Ten years of helping families find a soft place to land through life’s hardest transitions.
Lying on the bathroom floor of my employer’s office in 2014, holding back tears, I felt the world crumble around me. It had only been a few weeks since my husband passed away, just 63 days after the death of my father. I was moving through so much loss and knew that the boulder of Grief on top of me was not moving any time soon. The bathroom floor was cold, hard, and yes, not the cleanest place to fall on. But I sat there on the floor, wiping away tears after HR and my Manager started talking to me about a performance review and how I wasn't meeting their expectations. I broke into a million pieces in front of them, with tears streaming down my face. I felt a million miles away from anywhere safe and knew I had to run and not look back.
I had to figure out so many things for my kids and me: leave Denver? Stay in Denver? Move back to Texas? How do I put one step in front of another and move forward? Who do I trust?
Flip forward to October 2016-
I sat in my cube at a San Antonio Insurance Brokerage Agency and received notice from my attorney that my battle over life insurance was over after 840 days. I took a deep breath and felt my inner core of Grief bubble up and out. I took time off to reset and create a soft place to land for other families after a loss. And that was when LOLA was born, named after my mom- the woman who would tell me – Knowledge is Power.
Esther Pipoly, Founder & CEO, Loss of Life Advocates
10 Years-
LOLA set out to help families, and as we close out the end of our 10th year, I realize that the journey was not alone. It took people asking questions, challenging my concept, and feeling alone while charging up a hill. But it worked, and we grew in concept and services. I saw other solutions come into the market; people were finally realizing what we knew: Loss is any Life Transition that requires guidance. I am so proud to be a part of a movement that continues to grow.
Shared success – what does it look like? 2026
Access to Legal Support & Services:
I was at an event this week, and a former client of mine came over to say hello- I had helped her in 2020 when her husband was preparing to pass. I referred her to an attorney who helped her with probate and litigation. She said she had paid him $220,000 over the years to represent her in her fight for her husband’s estate. She had just received another invoice for $900 as the case was closing out.
Access to In-Home Private Care:
In 2025, I had a family in need of support for their loved one leaving the hospital. I referred them over to a Private Home Care Company to help with 24-hour care. A year later, I was having lunch with the owners of the company, and they mentioned that one client helped them grow and scale up their business. That client had brought in revenue over $200,000 in a year, and it was ongoing.
The list goes on of success stories of helping families and having professionals I can trust to take care of them during life’s most vulnerable moments. I am so very excited that many people who came through LOLA also went on to start their own companies to serve families, from Estate and Home Liquidators to movers and Grief Support – it has been a beautiful 10-year journey.
Finally, as we move on into our 11th year, LOLA will grow in new ways while still holding onto its core values and services we started in 2017. Many people ask me what exactly I do, and I respond with ~ I am an Air Traffic Controller during any Life Transition because, if I have learned anything in the past 10 years, no one lands in the same spot during a life event.
