2020 - August - CDT - Helping Hands - Thankful, Thoughtful Tuesdays

By: Dar Bellissimo
Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Thankful, Thoughtful Tuesdays 

Gratitude, enlightenment, peace, comfort. This was how participants described a Thankful, Thoughtful Tuesdays conversation about hospice and the process of dying. More aware, questions answered, learned a lot, thought provoking – these words described a discussion about the legal documents needed before you die. Better prepared for death, very helpful, interesting and lively – these described an exchange about preplanning funeral and memorial services.  

Many of us are afraid to have conversations about end-of-life issues; afraid they will be dark, dreary, morbid and sad. As the comments above show, at Thankful, Thoughtful Tuesdays, people feel the opposite. Thankful, Thoughtful Tuesdays is a six-week series where we’re thoughtful about planning ahead so we can be more thankful today. We hold death before us in a “seize the day” kind of way and invite you to live more fully now. For many of us the pandemic has brought the topics of dying, death and grief acutely into view. Join us to find some peace of mind for you and your loved ones.  

Thankful, Thoughtful Tuesdays is the brainchild of Sandy Schuckers with the Centre County Office of Aging, Holly Reigh, a hospice nurse and end-of-life doula, and me. This series has been held at the Active Adult Center, Bellefonte Senior Resource Center and various other locations around Centre County. This fall we’re offering it online and making it available to a wider audience. The sessions will be on a video conferencing platform every Tuesday from September 8 through October 13 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.

I will be the facilitator and our guest speakers will be Faith Lucchesi, an attorney with DeBoef Lucchesi; Holly Reigh, the executive director of 365 Hospice; and, F. Glenn Fleming, a funeral director and supervisor with Koch Funeral Home. The topics covered will be:

  • what happens as we die and hospice;
  • companioning ourselves and others through grief;
  • appropriate legal documents;
  • instructions to the funeral director;
  • Have the Talk of a Lifetime, and;
  • many more.

Attendance at all six sessions is encouraged but not required. You must reserve your spot by the Monday before each class. Space is limited.

Other upcoming programs include:

For more information about all of these programs, visit the Koch Funeral Home websiteBereavement Gatherings and Events section under the Local Resources tab. All of these events are open to the public and space is limited.

Jackie Hook, MA, is a spiritual director, celebrant and end-of-life doula.  She coordinates the Helping Grieving Hearts Heal program through Koch Funeral Home in State College.  For more information, please call 814-237-2712 or visit www.kochfuneralhome.com.

Leave a comment
Name*:
Email:
Comment*:
Please enter the numbers and letters you see in the image. Note that the case of the letters entered matters.

Comments

Please wait

Previous Posts

2024 - March - CDT - Helping Hands - A Walk with Grief

A Walk with Grief I’ve become keenly aware of the dual process model of grief lately. This model involves oscillation between loss-oriented and restoration-oriented responses to grief. Sometimes a...

2024 - March - Gazette - Dad, Death, Daffodils, Ducks, Cardinals, and Comfort

Dad, Death, Daffodils, Ducks, Cardinals, and Comfort ... My 93-year-old dad died on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. When I left you in my February column, he was working hard to get his strength back aft...

2024 - February - Gazette - How Old Would You Be?

How Old Would You Be? How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were? When I ask this question, I get a variety of reactions. Some people laugh and say, “I’d be the age I am.” Others loo...

2024 - January - CDT - Learning to Live: What's Your Story? - Grief as a Funeral Director

Grief as a Funeral Director Ten years ago, on February 1, 2014, my wife Margie died. We were married for 50 years and eight months, and I still think of her every day. I always have a picture of h...

2024 - January - Gazette - Love Your Heart

Love Your Heart Children can be great role models for adults, in all kinds of ways. For example, when it comes to the grief journey, I have a special place in my heart for the funeral and memorial...

2023 - December - Gazette - Let's Remember

Let’s Remember Just a few days ago our family received a large tin of popcorn as a holiday gift. One-half of the tin was filled with caramel corn, one-quarter with buttered popcorn, and one-quarte...

2023 - December - CDT - Learning to Live: What's Your Story?

Expectant Waiting It was Christmas Eve 1993 and my husband, John, and I were spending the holidays at my parent’s house in Austin, Texas. I was doing my daily meditation when these words came into...

2023 - November - Gazette - Dare! Silence

A lot goes on in the silence.” These are words I often share because silence is a big part of my work. For example, I ask for moments of silence when officiating at memorial and funeral services. D...

2023 - Nov - CDT - Helping Hands - Healing Through the Holidays

Healing through the Holidays Author, poet, and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou, wrote, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” I witness this every day in my work ...

2023 - October - Gazette - Memories Become Treasures

Memories Become Treasures I was visiting with my mom and dad a couple of weeks ago and we started talking about my dad’s parents, who I lovingly called Grandma and Grandad. My mom shared two memor...