By Melanie Petrucci, Senior Community Reporter
Shrewsbury – “Remember Me” was the theme of a very special event held Dec. 8 at the Chiampa Funeral Home in Shrewsbury. Attendees of this unique gathering all have one thing in common – they have lost a loved one this past year.
“Other funeral homes around the country have done this and so we thought it would be a great idea for our community and the response has been unbelievable,” stated David Chiampa, owner of the funeral home.
About 15 families came together to find some comfort in dealing with their loss which is especially difficult during the holiday season.
The program included a selection of songs by the St. John’s Choir, poems and words of comfort from Deacon Dick Martino from St. Mary of the Hills Catholic Church in Boylston, followed by a candle lighting ceremony and a presentation of a special tree ornament.
“Each family is given a special ornament which is on our tree today – it’s a snowflake engraved with the name of each person that has passed on that they will get to take home, and then we are going to place another one on the tree with their names so that we will remember them always, and every holiday season,” added Karen McGinn of Chiampa Funeral Home.
“It’s hard this time of year when someone has passed but by coming to a service and having a warm, caring kind of environment to remember with other people that have had similar experiences in the past year, it is very comforting,” shared attendee Elaine Zingarelli.
The service concluded with the choir singing “Silent Night.”
Photos/Melanie Petrucci
