I never expected my mom to die at 61. I'm grateful we had the hard conversations first.
Jermaine Ee says talking openly with his mother before her unexpected death gave his family clarity, comfort, and memories they'll always treasure.
Jermaine Ee started talking with his parents about end-of-life wishes after helping them with taxes last year. His mom, who had a lot of imposter syndrome as an Asian immigrant who was a stay-at-home mom for many years, was afraid of running out of money before she died. Ee used ChatGPT to create a bot that helped his mom create a will, and the conversations expanded to include her assets, relationships, and what kept her up at night.
The family traveled together to places meaningful to his mom, including Oklahoma City and Salzburg, Austria, where she loved "The Sound of Music." Just two weeks after their trip to Salzburg, his mom had a stroke and died at 61. Ee was grateful that they had the hard conversations first, as it made it easier to understand her wishes and know that she didn't want to be kept alive by machines.
Ee launched a planning company on what would have been his mom's 62nd birthday to help other families have these important conversations.
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