About Us

Our FRIENDS Team helps you honor the deceased in your own way, perfectly aligned with your wishes and values. We have deep respect for every tradition, way of life and request, and fulfill them in the spirit you intended them.

Ziri Rideaux grew up in Germany in her family tradition of Shamanism which includes communication with the ancestors who are highly honored and frequently consulted for guidance. In her early twenties, Ziri volunteered in various hospices and accompanied about 200 dying people through their transitions. Ziri also worked for five years as a war correspondent, witnessing many violent deaths. After losing both parents and a number of close friends to cancer, Ziri became acutely aware of the lack of support for the dying and their loved ones in our current society. She conceived FRIENDS Funeral Home in order to help people embrace the dying process in natural ways, without fear and awkwardness.

Unlike traditional funeral services, which generally offer a more narrow approach to funerals, Ziri believes the dying and their loved ones deserve more freedom to personalize the dying experience as well as the funeral arrangements. Ziri’s hope is to make death a profoundly meaningful experience for all involved that brings people closer together and reaffirms the beauty and value of life AND death.

Brendan oversees the operations of Friends, assuring that your funeral is a wonderful and effortless experience for you and your guests.

Brendan has an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MPA from Harvard University where he was a Public Service Fellow. Professionally, he has focused on developing new initiatives that are expressions of his core values of community and sustainability. He has worked in the business, government and non-profit sectors over the past 15 years towards this goal. He has taught leadership at Harvard University and is trained in conflict resolution and facilitating emotionally difficult conversations. Through Friends, his mission is to introduce more personalized, heartfelt and environmentally-friendly options for those in need of funeral and memorial services.

Brendan has lost family and friends to cancer, illness and old age and felt a calling to reconnect with lost wisdom for navigating these transitions in more healing ways. This calling is an expression of his lifelong interest in the mystical wisdom, practices and rituals of the world’s religions. He has studied eastern, middle-eastern and western meditation and prayer practices, as well as the techniques of indigenous Shamanism.

He is certified through the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO).

I am a proud mom of two children and love working with our families. As a bi-lingual Funeral Arranger, I am excited to serve the Latino community and make this difficult time as easy as possible. I have a lot of compassion for anyone who goes through this pain because I have also lost loved ones.  I am happy to work at FRIENDS and look forward to helping you create a beautiful event for your family and friends.

I studied to become a medical doctor in my native Guatemala but decided to change course and take care of the dead. What I like the most about working with FRIENDS Funeral Home is that I can help people who are struggling in bad times. We treat people the way we would like to be treated ourselves, or how we would treat our relatives.  My goal is to inform and help every family as I would care for my own. I live with my two daughters in Los Angeles.

Estudié para un par de años medicina en mi natal Guatemala, pero decidí cambiar de rumbo. Ahora me dedico a acompañar a las familias que están pasando por el difícil momento de ver partir a un ser amado. Lo que más me gusta de trabajar con FRIENDS Funeral Home es que puedo ayudar a las familias. Tratamos a las personas como nos gustaría que nos trataran a nosotros o como trataríamos a nuestros familiares. Mi objetivo es informar y ayudar a cada familia como yo lo haría con la mía. Vivo con mis dos hijas en Los Ángeles.

I recently moved from Texas to this beautiful city of Los Angeles, with a passion for helping and sharing my knowledge and assistance to families in need. As a fully Bilingual Funeral Arranger I love helping in any way possible and develop great connections with families. I want to be there for them from start to finish during difficult times, guide them and make the process as smooth as possible!  We at FRIENDS Funeral Home are here for you to help in difficult times. We treat each and every one as family and love this special and sacred work.

My name is Diana Vera and I decided to work with FRIENDS after I personally used their services, cremation for my uncle and burial for my father. FRIENDS were great at helping me navigate the process. Seeing and living it first hand how difficult this process can be specially when you have nothing planned or do not have even the least idea of how this process works, made me realized that there is a great need for support. Becoming aware of this need and my career as a therapist made me want to help and assist others as FRIENDS did when I most needed it. I am currently working as a funeral arranger helping mainly the Spanish-speaking population. I am here to make this process as smooth as possible.

Mi nombre es Diana Vera y decidí trabajar con FRIENDS después de usar personalmente sus servicios, la cremación de mi tío y el entierro de mi padre. Fueron excelentes ayudándome a navegar el proceso. Verlo y vivirlo de primera mano lo difícil que puede ser este proceso, especialmente cuando uno no tiene nada planeado o no tiene ni la menor idea de cómo funciona este proceso, me hizo darme cuenta de que hay una gran necesidad de apoyo. Tomar conciencia de esta necesidad y mi carrera como terapeuta me hizo querer ayudar y asistir a los demás como FRIENDS lo hizo cuando más lo necesitaba. Actualmente trabajo como organizadora funeraria para ayudar a la población de habla hispana. Estoy aquí para hacer que este proceso sea lo más suave posible.

Stacy grew up in Altadena, CA. She holds a Masters Degree in Art Therapy and has been working in the Healing Arts for over 25 years as an alternative medicine practitioner. As an intuitive healer, Stacy was impacted heavily by personal losses in her family. She decided to face her fears head-on and join the conscious dying movement that is emerging in the U.S. She considers death as just another stage of understanding our humanness. Stacy has worked in hospital settings, is a trained hospice practitioner and has found her new calling in working with FRIENDS.