Rosie’s Lighthouse
End-of-Life Doula Service

Accessible and personalised
end-of-life support
in-person or online.

Our approach

We help individuals clarify what a good death means to them. We help those supporting them understand what to expect, how to show up and how to hold each other. We help you sit vigil. We hold space for you. We make sure no one has to navigate this crossing alone.

As we live each day, we inevitably move towards an unknown threshold. Every person who dies stands at one. Every family stands beside them at another.

Rosie’s Lighthouse exists to be the steady light at that threshold. Not to rush the crossing. Not to look away from it. Simply to illuminate it, so that what could be a journey made in fear becomes one made in grace.

Who we are

A lighthouse doesn't move. It stands at the edge, where land meets sea, where the known gives way to the unknown. It doesn't guide ships away from the crossing, it guides them through it, safely, with steady light.

Rosie’s Lighthouse offers end-of-life doula services for individuals approaching death and the family or friends who are caring for them. We work in the space between a terminal diagnosis, or the end of a well lived life and final breath, a time that is often frightening, disorienting and deeply human.

Our role is not medical. We carry no clinical tools. What we carry is presence, preparation and the belief that dying, like being born, deserves skilled and compassionate support.

Who we help

We work with those navigating an end-of-life situation.

  • Individuals who have received a terminal or serious diagnosis.

  • Those who are estranged or far from family or have no immediate support network.

  • Family members or carers supporting a dying loved one who need guidance and relief.

  • People who want to pre-plan and document their wishes while healthy.

About our founder

Rachel Patton is a Hobart-based End-of-Life Doula, funeral celebrant, coach, women's circle facilitator and sacred ceremony holder trained by Preparing the Way. With a background spanning more than three decades in career coaching, human resources and people leadership, Rachel has spent her professional life walking beside others through change, supporting them to navigate uncertainty, find clarity and move forward with intention. It is this deep understanding of transition, in all its forms, that drew her to the threshold work she does today.

A mother of 3, yoga teacher and former Police Officer, Rachel brings a rare combination of groundedness, compassion and lived experience to her practice. She has sat with complexity, held space for grief and witnessed the kind of courage it takes to face what cannot be avoided. Her work is shaped by a profound respect for the sacred nature of life's most significant crossings and those preparing for the final passage.

At Rosie’s Lighthouse, Rachel creates a space where nothing is rushed and no one walks alone. Through end-of-life doula support, coaching, women's circles and ceremony, she offers presence, ritual and care to those standing at life's most tender edges. Her approach is warm, unhurried and deeply human, rooted in the belief that every ending deserves to be honoured and we all deserve dignity, control and a say in how we live and in how we plan to die.

kunanyi Mt Wellington in Hobart Tasmania. Where Rosie's Lighthouse is based.
kunanyi Mt Wellington in Hobart Tasmania. Where Rosie's Lighthouse is based.

In-person and remote options

We work in person with clients across greater Hobart and the surrounding
region, and offer online support to clients throughout Tasmania, across
Australia and internationally.

Our services

  • Women filling out end of life paperwork

    End of Life Planning

  • Close-up of a person's hand and arm with a medical IV line inserted, resting on a hospital bed with blue sheets. The person is wearing a red shirt and a blue wristband.

    Advance Care Directive Planning

  • A cluttered wooden table with scattered photographs, a dated event booklet, postcards, and various paper items, including a crochet doily and vintage tickets.

    Legacy and Storytelling

  • A large, leafless tree with a thick trunk in a graveyard, sunlight shining through the branches, with tombstones and trees in the background.

    Funeral Planning and Celebrant Services

  • A room with a pile of cardboard boxes, several potted plants, a standing lamp, and a bookshelf with stacks of magazines.

    End of Life Home Clearing and Cleaning

  • An elderly woman with short gray hair and glasses, wearing a colorful, patterned shirt, is sitting by a window with a golden retriever dog. She appears to be petting or touching the dog, who is looking slightly upward. The scene is indoors, with a blurred green landscape visible outside the window.

    Pet Rehoming

  • A close-up black and white photograph of a person with their finger pressed against their lips in a gesture of silence and secrecy.

    Secret Keeping

  • Yoga Nidra & Meditation

    Yoga Nidra & Meditation

“Never forget you might be the only
lighthouse in someone’s life.”

— Unknown

Fees

Initial Consultation is free.

Book a no obligation, 1 hour free information session in person, via phone or video.