Dealing with the loss of a loved one can be tough, especially during the holiday season.
At Haught Funeral Home, directors Howard Johnson and David Wolf helped Plant City residents manage their grief with a Service of Remembrance Dec. 10, in the funeral home’s chapel.
“Most folks aren’t real good at talking about death under any circumstance, let alone over the holiday,” Wolf said. “A big mistake people make is avoiding mentioning people who died, thinking it will upset people. If you think a woman’s not thinking of her late husband over the holiday, you’re mistaken.”
Leading up to this event was the completion of the funeral home’s annual Angel Tree display. Every Dec. 1, the Haught staff adds a Christmas tree to the main lobby and provides angel ornaments for guests to hang. Those who placed angels on this tree did so in remembrance of a lost loved one by writing the deceased’s name on the front.
Wolf and Johnson, an ordained minister, have hosted this event for the past three years and have seen the size of the audience grow each time.
“We had maybe five people show up the first year and 30 last year,” Wolf says. “This time of year, we’d do it if we had only two people show up — those two people need it.”
More than 40 people attended this year’s service. Johnson spoke of grief management and maintaining hope, keeping things simple — but effective.
“We can go for days without having food,” Johnson told the audience. “We can go just a few days without having water. But, I don’t think we can go one moment without having hope.”
Wolf and Johnson then read aloud the names of all of the families Haught has served in 2013 and the names of the angels on the tree. They finished the service by lighting a candle in memory of each angel and provided food and refreshments for guests who stayed to mingle.
The reception was positive, with many in the audience calling it a “healing” experience.
“It was a good service,” resident Adam Bryan says. “It was something I felt like I needed to do.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.