pasco county chapter · year it’s on my son’s birthday. lighting candles for all our children...

The Compassionate Friends, Pasco County Chapter

Pasco County Chapter THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS

NOV 2010 ‐ JAN 2011

The mission of The Compassionate Friends is to assist families in the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child, and to provide information to help others be supportive.

TCF PASCO CHAPTER LEADER JEAN LIMONGELLO

2009 CANDLE LIGHTING

Held annually on the second Sunday in December, this year on December 12, The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting unites family and friends around the globe in lighting candles for one hour to honor and remember children who have died at any age, from any cause. As candles are lit at 7 PM local time, they create a virtual wave of light, as hundreds of thousands of people commemorate and honor the memory of their children in a way that transcends all ethnic, cultural, religious, and political boundaries. Believed to be the largest mass candle lighting on the globe, the Worldwide Candle Lighting is a gift to the bereavement community from The Compassionate Friends. In recent years, chapters of several organizations (including MISS, MADD, Parents of Murdered Children, SIDS Network, Gildaʹs Club, and BPUSA) have held candle lighting remembrances simultaneously with The Compassionate Friends, and services have been held in all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. The Compassionate Friends and allied organizations were joined in 2009 by local bereavement groups, churches, funeral homes, hospitals, hospices, childrenʹs gardens, schools, cemeteries, and community centers. Services ranged in size from just a few people to nearly a thousand. On December 12th, 2010, TCF Pasco Co. will hold our candle lighting service at Gulf Harbors Civic Center, 4610 Floramar Terrace, New Port Richey, 34652. Doors will open at 6:30 PM to afford a chance to meet with others,

mingle, and enjoy light snacks prior to the lighting of the chapter candle, and the beginning of the ceremony, at 7 PM. As in years past, the highlights of our service will include a video presentation featuring pictures of our children; poetry readings, and music. Individual candles will be distributed prior to the ceremony. We hope you will be able to join us. If you would like a photograph of your child to be included in this year’s video presentation, we must receive it by November 20th, 2010. Please complete the RSVP form on page 11, then mail the form and your child’s picture to: Diane Smallze, 3055 Primrose Drive, Holiday, Fl, 34691. Digital photos (JPG format) and RSVP information can be sent by e‐mail to: [email protected]. You may also bring a picture with you to our meeting on November 17th. If you would like your child’s name to be included in the candle lighting service without sending a photo, please return the RSVP form, or e‐mail us with a note to that effect, by November 20th. Thank you.

2010 WORLDWIDE CANDLE LIGHTING SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2010

CANDLE LIGHTING REMEMBRANCE BOOK

Visit the national office of The Compassionate Friends website, Sunday, December 12th, to post a message in the 2010 Candle Lighting Remembrance Book.

Last year, thousands of people from all over the world remembered their loved ones through this special online memorial.

At the time of writing, the 2009 Remembrance Book is currently still available for viewing. Go to:

INSIDE THIS ISSUE…

• REMEMBER YOUR CHILD DURING THE HOLIDAYS

• GRANDPARENTS’ REMEMBRANCE

• THE CHOICE FOR THANKS-GIVING

• THE GIFT WE GIVE OURSELVES

www.compassionatefriends.org

The Compassionate Friends, Pasco County Chapter 2

FROM THE CHAPTER LEADER . . .

Dear Compassionate Friends, Your steering committee has been busy planning the worldwide candle lighting. This year we were lucky to be able to book the Gulf Harbors Civic Association Center for the December 12th date. This year it’s on my son’s birthday. Lighting candles for all our children will be an excellent way to remember the day he was born as we remember all of their lives and symbolically stand together “that their light may always shine”. Even though it is a lot of work I look forward to the candle lighting and the sweet spirit that fills the room as we celebrate our children. (You can find details of our candle lighting on page 1 of this newsletter) I hope you can join us. Even though this will be the eighth holiday season without my child, I still don’t look forward to it. Balancing the memory of what was with what is left is less difficult, but still a challenge. In the past I often wished I could skip November and December completely, except for the candle lighting. Last year I chose to “celebrate” with family and found some joy in the gatherings. I made sure I spoke about my son and let the others know that I wanted him included. I thought about past traditional activities like decorating, card sending, etc., and made some choices. For the first time since he died I sent out some cards. I’ll be making choices again this year, as all of you will be. One of my good friends is going on a cruise. Another is still not putting up a tree, and that’s okay. The important thing is to plan and choose. Please be gentle with yourselves and choose what is best for you while staying open to letting some hope and joy seep in. I hope I see you at the candle lighting. I wish you all a peaceful holiday season. May your memories be golden.

~ Your chapter leader, Jean Limongello TCF Pasco County, FL

NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS

Our next newsletter will be the February 2011 issue. If you would like to submit a poem, article, or other item for inclusion in the newsletter, it must be received no later than January 10th, 2011. We will try to include all suitable items, subject to availability of space. Send your submissions to: THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS, PASCO COUNTY CHAPTER, P.O. BOX 1376, ELFERS, FL 34680. Please be sure to acknowledge authors and sources appropriately. Submissions may be edited for content and length. Thank you.

PHONE FRIENDS

Having a bad day? Have questions for us?

Please call our chapter helpline at: (813) 273-8721

Leave a message and your phone number. A Compassionate Friend will return your call.

NEWSLETTER MAILING INFORMATION

Please help keep our chapter’s expenses down by printing your copy of the newsletter from our website! New members will automatically be sent two issues of the newsletter by mail. Additional newsletters will only be mailed upon request. Existing chapter members may also request mailings if required. A limited number of newsletters will be available at chapter meetings. Thank you for your help!

TCF PASCO COUNTY WEBSITE

If you have internet access, you can visit TCF of Pasco County online. Click on the NEWSLETTER tab to read the current and previous issues of the chapter newsletter. WWW.TCFPASCOCOUNTY.ORG


We generally associate the December holidays with festive decorations, gift giving, and the laughter of little children. For a parent who has lost a child, just the word holiday can cause great emotional pain. It is difficult to walk into a store and be bombarded with all of the reminders of children. The toys, holiday clothes, colorful children’s gift wrap, and the holiday music being sung by young children all bring on waves of grief that are difficult to bear. Often parents who have lost a child find themselves falling into a depression around holiday season time. It would be far easier to avoid the holidays than to face the season without the joy of your precious child. With some planning prior to the holiday season, the pain of loss can be softened somewhat. At some point, though, it becomes necessary to face the reality of the holiday season as being very different. Parents need ways to remember their child during this time of the year. By doing something special, parents will find it a bit easier and far more healing to face the otherwise empty holiday season. It is quite healing to remember your child by lighting a candle in memory of your little one. The candle can be placed on a decorated table in a special place in your home where you will feel your child is still very close to you. There are many types of memory candles one can buy, and you can place small mementos of your child on the table with the candle. This might be painful to see at first, but it will also create an atmosphere for healing. Remember your child by placing a special ornament on the tree. There are many stores that will do creative engraving, which you might find to be a desirable option for you. Have a special phrase or saying engraved along with the date of your child’s birth and death. The keepsake ornament will become treasured all the days of your life. Remember your child by creating a memory box that can be shared with others during the holidays. Use your imagination as to what you want to place in the memory box. You can even decorate the memory box together as a special time of gathering the family together to remember. Many parents find it very healing to hang a stocking with their child’s name on it by the fireplace mantle.

Fill the stocking with some small gifts that were memorable of your child. Also, it might be very healing to write a letter or poem to your child and place it in the stocking. During a family meal, have someone read the letter, then place it in the memory box you’ve created. Each year a letter can be added. This will one day become a family treasure. If you have some sewing ability, a wonderful way of remembering your child is to create a small quilt from some of your child’s clothes. This quilt will be cherished for years to come, as it will remain a priceless remembrance of your special child. As you think of ways to remember your child during the holidays, do things that will be healing to your heart. Remember—there is no right or wrong way to remember. Do those things that are healing specifically to you! By remembering and including your child in the holiday, you will promote an atmosphere of healing and hope.

~ By Clara Hinton Reprinted from St. Paul, MN Chapter Newsletter January 2008

GRANDPARENTS’ REMEMBRANCE

We are the grieving grandparents, the shepherds of our children and grandchildren’s lives. Our grief is two‐fold and at times we feel powerless to help. We seek to comfort our children in the depths of their grief and yet we need the time and space to face our own broken hearts. We have been robbed of the special tender touch a grandparent shares with a grandchild, and we have lost a symbol of our immortality. As we walk by our child’s side, we both give and draw strength. We reach into their hearts to comfort them, and when they reach out to us in their distress, we begin the journey to heal together. We continue to be their guardians. We allow traditions to change to accommodate their loss. We support the new ones, which symbolize the small steps on their journey. It is in their healing that our hearts find comfort.

~ By Susan Mackey TCF, Rutland VT

RREMEMBEREMEMBER YOURYOUR C CHILDHILD DDURINGURING TTHEHE H HOLIDAYSOLIDAYS


My son who left this world and me Gives me the courage to continue to be At first just the strength to get out of bed Put a comb through my hair and make sure I was fed To feel the intense pain and cry when I must And tell the sad story to those I could trust Express the anger that dampens belief And search for the hope buried under the grief Minute by minute and then day by day His love gives me the courage to be able to say This broken heart will strengthen in time It won’t be the same; it won’t be “just fine” The hole left when he died I fill with his love And the courage he sends from his place up above My son who left this world and me Gives me the courage to continue to be

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Anthony “Duke”

With Everlasting Love, Mama Jean

AUTUMN TEARS We look back on September and we realize that somehow we made it through those dreaded first days of school. Whether it was the anticipation or the actual days that were the worst, we survived. We used our faith, our support systems or just plain hard work and made it over yet another hurdle. We watched small children heading for their first day of kindergarten, listened to excited teen‐agers talk of high school and heard stories of children leaving home to attend post‐secondary school. Somehow we rode the waves of grief and found ourselves ashore again. As these waves subside new ones will build as we head into the holidays that speak of, and to, children. Halloween will soon approach and for some, painful memories. Thanksgiving arrives to exemplify family and togetherness and Christmas looms ahead. These special days are forever reminders of our loss – the costumes we’ll never sew, the empty chair at turkey dinner, the fun and magic we’ll never share with someone we love. Forever reminders that our child has died. To survive when these events and anniversary days come around let’s find time to think of the good memories we have – the announcement of our long awaited pregnancy at Thanksgiving dinner, the look of excitement on our son’s first Halloween night, the vision of our daughter helping prepare the turkey dinner. These holidays will always be reminders that our child died. Let us also make them reminders that our child lived! They left us memories more precious than any others to hold and celebrate! ~ By Penny Young TCF Powell River, British Columbia

THE GIFT BY JEAN LIMONGELLO


Recently the trial of my son’s murderer(s) was “continued” aka postponed again. I had fallen into believing the trial would be held and holding myself tight – too tight – in preparation for it. And I crashed for a few days after learning of yet another postponement. Then I was reminded of an article I read in the past and re‐read it. The article, “The Choice to Heal: The Five Insights” By Alvin C. Johnson, an Episcopal Priest, was published in We Need Not Walk Alone, the national magazine of The Compassionate Friends. (You may remember I’ve written about some of this before after one of the other postponements of the same trial.) Fr. Johnson found himself “stuck” in his grieving process seven years after the death of his son, Nicholas, and went to his father for help. His father told him that he keeps a picture of the child in his desk drawer and he opens the drawer each morning and tells the boy how much he misses him and how grateful he is for having had him in his life. Then he thanks God for the gift of the boy and places him in God’s hands. This conversation led Fr. Johnson to do the same thing and in doing so he developed some insights that have helped me, and I hope, may help you. The first was the realization that he was holding on to the belief that his grieving would have an end date when in reality the pain would lessen, but the loss of his child was a fact he would have to learn to live with. The second was his expectation that his son’s death would make rational sense, when it didn’t. The third was the need to structure a way to keep the memory of Nicholas close, and work toward a daily time to enjoy remembering him. The fourth insight: “Gratitude for the life of Nicholas helped muster movement against the forces of being stuck in grief…” At first he found gratitude difficult

when he felt so cheated and violated by his son’s death, and so do I. But over time he found this process “unstuck” him and moved him to “new places of recovery and joy”. The final insight was realizing that he, and all of us, need to make a decision. Did he want to recover, or not? Did he want to stay stuck and hold on to the pain? Do I? Do you? Or could he, by choosing gratitude, point himself toward a vision of recovery that would allow him to enjoy the memory of Nicholas while he let go of the intense pain? He chose to let go of the unrealistic expectations that kept him stuck and grab on to a vision of re‐engaging life; choosing to “recover” and having the faith that one day he – and, I have hope that we, will get there. I am looking at a picture of my son as I write this. And I am grateful for his presence in my life, for the little boy giggle, the sunny smile, the love we gave each other and the dreams I had for his life, even the ones that didn’t come true. I am choosing to be thankful – to give thanks and in the wave of thanks‐giving grab on to the hope of a balanced “recovery”.

~ By Jean Limongello TCF Pasco County In memory of my son Anthony “Duke”

THE CHOICE FOR THANKS-GIVING

THE LONG FOREVER

You left us so quickly; There were no goodbyes. How long this forever,

Your death and our lives. The sadness, the anger, The loneliness of three, Preferring four always, How small, this new we.

~ By Genesse Bourdeau Gentry From “Stars in the Deepest Night – After the Death of a Child”


Kyle Chad Goklani Shane Graham Randy Johnson Nikolaus Kemp Anthony R. Limongello Adam Long Ron Neidel, Jr. Kiana Sablan Krista Marie Sellars Jessica Ann Thomas Peter Ververs Doreen C. Wilk

Sean Barbarulo Brina Marie Bierke Christopher M. Birchfield Jeremy M. Chaffin Patrick Cooley Michael James Corcoran Jeremy A. Durivou Ronald “Chip” Farchione Chad Goklani Craig Hales Danielle Nichole Harrison Danny Kneib Paul Matheus Teddy Niziol Thomas Nutter Tony Pazera Frank Joseph Pepe Shelli Plotkin Krista Marie Sellars Henry Tuck

Michael Cathleen Cassidy Jeremy M. Chaffin Patrick Cooley Michael James Corcoran Robert T. Cummines Peggy Gesner Craig Hales Benjamin Isham Bill Kennedy Danial Kettlety Kimberly Klopp Sarah Love Landry Jari Lehtingen Joshua Richard Lind Julie Lobodinsky Paul Matheus Frank Joseph Pepe Christopher Stone

BIRTHDAYS

NOVEMBER

OUR CHILDREN... REMEMBERED

Trista Michael Blackwell Jesse Bors Jessica R. Enger Elaine Evans Justin Feagles Corrine Flescher Robert James Hay Shane Leggett Joseph McIlwain Travis Martin Jonathan Monis Melissa Richardson Mark Savage Sean Stolon Henry Tuck Tracy Vreeland

BIRTHDAY - ANNIVERSARY TABLE: At every TCF meeting there is a Birthday‐Anniversary Table. When attending a meeting that takes place in the month of your child’s birthday or anniversary, you are invited to use this table to display photos, candles, or other mementos of your child. Please keep in mind that you may have to share with other members whose children have birthdays or anniversaries during that same month, so space may be limited.

JANUARY DECEMBER

ANNIVERSARIES

DECEMBER Denae Gloria Zakkary Lisa Abernethy Nicholas Alcaro Crystal Barrow Richard Beaulier Michael Blackwell David Flint Comini Dominick Genovese, Jr. Christopher Helbing Brylee Horn Jason E. Leever Travis Martin Ashley Morrison Ryan Radcliff Sean Stolon Matthew Voorhees Dallas Lee Walters

JANUARY NOVEMBER Jimmy Lillianna Pearl Boyer Alyssa Dyer Robert “Tito” Hill Benjamin Isham Danial Kettlety Joshua Richard Lind Joseph McIlwain Louise A. Matthews Brittany Nation Nikos Thibado Tracy Vreeland


Six Christmases later, I think I have run the gamut of emotions. Of course, the first two Christmases after my daughter Nina died were pretty much a blur. I do remember the first one; so desperately trying to go through the motions and determined that my family would have as unchanged a Christmas as possible. I would momentarily lapse into my grief stupor, only to pick myself up by the bootstraps and zombie‐like, plod onward toward my goal to ʺnormalizeʺ an anything‐but‐normal Christmas. Nina adored the holidays. She could scarcely wait for the day after Thanksgiving so we could pull out the holiday music tapes, get out the cookie press so she could make her favorite Spritz cookies, and decorate her daybed frame with tiny Christmas lights. Therefore, I was positive that Nina would want us to go on with Christmas as if the numbing and life‐altering tragedy that had befallen our family had never occurred. I had convinced myself that it is what she would have wanted, so out came the Christmas tree and all the ornaments. Shopping commenced as usual, plowing my way through crowds of cheerful people, full of the spirit of the season. I wouldnʹt allow myself to see that I didnʹt belong amongst them ‐ at least that year. Eventually, the charade took its toll and I paid for it for weeks afterwards. Then again how could any of us know how we should feel that first Christmas, or what we should or shouldnʹt do during the holidays after our child died? For most of us, we had never experienced the death of a child before. There are no step‐by‐step rulebooks on how to grieve. And even if there were, each of our children is unique and therefore so is our grief. That second Christmas I didnʹt have enough energy to even run on empty. I felt drained and barely made it through necessary day‐to‐day tasks. The Christmas tree made it out of the box that year, but sat undecorated in the middle of the living room floor. Only when my son asked about five days before Christmas, if we could either put some lights on it and sit it in its customary corner, or just put it away that Christmas did I make an effort to do anything with it at all. That year I didnʹt attempt to sugarcoat my emotional state of mind I didnʹt pretend that everything was ʺnormal. ̋ If possible, we would cut out November, December and January lst out of our calendars ‐ just close our eyes and wish it away. But since we canʹt, we have to do the next best thing ‐ we need to give ourselves a

gift this holiday season. And in doing this, we give our family and friends a gift as well. That gift is taking care of us through this trying holiday season, to do what feels right to us. We can try to spare ourselves any unnecessary stress. That could mean doing away with the old family traditions and making some new ones. It could mean having Christmas dinner at a restaurant. That gift to us might be to go away for the holidays; for others that may be just staying home and doing nothing. Maybe a relative or family friend could help with any preparations or gift buying that we feel we might want to do this year. Possibly they could involve any surviving siblings in their holiday happenings so that they too feel like they are participating in something for the holidays. So often our family and friends feel helpless and desperately want to find some way to assist us, and this is one way that they can. A parent from the TCF Chapter in Tuscaloosa, Alabama said ʺNo matter how many people or how many presents, the pulsating void that seems too large for your heart to hold keeps on drawing your attention back to the child who is missing. As others laugh and play, your thoughts fly away ‐ to Christmases past or a snowy cemetery. Give me a special gift this year… let me weep.ʺ The friendship and understanding of other bereaved parents is one of the most helpful gifts we can give ourselves. Other bereaved parents will let us reminisce of happier Christmases past; will allow us to speak our childʹs name without hesitation; and will let us cry and not be uncomfortable with our tears. It is so consoling to be able to share your feelings with someone who understands that, for us, grief does have a place in our holiday. In turn, by being a listening ear for them we have given them a gift as well. When I think back, I am not sure if I found comfort in hearing that the holidays would get easier in time. I think I was so preoccupied (and with good reason) with the fact that my Nina was gone and the holidays would never be the same. But I have learned to know what I can and cannot handle. I have learned how to say, ʺI just canʹt do that this yearʺ. I have learned that, although I couldnʹt imagine it then, with each passing year the holidays have become a little easier to deal with. And I absolutely believe that Nina does understand my need to alter Christmas since she died. That she would want me to change what I need to in order to get through the holidays. Nina would want me, as all of our children would want us, to be gentle with ourselves and to take care of our tender hearts. That gift we give ourselves is also a gift we give to them what they would want for us: for us to find as much peace in whatever way that we possibly can. With love, peace and gentle thoughts this holiday season, ~ By Cathy L. Seehuetter TCF St. Paul, MN

THE GIFT WE GIVE OURSELVES


THANKSGIVING

You may ask, “What do I have to be thankful for now that my child is dead?” After the death of a child, where is the joy in a day off from work? What pleasure can we derive from sitting around a table when someone is missing, and an uttered prayer of thanksgiving echoes hollow in our hearts? Maybe we have been concentrating on the loss which has brought the overwhelming sorrow of death, and have forgotten the complete joy of life. When I remember laughing brown eyes, a mischievous grin, a scraped knee that Mommy could fix, a new word learned, even the memory of the realization that I had a baby boy, I have a great deal to be thankful for. I had 1½ years of a dream come true, and I’m truly thankful I had my child. Sure, the agony of grief, the anguish of losing my precious child to death, the torture of wanting to see that child grow and mature and the pain of never knowing, rips me up. There is no Thanksgiving in entertaining these thoughts, so this month I am going to concentrate on the Living of my child, the Life that brought me so much joy. In this I am thankful that Evan was born, thankful that he lived, thankful that even for those short 30 months ‐ I lived them too. Even so, as he lived once, I live now and want a productive life. I am thankful I have come that far in my grief work to know I want to live and remember the good times without sorrow. And, I am thankful for my husband, who stood by me during the rough times… the husband who is the father of the child of our love. In him I have found my child, in our marriage I have found love, and that love taught us how to love that child. I am also thankful for you, my real friends ‐ Compassionate Friends. ~ By Edie Kaplan TCF, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

STILL A MOTHER

An old woman rocks quietly

With her eyes closed

Her mind reaches back to A place she saves

A place sacred to her

A place she can only visit When alone

Her thoughts drift around In her head

At times almost drowning her As she remembers

She can again feel For a moment

She can again dream For a moment

She sees him in her mind She feels him in her heart

He is her child

The child Not recognized by others

The child That left as quickly as he came

As she rocks She hums

She hums 60 years of lullabies Never heard by her babyʹs ears

She rocks She hums

And tears fall to her breast

She is still a mother

~ By Lori Ayrault 5/14/00

Reprinted from TCF Atlanta Online

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THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS

PASCO COUNTY CHAPTER P.O. BOX 1376,

ELFERS, FL 34680

PHONE: (813) 273-8721

www.tcfpascocounty.org

Chapter Leader: Jean Limongello

Assistant Chapter Leader: Patty Castine

Newsletter Co-Editors: Rowena Hover

Jean Limongello

Treasurer: Chris Hover

Secretary: Diane Smallze

TCF FLORIDA REGIONAL COORDINATOR:

Alice Watts

Phone: (352) 475-3162 e-mail: [email protected]

TCF NATIONAL OFFICE:

The Compassionate Friends P. O. Box 3696,

Oak Brook IL 60522-3696

Ph. (toll-free): (877) 969-0010 www.compassionatefriends.org

In Loving Memory

Christopher C. Helbing Feb. 1978 – Dec. 2002

We dream of yesterdays; The world held promise.

We dream of yesterdays; And thought it would be forever.

We dream of yesterdays; And hold you in our hearts.

Memories do not fade; They are engrained.

Love always and forever, Mom & Dad

“Look upon each day that comes as a challenge, as a test of courage. The pain will come in waves, some days worse than others, for no apparent reason. Accept the pain. Do not suppress it. Never attempt to hide grief from yourself. Little by little, just as the deaf, the blind, the handicapped develop, with time, an extra sense to balance disability, so the bereaved, the widowed, will find new strength, new vision, born of the very pain and loneliness which seem, at first, impossible to master.”

~ Daphne Du Maurier


LOVE GIFT DONATION FORM

Your Full Name: _______________________________________________________________________________

Your Mailing Address: __________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________

Child’s Name: ________________________________ Relationship To You: _____________________________

Donation amount: _____________________________

MAIL TO: THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS, PASCO COUNTY CHAPTER, P.O. BOX 1376, ELFERS, FL 34680 THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS OF PASCO COUNTY THANKS YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

LOVE GIFTS

Love gifts have been gratefully received from:

Patty & Rich Castine, in memory of their son Christopher C. Helbing

Chris & Rowena Hover, in memory of their daughter

Robyn Elizabeth Hover

Jean Limongello, in memory of her son Anthony “Duke” Limongello

St. Ignatius Church, Tarpon Springs, FL In memory of all our children

OUR CORPORATE SPONSORS

We acknowledge the following companies, and thank them for their sponsorship and continued support:

Community Hospital, New Port Richey

JPMorgan Chase

Life Care Center of New Port Richey

Meadowlawn Memorial Gardens

We are always looking for volunteers who can spare a little time to help us with some of the many tasks involved in the day to day running of the chapter. For more information, please ask at one of our monthly meetings, or contact us by telephone or e-mail (details below in the newsletter memorials section.)

For a donation of $50, you can place a full page memorial, devoted to your loved one, in the issue of your choice (you may include items such as a special poem, photographs, or a personal message for your child.) For a $25 donation, you can place a half page in the newsletter. Both are on an availability basis. If you are interested in having a full or half page memorial, or have any questions, please call the chapter phone line (813) 273-8721, or contact us via e-mail at [email protected]

Love Gifts are living memorials to our children, usually given on anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, etc. When making a gift, please include your name, address, the name of the child the donation is in memory of, and your relationship to them. Love Gifts can be brought to any meeting, or mailed to: The Compassionate Friends, Pasco County Chapter, P.O. Box 1376, Elfers, FL 34680. A tear-off slip is included below for your convenience. Thank you!

We want to make sure that the content of our newsletter is accurate and up to date. Please let us know if you change your address or if our records are in any way incorrect.

WANT TO HELP?

MEMORIAL IN THE NEWSLETTER

LOVE GIFTS

CORRECTIONS

WE ARE A NON-PROFIT, SELF-HELP ORGANIZATION, STAFFED ENTIRELY BY VOLUNTEERS WHO ARE THEMSELVES ALSO BEREAVED PARENTS. WE RECEIVE NO FORM OF FUNDING AND RELY ON YOUR GENEROUS DONATIONS TO KEEP OUR CHAPTER RUNNING.

And can it be that in a world so full and busy the loss of one creature makes a void so wide and deep that nothing

but the width and depth of eternity can fill it up!

~ Charles Dickens


THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS OF PASCO COUNTY CANDLE LIGHTING GULF HARBORS CIVIC CENTER, 4610 FLORAMAR TERRACE, NEW PORT RICHEY, FL 34652

DECEMBER 12th, 2010

THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS OF PASCO COUNTY CANDLE LIGHTING DECEMBER 12th, 2010

REGISTRATION FORM/PHOTOGRAPH SUBMISSIONS

IMPORTANT: IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR CHILD’S PICTURE TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS YEAR’S VIDEO PRESENTATION, AND THEIR NAME IN THE SERVICE PROGRAM, PLEASE RSVP BY NOVEMBER 20.

YOUR NAME: …………………………………………………………………………… ADDRESS: ………………………………………………………………………………… CITY/STATE/ZIP: ………………………………………………………………………... CHILD’S NAME: …………………………………………………………………………. BIRTH DATE: …………………… DATE OF DEATH: …………………. NUMBER OF ADULTS ATTENDING: …..… NUMBER OF CHILDREN: ……..… If you are not submitting a photograph but would like your child’s name to be included, please leave instructions here:

————————————————————————————————— MAIL COMPLETED FORM AND PHOTO TO: DIANE SMALLZE, 3055 PRIMROSE DRIVE, HOLIDAY, FL 34691 OR SEND A DIGITAL PHOTO WITH INFORMATION BY E-MAIL TO: [email protected]

Directions to Gulf Harbors Civic Center:

From SR 54: Turn right onto US 19 then left at the second traffic light (Floramar Terrace.) The Civic Center is ½ mile on the left.

From points North: Traveling southwards on US 19, turn right at the fourth traffic light after Main St (US 19/Floramar intersection.) The Civic Center is ½ mile on the left.

For directions on the night of the event: Call Jean at 727‐510‐7674.

Doors open at 6.30 PM. The candle lighting ceremony begins at 7 PM. Candles will be provided and light refreshments will be served before and after the ceremony.


TCF PASCO COUNTY CANDLE LIGHTING SERVICE DECEMBER 12th, 2010

GULF HARBORS CIVIC CENTER 4610 FLORAMAR TERRACE, NEW PORT RICHEY, FL 34652 SERVICE STARTS AT 7 PM ~ DOORS OPEN AT 6.30 PM

THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS PASCO COUNTY, FLORIDA

MEETING INFORMATION

When: Third Wednesday of every month

Where: Community Hospital, Health Resources Center 5637 Marine Parkway (off US 19, east side) New Port Richey, FL 34652

Upcoming meetings:

MEETINGS START AT 7.30 PM Doors open at 7.00 PM

For more information call: TCF Pasco County at (813) 273-8721

NOVEMBER 17th, 2010 DECEMBER 15th, 2010 JANUARY 19th, 2011

pasco county chapter · year it’s on my son’s birthday. lighting candles for all our children...

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