Our Story:
How The Death Deck Began
The Death Deck was created by a hospice social worker and a grieving widow who wanted to make talking about death easier.
Years ago, while working as a hospice social worker, I met Joe LoCicero and his wife, Lori. They were in their early 40s and raising two young children when Joe was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
As with many families, Lori and Joe had set up several important legal documents in order to care for their family while Joe was alive. However, they had not discussed with each other many of the questions regarding Joe’s wishes for end-of-life care should he not survive his pancreatic cancer.
When Joe entered hospice, he was already unable to communicate his wishes. Lori was left to make the difficult decisions regarding his care in the best way she could to honor what she believed Joe would have wanted.
After Joe died, Lori and I would have long conversations about her grief and about all of the questions she had about what Joe would have wanted.
Years later, we reconnected over coffee, and what began as a conversation about our experiences eventually turned into an idea.
What if we could create a way for people to have these important conversations before a crisis and make talking about death a little less intimidating?
Lori brought her personal experience of losing her husband, along with her background as a writer. I brought my years of experience helping patients and families navigate serious illness, dying, and grief. Together, we created The Death Deck, launching the game and company in 2018.
The goal of The Death Deck is to help people normalize the conversation of death and dying, help people understand what is most important to their loved ones, and hopefully prevent families from having to go through the confusion and uncertainty of not having these conversations before.
And because we knew that most people weren’t exactly eager to sit down for a serious conversation about death, we decided to approach the topic with a little humor, curiosity, and play.
The E•O•L Deck, a more sensitive conversation tool, was launched in 2023 to help people living with serious illness to explore and express their end-of-life preferences.
A New Chapter...
I became the sole owner of The Death Deck in January 2025 and continue on the mission that Lori and I started together.
Later that year, I launched The Dementia Deck in collaboration with Compassion & Choices. This newest deck helps individuals and families explore their values, wishes, and preferences around future dementia care, ideally long before difficult decisions need to be made.
The purpose of all three of our decks is to make conversations about life, death and what is most important to us a little easier to start.
After two decades working in end-of-life care, I know that we can't prepare for everything life throws our way. But I've also seen what a difference it makes when people have talked openly about their wishes, fears, hopes, and values.
Because these conversations aren't just about preparing for death. They're also about understanding one another and living more intentionally while we're here.
Meet Lisa Pahl
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Advanced Palliative and Hospice Social Worker, Certified (APHSW-C), with almost twenty years working in hospice and seven years in emergency medicine.
I aim to increase death literacy and help individuals and families face the challenges of illness, dying, and grief with greater confidence and clarity. I host death-awareness events like Death Over Drafts, travel as a speaker to various groups in communities as well as to professional organizations, and provide support (now as an independent practitioner) to individuals and families as they navigate the end-of-life.
I have a Master's in Social Work from the University of Michigan and have worked in community mental health, domestic violence, trauma, emergency medicine, and hospice. My time with patients and families facing the most challenging of times has taught me many lessons on how to appreciate life.
When I am not talking about death, I can be found chasing whales in my kayak, discussing life and books with my book club of 21 years, or laughing with my husband and son at the antics of our adorable cat, Pickle.