One family’s story of resilience and generosity serves as a powerful reminder of the vital role that hospice care and grief support services play in our community.   

Jessica Marsh recently reflected on the night her son, Cooper Winters, helped contribute to honoring his dad, Mike Winter’s memory and broke a fundraising record.  

She shared how the grief counseling services offered by Community Hospice, now serving the community as Ohio’s Hospice, helped her family persevere through the loss of a loved one.  

“We were a very young family when we were going through Mike’s battle with pancreatic cancer,” Jessica said. “He was 44 years old when he passed away. Our kids were very young at the time (John) 8, (Cooper) 6 and the twin 4-year-old girls (Reagan, Reese).”  

Jessica explained that her family was dealing with so much, as pancreatic cancer claimed her husband’s life. But she was able to get help and support from the entire community including the bereavement programming at Community Hospice, now serving as Ohio’s Hospice.  

“I don’t know who made a referral for us to the Bereavement Department, but it was a lifeline for our family,” Jessica said. “The boys were old enough to participate, but the twin girls were not. We did absolutely anything and everything that we could do in the program.”  

Cooper also was involved with Big Brothers and Big Sisters, where he was paired with Dan Warther, a woodworking expert.  

Jessica said the duo had worked on various projects that were stunningly beautiful. Wanting to give back, Jessica volunteered to serve on the Culinary Capers organizing committee. The week of the auction she asked Cooper if he would make something for the auction to benefit Ohio’s Hospice.  

Cooper was motivated to do so, after he had enjoyed the equine therapy program. He created a bowl and other ornaments that raised more than $10,000 during the 19^th annual Culinary Capers event that helped contribute to the $177,000 raised, shattering the old mark of $130,000.  

More than 200 people attended the fundraising event, which featured entertainment as well as live and silent auctions to benefit the efforts of Ohio’s Hospice to ensure that the communities receive the superior care and superior end-of-life care and grief support services they need regardless of their ability to pay.  

The night was something to remember for Cooper, who also will not forget his enjoyment of equine therapy.  

“I remember going to (equine) horse therapy,” Cooper said. “It was kind of cool. I was there with other kids, and it helped take your mind off things. We got to walk and ride the horses. It was my first time riding a horse.”  

Warther’s mentorship played a big part in Cooper creating the bowl that made the Culinary Capers evening a record-breaking fundraising event.  

“I used beech wood for the bowl; it was laying around Dan’s shop,” Cooper recounted. “It felt good to make a bowl to sell because I knew it was going to help some people out.  Dan was proud I was able to do it.”  

“I did not expect the bowl to raise $10,000,” Cooper said. “But it just kept going up. I thought it would stop at $1,000.”  

The success of Cooper’s contribution underscores the impact of grief and bereavement services. Their story demonstrates how grief support can empower families to heal and give back to their communities.