The extended Winston/Williams family, including Cassandra, her sister Flora, her daughter Anne and great granddaughters Kaylee and Ry’Leigh.
Since 2005, the Good Mourning Support Group at Akron Children’s has provided a compassionate space for children and families to navigate their grief together. According to the group’s facilitator, Nancy Carst, LISW-S, CT, who is also one of the hospital’s bereavement coordinators, “The program is designed to help children, and their parents and extended families, understand and deal with feelings of grief resulting from the death of a loved one.”
For the Williams family, four generations have all found solace and healing within its supportive framework. In 2003 when Anne Williams’ son Malcolm was born with DiGeorge syndrome he wasn’t expected to survive, but Anne was determined to bring him home. Malcolm spent his first five and a half months in Akron Children’s NICU before finally coming home, thanks to his dedicated family and at-home nursing care.
Ry’Leigh, pictured here with her mom Monet and dad Bradlee, who died when she was just 2 years old.
Tragically, after years of struggles and multiple surgeries, Malcolm passed away in May 2008. In the wake of this profound loss, Nancy introduced Anne and her 16-year-old daughter, Monet, to the Good Mourning Support Group. “Out of the blue, my mom told me I had some classes I had to take,” Monet recalled. “She took me to the support group, and the ladies were so nice. I was in the teen group, and we used music and art as therapy. I still have the candle I made back then.”
For Monet, the experience was transformative. “It was a wonderful experience going through something with others who had also been through a loss,” she reflected. As Monet grew older and became a mother herself, she faced new challenges. When her daughter’s father passed away, she was left to navigate grief once again, this time for her 6-year-old daughter, Ry’Leigh.
Denise Zehner, bereavement coordinator, helps run support group sessions for kids, which includes art and music therapy.
In 2023, Cassandra Winston, Ry’Leigh’s great-grandmother, reached out to Nancy, recalling the support the program provided her family years earlier. “I remembered how much it helped us back when Malcolm died and I thought it could help Ry’Leigh, too, so I reached out to Nancy at Monet’s suggestion,” Cassandra explained.
At the Good Mourning Support Group, Ry’Leigh was joined by her mother Monet, her grandmother Anne, and great-grandmother Cassandra. “This time, I went through it as an adult,” Monet said. “I was a lot more comfortable since I’d been through it before.”
The group allowed Ry’Leigh to express her feelings creatively. Cassandra observed, “It has helped her learn how to project her feelings in other ways like through a paper lantern she made, which had hearts on the outside. She could place her thoughts inside and hang it up to let her feelings go back up into the atmosphere.”
Anne Williams first experienced the support group in 2008 when her son Malcom died. She recently took the class again to help support her granddaughter Ry’Leigh.
Anne, too, found the experience therapeutic. “I wanted to take my own life after Malcolm died,” she admitted. “Someone told me to call Nancy, and she told me about the support group. It helped me learn how to redirect my thoughts and feelings, make plans, and get my mind off of my grief.”
Attending the group recently with Ry’Leigh brought Anne relief. “Seeing the joy my granddaughter had during our time there was something I looked forward to being a part of,” she said. The group offered more than just activities; for the adults it fostered connections. “We wrote poetry and made bird feeders,” Anne added. “It was comforting to share our stories and hear about others’ loved ones.”
The Good Mourning Support Group is held three times a year and is free to the community. It continues to be a lifeline for families like the Williams, proving that even in the depths of grief, there is a path toward healing and connection.
For more information on the group, or to register for an upcoming session, contact the Palliative Care Center at 330-543-3343.
