legacies for future generations. Through innovative technology and thoughtful design, Keeper Memorials creates meaningful spaces for remembrance, connection, and storytelling.
