Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n\n- Shultz and Healy opened the first Museum of Death in San Diego in June 1995.<\/li>\n
- The couple\u2019s collection includes items from Heaven\u2019s Gate and Dr. Jack Kevorkian.<\/li>\n
- They hope museum visitors leave with a greater appreciation for life. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
Forty-four years ago, Cathee Shultz and JD Healy met while working at a cafe in Arizona. She was the \u201ccappuccino girl,\u201d and he was the baker. Even though they had opposite shifts, the two artists caught each other\u2019s eyes. They got married two weeks later.<\/p>\n
Before long, Shultz and Healy channeled their creativity into the Rita Dean art gallery (a combination<\/a> of their middle names), based in San Diego, California. The couple\u2019s gallery featured \u201cagainst the grain\u201d work across death, sex, politics and more, some of which stemmed from a macabre hobby.\u00a0<\/p>\nImage Credit: Courtesy of the Museum of Death. Cathee Shultz and JD Healy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201c\u200aI started writing to serial killers and visiting them on death row,\u201d Healy says. \u201cI accumulated this large collection of serial killer artwork. And being an artist, I also like building things. So I used to build full-size guillotines, gallows. Anything that deals with execution devices.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shultz and Healy noticed a significant trend: Of all their themed shows, those having to do with death-related topics drew the biggest crowds.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aPeople are fascinated by death,\u201d Shultz says. \u201cYou want to look at it, but not do it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Opening the first Museum of Death in San Diego, CA<\/h2>\n
By 1995, Shultz and Healy were running their art gallery on the ground floor of a three-story building. Upstairs, they had a \u201cfreak farm\u201d museum displaying rare animals (like two-headed and albino turtles). \u201cSince they were alive, I had to keep them really clean, and it was a lot of work,\u201d Shultz says. \u201cSo we decided that wasn\u2019t going to be our avenue.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the building\u2019s basement housed the first iteration of the Museum of Death<\/a>. The museum opened in June 1995, with admission priced at $3 per person.\u00a0(These days, ticket prices are about $20 higher).<\/p>\nToday, the Museum of Death\u2019s Hollywood and New Orleans locations feature serial killer artwork, antique funeral ephemera, mortician and coroners instruments, Manson Family memorabilia, pet death taxidermy, crime scene photographs and more. None of the items are replicas.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/HwoodFront.jpeg?w=1024\")
Image Credit: Courtesy of the Museum of Death<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nMoving to Hollywood, opening the second location<\/h2>\n
Several years after the first Museum of Death opened, Shultz and Healy began acquiring items related to the Heaven\u2019s Gate mass suicide. On March 26, 1997, 39 members of the Heaven\u2019s Gate cult were found dead in Rancho Sante Fe<\/a>, California, an upscale suburb north of San Diego.\u00a0<\/p>\nThe Museum of Death\u2019s growing collection of Heaven\u2019s Gate items generated controversy and landlord issues<\/a>, ultimately leading the business to move to a larger space in Hollywood in 2000. A year and half into its new lease, the museum ran into landlord problems again and shuttered operations for about seven years.\u00a0<\/p>\nA generous loan from a friend allowed Shultz and Healy to reopen the Museum of Death\u2019s doors in Hollywood. Business has been \u201cskyrocketing\u201d since, Healy says. The museum opened its second location in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2015.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aI wanted to prove to ourselves that it wasn\u2019t a fluke,\u201d Healy says of opening the New Orleans museum. \u201cI said, \u2018To make sure that this is going to be what we want to do for the rest of our lives, we have to prove it to ourselves.\u2019 So we opened in New Orleans. Within a year, that place was just cranking too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Acquiring items from Heaven\u2019s Gate and Dr. Jack Kevorkian<\/h2>\n
Needless to say, a lot has changed for Shultz and Healy since their early gallery days \u2014 including how they acquire items for their collections.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce we hung up the sign for the Museum of Death, it became a magnet,\u201d Healy says. \u201cEverything just started flowing in our way.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/MODSkulls_7bc13a.jpeg?w=1024\")
Image Credit: Courtesy of the Museum of Death<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe couple\u2019s wait-and-see approach landed them enough Heaven\u2019s Gate materials to create a diorama \u2014 a friend of Healy\u2019s was a mortician who ended up with numerous unwanted items, including clothing and a bunk bed, which he sold to the couple for $100 \u2014 and Jack Kevorkian\u2019s Thanatron.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jack Kevorkian was a Michigan-based physician who gained nationwide notoriety<\/a> in the 1990s for his illegal role in helping upward of 100 terminally ill people end their lives.\u00a0<\/p>\nKevorkian designed his Thanatron<\/a>, \u201cdeath machine\u201d in Greek, so patients could press a button releasing drugs to put them into a coma and stop the heart. In 1999, Kevorkian was convicted of murder<\/a> in the death of a 52-year-old man with ALS; Kevorkian broadcast a video of the lethal injection on 60 Minutes<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\nKevorkian\u2019s Thanatron was put up for auction in October 2011<\/a>. \u201cThey wanted $250,000 for this Thanatron,\u201d Shultz recalls. \u201cIt didn\u2019t sell. A year later, they put the artwork, his paintings, which were really cool, in a gallery setting. An exhibit. And I went. They wanted $150,000 for these paintings, and I\u2019m like, \u2018I can\u2019t afford that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\nThe couple spoke with Kevorkian\u2019s niece, who was selling the items, and told her to reach out if items didn\u2019t sell. She called them about two weeks later, and after some negotiation, agreed to sell the Thanatron, one of Kevorkian\u2019s paintings and his briefcase for $12,500.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Walking away with a greater appreciation for life<\/h2>\n
These days, with no shortage of gruesome TV shows \u2014 both fictional and true crime \u2014 streaming nationwide, people might be getting a little more comfortable with death, Healy says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s still a long haul,\u201d he notes. \u201cYou can bring a horse to water, but you can\u2019t make him drink.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the end of the day, the couple hopes the Museum of Death\u2019s visitors walk away with a much greater appreciation for life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should say hello to people on the street and realize that you never know when your ticket\u2019s going to be punched,\u201d Healy says. \u201cIf people had a little bit more of an appreciation for death, then maybe we could have a little bit more appreciation for each other.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n\nKey Takeaways<\/h2>\n\n- Shultz and Healy opened the first Museum of Death in San Diego in June 1995.<\/li>\n
- The couple\u2019s collection includes items from Heaven\u2019s Gate and Dr. Jack Kevorkian.<\/li>\n
- They hope museum visitors leave with a greater appreciation for life. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
Forty-four years ago, Cathee Shultz and JD Healy met while working at a cafe in Arizona. She was the \u201ccappuccino girl,\u201d and he was the baker. Even though they had opposite shifts, the two artists caught each other\u2019s eyes. They got married two weeks later.<\/p>\n
Before long, Shultz and Healy channeled their creativity into the Rita Dean art gallery (a combination<\/a> of their middle names), based in San Diego, California. The couple\u2019s gallery featured \u201cagainst the grain\u201d work across death, sex, politics and more, some of which stemmed from a macabre hobby.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/JDK_003-1.jpg\")
Image Credit: Courtesy of the Museum of Death. Cathee Shultz and JD Healy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201c\u200aI started writing to serial killers and visiting them on death row,\u201d Healy says. \u201cI accumulated this large collection of serial killer artwork. And being an artist, I also like building things. So I used to build full-size guillotines, gallows. Anything that deals with execution devices.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Forty-four years ago, Cathee Shultz and JD Healy met while working at a cafe in Arizona. She was the \u201ccappuccino girl,\u201d and he was the baker. Even though they had opposite shifts, the two artists caught each other\u2019s eyes. They got married two weeks later.<\/p>\n
Before long, Shultz and Healy channeled their creativity into the Rita Dean art gallery (a combination<\/a> of their middle names), based in San Diego, California. The couple\u2019s gallery featured \u201cagainst the grain\u201d work across death, sex, politics and more, some of which stemmed from a macabre hobby.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aI started writing to serial killers and visiting them on death row,\u201d Healy says. \u201cI accumulated this large collection of serial killer artwork. And being an artist, I also like building things. So I used to build full-size guillotines, gallows. Anything that deals with execution devices.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Shultz and Healy noticed a significant trend: Of all their themed shows, those having to do with death-related topics drew the biggest crowds.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aPeople are fascinated by death,\u201d Shultz says. \u201cYou want to look at it, but not do it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n By 1995, Shultz and Healy were running their art gallery on the ground floor of a three-story building. Upstairs, they had a \u201cfreak farm\u201d museum displaying rare animals (like two-headed and albino turtles). \u201cSince they were alive, I had to keep them really clean, and it was a lot of work,\u201d Shultz says. \u201cSo we decided that wasn\u2019t going to be our avenue.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Ultimately, the building\u2019s basement housed the first iteration of the Museum of Death<\/a>. The museum opened in June 1995, with admission priced at $3 per person.\u00a0(These days, ticket prices are about $20 higher).<\/p>\n Today, the Museum of Death\u2019s Hollywood and New Orleans locations feature serial killer artwork, antique funeral ephemera, mortician and coroners instruments, Manson Family memorabilia, pet death taxidermy, crime scene photographs and more. None of the items are replicas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Several years after the first Museum of Death opened, Shultz and Healy began acquiring items related to the Heaven\u2019s Gate mass suicide. On March 26, 1997, 39 members of the Heaven\u2019s Gate cult were found dead in Rancho Sante Fe<\/a>, California, an upscale suburb north of San Diego.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Museum of Death\u2019s growing collection of Heaven\u2019s Gate items generated controversy and landlord issues<\/a>, ultimately leading the business to move to a larger space in Hollywood in 2000. A year and half into its new lease, the museum ran into landlord problems again and shuttered operations for about seven years.\u00a0<\/p>\n A generous loan from a friend allowed Shultz and Healy to reopen the Museum of Death\u2019s doors in Hollywood. Business has been \u201cskyrocketing\u201d since, Healy says. The museum opened its second location in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2015.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aI wanted to prove to ourselves that it wasn\u2019t a fluke,\u201d Healy says of opening the New Orleans museum. \u201cI said, \u2018To make sure that this is going to be what we want to do for the rest of our lives, we have to prove it to ourselves.\u2019 So we opened in New Orleans. Within a year, that place was just cranking too.\u201d<\/p>\n Needless to say, a lot has changed for Shultz and Healy since their early gallery days \u2014 including how they acquire items for their collections.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOnce we hung up the sign for the Museum of Death, it became a magnet,\u201d Healy says. \u201cEverything just started flowing in our way.\u201d<\/p>\n The couple\u2019s wait-and-see approach landed them enough Heaven\u2019s Gate materials to create a diorama \u2014 a friend of Healy\u2019s was a mortician who ended up with numerous unwanted items, including clothing and a bunk bed, which he sold to the couple for $100 \u2014 and Jack Kevorkian\u2019s Thanatron.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jack Kevorkian was a Michigan-based physician who gained nationwide notoriety<\/a> in the 1990s for his illegal role in helping upward of 100 terminally ill people end their lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kevorkian designed his Thanatron<\/a>, \u201cdeath machine\u201d in Greek, so patients could press a button releasing drugs to put them into a coma and stop the heart. In 1999, Kevorkian was convicted of murder<\/a> in the death of a 52-year-old man with ALS; Kevorkian broadcast a video of the lethal injection on 60 Minutes<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kevorkian\u2019s Thanatron was put up for auction in October 2011<\/a>. \u201cThey wanted $250,000 for this Thanatron,\u201d Shultz recalls. \u201cIt didn\u2019t sell. A year later, they put the artwork, his paintings, which were really cool, in a gallery setting. An exhibit. And I went. They wanted $150,000 for these paintings, and I\u2019m like, \u2018I can\u2019t afford that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The couple spoke with Kevorkian\u2019s niece, who was selling the items, and told her to reach out if items didn\u2019t sell. She called them about two weeks later, and after some negotiation, agreed to sell the Thanatron, one of Kevorkian\u2019s paintings and his briefcase for $12,500.\u00a0<\/p>\n These days, with no shortage of gruesome TV shows \u2014 both fictional and true crime \u2014 streaming nationwide, people might be getting a little more comfortable with death, Healy says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s still a long haul,\u201d he notes. \u201cYou can bring a horse to water, but you can\u2019t make him drink.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n At the end of the day, the couple hopes the Museum of Death\u2019s visitors walk away with a much greater appreciation for life.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou should say hello to people on the street and realize that you never know when your ticket\u2019s going to be punched,\u201d Healy says. \u201cIf people had a little bit more of an appreciation for death, then maybe we could have a little bit more appreciation for each other.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Forty-four years ago, Cathee Shultz and JD Healy met while working at a cafe in Arizona. She was the \u201ccappuccino girl,\u201d and he was the baker. Even though they had opposite shifts, the two artists caught each other\u2019s eyes. They got married two weeks later.<\/p>\n Before long, Shultz and Healy channeled their creativity into the Rita Dean art gallery (a combination<\/a> of their middle names), based in San Diego, California. The couple\u2019s gallery featured \u201cagainst the grain\u201d work across death, sex, politics and more, some of which stemmed from a macabre hobby.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aI started writing to serial killers and visiting them on death row,\u201d Healy says. \u201cI accumulated this large collection of serial killer artwork. And being an artist, I also like building things. So I used to build full-size guillotines, gallows. Anything that deals with execution devices.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nOpening the first Museum of Death in San Diego, CA<\/h2>\n
Moving to Hollywood, opening the second location<\/h2>\n
Acquiring items from Heaven\u2019s Gate and Dr. Jack Kevorkian<\/h2>\n
Walking away with a greater appreciation for life<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
\n