HERMISTON, Ore.-A Community Memorial Service and live butterfly release will be held at Bennett Botanical Gardens in Hermiston from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. on September 12.
Hosted by Good Shepherd Health Care System’s Vange John Memorial Hospice, the memorial service is a free event open to all ages that will feature arts and crafts, live entertainment, and a silent auction.
Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be provided by Castle Event Catering.
The Community Memorial Service is an opportunity to honor and remember loved ones who have passed on, while celebrating how life is transformed. No affiliation with Vange John Memorial Hospice is necessary to attend the event.
“We’re hoping people come and enjoy a beautiful September day and remember their loved ones while enjoying food, entertainment and visiting with the community,” said Vange John Memorial Hospice Clinical Liaison Carollyn Robinson, RN.
Those planning to attend the memorial service can pre-register and purchase live butterflies to be released in honor of a loved one for $15 each.
Butterflies will also be available to purchase at the event. Butterfly kites, capes, headbands, and face painting will be available for kids.
The silent auction will include butterfly-themed gifts and artwork crafted by local artists and Good Shepherd team members, with all proceeds benefitting Vange John Memorial Hospice families through bereavement resources and follow-up care.
According to Robinson, butterflies are a symbol of transformation and represent how someone is changed through grief, with auction items including handmade quilts, purses, bags, embroidery, and other butterfly themed pieces.
A few of the quilts up for auction at the memorial service were made by the Stanfield Community Quilters, a group that regularly makes and donates quilts for charity, including to patients at the Good Shepherd Cancer Center in Hermiston, as well as through the Quilts of Valor program, which provides quilts to those who have served in the military.
More information about the Stanfield Community Quilters and the Quilts of Valor program is available by contacting Vickey Morris at 214.532.6113 or by email at vem@earthlink.net.
Those unable to attend the Community Memorial Service can also make a secure online donation to Vange John Memorial Hospice anytime.
Community Memorial and Live Butterfly Release schedule
- 3:00 p.m. Welcome and registration (live butterflies will be available for purchase)
- 3:15 p.m. Silent Auction opens
- 3:45 p.m. Memorial Service and butterfly release
- 4:30 p.m. Silent auction closes
- 6:00 p.m. Wrap-up
Vange John Memorial Hospice provides compassionate care for the terminally ill and their families in Umatilla and Morrow Counties.
The Medicare-Certified hospice program ministers to the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of the patient and family; providing service in the patient’s home, during hospitalization, in assisted living facilities or foster home care; concentrating on making patients as comfortable as possible so they can make the most of the time that remains to them.
Vange John Memorial Hospice believes quality of life to be as important as the length of life and considers helping the family members of patients an essential part of its mission.
More information on Good Shepherd’s Vange John Memorial Hospice is available online.
Bennett Botanical Gardens is located at 32632 E. Punkin Center Road in Hermiston.
