What If Generosity Is A Business Model (w/guest Henry Douvier-Johnson)

Grief puts you in the middle of a town’s true story. That’s where Henry lives every day—caring for families at their worst moments, then turning that closeness into steady, practical generosity the whole community can feel. We sit down to trace his path from a small Idaho upbringing to owning two local funeral homes in Ellensburg, why he rejects corporate death-care shortcuts, and how “it’s only money, you can always make more” became a blueprint for giving back.

We get real about recovery. Henry watched a brutal wave of overdoses and made a choice: fund the work that keeps people alive. He explains why peer-led, low-barrier support matters—budgeting help, routine, connection—and how preventing avoidable deaths is the most meaningful metric. He’s honest about his own boundaries with alcohol after traumatic cases, and he offers a direct message of hope to anyone feeling isolated or done: it gets better, and there are people ready to help.

Then we shift from loss to local action. Rumors swirled when KXLE changed hands; one tough letter and a face-to-face meeting turned into a partnership to rebuild the station, restore the Lookout Mountain signal, and keep radio truly local. Along the way, Henry makes a case for showing up: read the agendas, attend the commissions, talk to owners, and skip the keyboard outrage. Family, too, anchors the conversation—marriage, raising two boys, and finding small joys like golf, boating, and writing to clear the mind.

If you care about community building, mental health, recovery resources, small-town media, and what real service looks like behind the scenes of funeral care, you’ll find both candor and comfort here. Be seen, not viewed. Join us, share this with a friend who needs some hope, and if the conversation resonates, subscribe and leave a review so more people can find it.

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