The holidays can be a particularly difficult time for people grieving the loss of a loved one. To brighten holiday spirits, Marian Hospice is inviting community members to join its annual memorial celebration-Light Up a Life-in Santa Maria on Dec. 4 and in Lompoc on Dec. 11. The Santa Maria event will be held at 6:30 p.m. in front of the Marian Medical Center. The Lompoc event will be held at 7 p.m. at Centennial Park.
The community remembrance celebration will include music, words of encouragement, and prayer. A portion of the proceeds from Light Up a Life will go toward funding Marian Hospice programs and services. Community members may purchase stars in honor of lost loved ones, and their names will be read aloud in memoriam during the ceremony.
Each year, a former Marian Hospice patient is chosen to be honored at the events. The patient’s family members will be asked to share a few words about their loved ones, and will also perform the ceremonial lighting of the Marian Hospice tree.
This year’s honorees will be Santa Maria resident Geraldine Lange and Lompoc resident Bill Train. Lange worked at Marian Medical Center for 32 years, and Train worked at the Alisal Guest Ranch and Resort in Solvang for more than 25 years.
This article appears in Dec 4-11, 2008.