CLARKS SUMMIT — Bill and Linda Shafer, of Laflin, with their dog Bailey visited St. Gabriel’s Monastery on Griffin Pond Road on June 15 for an annual ceremony called A Butterfly To Remember to memorialize Linda’s father Joe Violini, who passed away May 24.
“It should be interesting to see it,” Bill said about the event, in which people celebrate the lives of deceased loved ones with a butterfly release and by placing ribbons on a memory tree.
A Butterfly to Remember is a national memorial event organized by Asera Care Hospice agencies which provides care to patients wherever they are located.
“Sometimes, it’s in nursing facilities, sometimes it’s in their own home,” said Caitlin Prushko, licensed social worker of AseraCare in Clarks Summit. “Wherever the patient wishes to be, that’s where we provide the care.”
Asera Care chose butterflies as a theme because they represent transformation of new life. Prior to the butterfly release, a ceremony took place in the monastery’s chapel.
“We are gathered here today to remember and reflect on our loved ones,” said AseraCare’s director of hospice operations Chrissy Jacoby, who read names of deceased loved ones of attendees.
Michael Rogan, retired army SFC and volunteer veteran, read a speech called “Table Set For One” which focuses on veterans who are either deceased, prisoner of war, or missing in action.
“Never forget while we are enduring pleasures, there are others that are enduring agony or pain, disposition, and imprisonment,” he said. “I call to mind your attention to the table set for one.”
Rogan explained the symbolisms of the table.
“The table is small and symbolizes the mentality of one prisoner against his or her depression,” he said. “The tablecloth is white, symbolic of purity of their intention to respond to their country’s call to arms. The single rose in the vase signifies what they may have shed to sacrifice to enjoy the freedom of our United States of America.”
Rogan then asked fellow veterans to join him in saluting fellow comrades, who are deceased, MIAs, or POWs.
Musical reflections were provided by four students of the Tunkhannock Area High School Music Department. Jordana Bach, Dennis Gilson, Nathan Johnson and Jess Kaneski sung accappella versions of “Breakaway” and “Homeland.”
Guest speaker Marion Campbell shared that she lost her husband George who died of brain cancer and explained her journey of his last days.
“With his loss of his ability to write, I became his hands,” she said. “With his loss of his speech, I became his translator. And with his loss of mobility, I became his legs.”
Campbell also shared the journey of when her husband lost his life. She said she had a choice of either letting life pass her by or moving forward. She chose the latter and continued to walk six miles, something she used to do with her husband.
“I felt that walking and meditation helped me to process all those emotions,” she said. “The walk was very therapeutic and allowed me to acknowledge all my emotions in my transformation to my new life ahead of me.”
What also helped Campbell was her ability to share her story with other people. She also said she had the privilege of hearing stories from people who have lost a loved one, as well.
“It comforted me to know that I wasn’t alone on this journey,” she said.
Campbell was encouraged to become a counselor. She mentioned that she went on a retreat sponsored by a coaching organization and learned concepts and tools that help her in the journey into her new career.
“Like a caterpillar, I continuously transform into a better version of myself, ” she said. “With the support of my family and friends, I will continue to move forward and make progress one day at a time.”
Prushko read poems she has written which reflect that deceased loved ones are still with the living.
A video compiled by the AseraCare Hospice Team showed names and pictures of departed loved ones brought by the attendees.
After the ceremony, participants went outside the monastery for the release of 200 butterflies which were encased in a basket. Some butterflies flew away, others stayed nearby on the ground while others landed on people’s hair or clothes.
Three-year-old Joey Berry, of Harveys Lake, picked up one of the butterflies that was on the grass. He was there with his 1-year-old sister Ayla and mother Ashlee, who attended the event in memory of her grandparents Jerry and Marie Degnon.
“It was great,” said Ashlee. “It was a nice way to remember loved ones.”
Participants also hung ribbons, on which they wrote the names of their deceased loved ones, on the memory tree planted by AseraCare. New this year, AseraCare donated two memory stones, which it purchased from SPY Stoneworks in Clarks Summit and placed near the memory tree.
