More than 300 people attended the first annual Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare Celebrating Life’s Stories® Butterfly Release on June 26, remembering and honoring their loved ones at the campus of Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare in Wooster. Sunny skies welcomed participants around the picturesque pond and woods.

“We are honored that so many individuals and families joined Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare for our first annual Butterfly Release,” said Katherine Ritchie, development director at Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare. “It is a privilege to serve our community and provide opportunities to come together as one to remember and share memories of loved ones who have passed.”  

David Hargrave, LSW, CCTP, CGCS, bereavement counseling professional with Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare, provided words of encouragement, lessons on grief, and music. “The Butterfly Release is a beautiful way to remember and honor loved ones who are no longer with us,” Hargrave said. “We are honored and privileged to offer this event to the families of patients we have served.”  

At the conclusion of the event, participants released live butterflies in memory of their loved ones. Judy Mowrer, a participant, released a butterfly at the event and took another one home to release later in memory of her husband. “It was such a moving ceremony,” she said. “I cried tears of happiness to gather with so many people honoring the lives of hundreds.”

Ritchie expressed a special thank you to the presenting sponsor, Wooster Color Point, for its support of this event and for being a generous partner throughout the year.

Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare, a not-for-profit organization established in 1982, is an affiliate of Ohio’s Hospice that serves communities in northeast Ohio. It embodies the spirit of neighbors caring for neighbors with a commitment to relieve suffering, ease fears, and provide companionship along life’s last journey. Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare addresses patient and family needs wherever the patient calls home. Services also include access to the Stanley C. and Flo K. Gault Inpatient Pavilion, providing short-term patient care to manage acute symptoms, adjust medications, or stabilize patient condition.