'Tis the season of remembrance, and hospice hopes to help grieving families cope with loss during the holidays

Remembrance service will be held Dec. 12 at Longfellow Finnegan Riddle Funeral Home

If you were downtown for the Christmas Stroll you may have seen a magnificently-adorned tree lighting up the AWARE front window. If so, you witnessed the display of the Tree of Remembrance decorated with the Lights of Love ornaments, courtesy of Anaconda Pintler Hospice.

The organization is selling memorial ornaments on a donation basis, where Libby Jamieson, Pintler Home Options social worker, explained that the money then would go back to help any of the patients in hospice with any equipment or care giving services they might need. The funds are allocated to help offset some of the family’s stress that goes around death and dying.

“And a lot of the families that we serve actually donate back because they recognize what their families gained from those donations. So the ornaments are a nice way for the community to recognize someone that they have lost and then also that money gets turned around and goes back into the community, which I think is just a really fabulous thing,” Jamieson said.

This year they are implementing an event that has worked for Jamieson in the past. The ornaments that are purchased through the season are placed on the tree at the AWARE building (205 E. Park Ave.), but on Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. they will relocate the ornaments to a tree at Longfellow Finnegan Riddle Funeral Home, 107 Oak St., where they will be holding a special service where Deacon Dan McGrath will lead a nondenominational service with a special message about grief in the holiday season. The event is free and open to the public.    

“So this is just a really nice way for us to take a moment during the busy season when we’re taking care of our families and our children, take a minute and just pause for those that aren’t here with us and really give that time and recognition that’s often overlooked,”Jamieson explained. “We wanted to take a moment to just be able to have that ... it’s not really about anyone else, just the people that are no longer here anymore.” 

While working for a different company, Libby brought the service to Butte and they’re implementing and mirroring that service here. People can bring in an ornament or picture of their loved ones in their honor. At the end of the season they could either pick the ornament up or leave it for the following year. People can bring a personal ornament in, donate one of the Lights of Love ornaments, or simply attend without an ornament.

So, what if people want an ornament, but don’t want to add it to the tree? Jamieson will either mail it to the recipient or the name goes on the ornament, then the tree, and at the end of the year they can come pick it up. They can even leave it for the next year, if they so choose.

If you have a loved one’s name, please email Jamieson at anacondaserviceofrememberance@gmail.com and they will be featured during the slideshow presentation the night of the service. Longfellow has collaborated with hospice to develop a list of people who have passed that year. 

“But then if anyone who wasn’t served by us – or maybe their parents lived in North Dakota or something – and they’ve passed, they can include them in the service as well,” she said.

“The ornaments we ordered this year are also a little different. They have a window cling so they aren’t just for Christmas. They can actually stick it in their window. It’s shaped like a heart and has a cute little saying on it that says 'loved ones leave this world, but they never leave our hearts' and so they can put it in their window and it acts kind of like a suncatcher.”

The purpose of the service is to recognize anyone special that has passed, not necessarily recently, but at any time, whether they’re local or not.

“We live in a small community and there’s more than just family grieving the loss of these people, even if they don’t think about them everyday. Having that reminder of that name and saying, 'Oh yeah, I remember that person, and I remember when, maybe he or she was a cop in town and the things they did in the community or they were a teacher and they taught me and my kids' – those types of things are just really impactful,” she said.

They are requesting a donation of $10, but people can donate whatever they’re able to as there isn’t a set limit. 

“During the stroll I had families come in and want to remember someone and for heaven’s sake I’m not going to say, 'if you don’t have $10 you don’t get an ornament. This isn’t about the money as much as it’s about giving back to this community and I think that’s the mission of Community Hospital as well as Longfellow – to provide that to the people we are taking care of,” Jamieson said.

She also wants to put people’s minds at ease so that there’s no pressure. 

“If you come [to the service] and you feel like it’s too much, feel free to leave in the middle – it doesn’t offend us. We know we’re dealing with grief and we’re dealing with loss and that can be very difficult. So even if people just come take a look at the tree, take a cupcake and leave, there’s nothing wrong with that. We’re open to however people need or want to attend this event,” she said. “There isn’t one single person in our community that hasn’t experience loss, and the season – as beautiful as it is – is also one of the hardest seasons of the year because this is when families are coming together and this is when we expect to have all of our family with us and when one person is missing, you just feel it more than anything else.”