Memorial Service Helps 98 Families Cope with Loss

Ninety-eight former patients were remembered at the Annual North Oaks Hospice Memorial Service Saturday, Aug. 19, in the E. Brent Dufreche Conference Center on the North Oaks Medical Center campus.

The Memorial Service is a component of the North Oaks Hospice Bereavement Program, which provides support to family members and caregivers for one year following each patient’s passing. It is a special time for families to come together through music, prayer, scripture, words of encouragement, remembrance and fellowship. While the reading of the names of those lost and presentation of memorial gifts to their families continue to serve as the cornerstones of the service, a butterfly release was added this year. People around the world see butterflies as a symbol of endurance, change, hope and life, according to North Oaks Hospice Manager Courtney Ridgedell.

Morris Felder, a native and resident of Ponchatoula, U.S. Army veteran and retiree of Shell Oil Company, was one of the hospice patients remembered. His wife of 41 ½ years Maureen Felder and his daughter, Lois Gordon of Hammond, were among nearly 100 guests at the service.

When asked to share her impressions of the memorial service, Felder notes, “It was relaxed and so nice to remember each patient by name.”

Gordon adds, “It was nice to be able to experience this with my father’s hospice team, visit with them and thank them.”

At the age of 89, Morris Felder entered hospice on Oct. 6, 2016, with kidney failure.

“When hospice was first suggested, my dad was hesitant, and none of us knew what it would entail,” Gordon explains.

As Morris and his family soon found out, hospice would help him make the most of his final months.

Maureen, whom he met square dancing, shares that hospice enabled Morris to continue his active lifestyle for three months until his passing Jan. 6, 2017 – just shy of his ninetieth birthday in February.

“Morris loved to garden and tend to his collection of hydrangeas and camellias,” Felder shares. “He also loved going to casinos, and hospice gave him the freedom to continue his favorite activities on his terms. He loved life and was always quick to remind the hospice staff to call before they came over because he might not be home!

“We took our last casino trip together two days before his passing. We ate, and he played for three hours and loved every bit of it,” she adds with a chuckle.

That was a Wednesday, and he passed away the following Friday morning with Hospice Nurse Trenice Coleman and Chaplain Ty Wells supporting him and his family.

“My father died a graceful death with his entire family surrounding him — all of his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. We were all there, and he knew it,” Gordon explains. “It was not easy to be there in that moment, but I never knew that it could be so peaceful. It was just beautiful.”

Felder describes her husband’s hospice care as intimate. “Hospice was a total blessing to my husband, and it was and continues to be, a blessing for all of us who are a part of his legacy,” she explains, adding that one of four expected great-great-grandchildren and great-grandchildren was born the day after Morris passed away. “He knew about all four of them and the names that were picked out for each.”

Hospice is a special kind of care given in the home that provides support in a sensitive manner for patients with life-limiting illnesses. The North Oaks team focuses on the emotional, physical and spiritual needs of the patient and emphasizes the importance of the patient’s quality of life.

If you know someone coping with a terminal illness who may benefit from hospice care, call the North Oaks Hospice at (985) 230-7620 for a complimentary consultation with no obligation.