INSIDER FOCUS | Living legacies shaped by Riva Galveztan’s vision

By Vanessa Hidalgo

Would you like to hear your eulogy while you’re still alive?

That’s the unusual but deeply meaningful service offered by Riva “River” Galveztan, who works as a memorial coordinator for her startup, Joyful Grieving.

Her journey began in 2018, when a close friend’s father suddenly died. Witnessing the struggles of the grieving family inspired her to create a space where people could celebrate life and confront loss with compassion.

“I made a list of what the bereaved family needed, what they would have wanted, what are the dos and don'ts, what was helpful and not helpful. I realized there is a need for one person to consolidate everything to help ease the burden of the bereaved family” the 38-year-old says in an interview with InsiderPH.”

Riva, who is the daughter of former Health Secretary Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan, identified a gap in the memorial industry where the wellness of bereaved families is often set aside. Her strength, she says, lies in creating personalized and customized memorial services.

Business opportunity

The experience prompted her to conduct professional research into the memorial industry, through which she discovered that many families needed support in coordinating the entire process, not just the burial itself.

“[It] takes compassionate human touch and handling for real comfort to be felt. It can't be automated. No AI (artificial intelligence) can replace that,” Riva explains. 

Riva then immersed herself in the funeral business by working as a service provider for a funeral home, where she handled thousands of cases including cremations and traditional funerals. 

Drawing on the tools she gained from her Master’s in Entrepreneurship program at the Ateneo de Manila University, she identified business opportunities and gathered insights that deepened her understanding of the industry’s unmet needs. This led her to develop programs addressing common family complaints and challenges during bereavement.

“When someone dies, well-meaning friends usually ask the grieving loved one how they can help … So I thought, there needs to be a broker between the family who needs help and the people who want to help,” she adds.

Memorial 'gift registry'

There is often a waste of resources during memorial services, she explains, because of lack of coordination and communication regarding gifts and offers of support. Riva then thought of creating a ‘gift registry’—currently managed manually and shared privately through social media and messaging apps—where she consults with the family to determine both their tangible and intangible needs.

Through the gift registry, Riva serves as a bridge between the family and their guests, ensuring that support is meaningful and relevant, whether in the form of grief counseling, legal assistance, or other essential services.

'Death rehearsal'

In 2021, Riva’s mother, Rebecca, nearly died of COVID-19, leading the family to experience what she calls a “death rehearsal.”

Because her mother had been proactive in giving instructions while still in good health, Riva found it much easier to prepare for the unforeseen. The experience reinforced her belief in the importance of proper planning and became the catalyst for developing a pre-departure program.

The program is offered as an annual subscription, giving families access to a series of workshops and materials that help them prepare for a loved one’s inevitable final journey. It also includes family sessions that serve as an inventory of financial, mental, and emotional assets, along with comprehensive documentation of a person’s life that goes beyond a memoir or last will.

While a robust website for uploading pictures, videos, and voice recordings is still in development, clients currently use Google Drive to share these materials. The subscription is designed not as a one-time process but as an ongoing engagement with the family—helping address unresolved issues and commitments to ensure that nothing is left unsaid or undone.

“Every person who completes the series of workshops eventually creates a practical manual entitled ‘How to Live Without ___.’ I encourage families to prepare annually. It’s not only for a matriarch who’s 80 years old but for every family member to have a healthy discussion (about debt),” she adds.  

Pre-departure program: L.I.V.E.

Part of the pre-departure program is the L.I.V.E. (Loving, Intentional, Valuable, Encouraging) tribute for the person, where individuals can hear what their loved ones would say if they were to share their eulogy. Riva plays this tribute for clients on their birthdays. 

“The good thing about this is that the person receiving the tributes can still respond with gratitude and appreciation — which is something a person can’t do when he or she is dead,” she adds.

This stems from her experience at funerals, where families would often say, ‘I wish he or she had heard this while still alive.’”

"To live more intentionally, begin with the end in mind. We ought to live a lifestyle of preparation. It's something you do while you still can and you continue to practice until the day you die," she says.

Joyful Grieving rates start at P5,000. Packages can be customized based on the family’s needs. For inquiries, contact Riva Galveztan at +639178343475.