Thank You #2

After Tessa died, we had many questions about what happens to her body.  It was not something we were prepared to deal with and I definitely was not in the right emotional state to start making arrangements.  We spoke with a social worker from Kaiser about different options (burial, cremation, memorial service, mass, etc.).  We knew there would probably be some people who expected us to have some sort of service, but it really didn't feel right to us at the time.  We ended up deciding to have Tessa cremated, but I had no idea how to go about that.

Fortunately my sister, Lexy, graciously volunteered to make all the phone calls and investigate how to get the cremation process started.  In her research, she found a man named John O'Connor, a local funeral director for 50 years.  Lexy told him about our situation and he said he would take care of the cremation free of charge.  Mike and I met with him that week and were overwhelmed by his kindness.

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Dear Mr. O'Connor,
Exactly four years ago, our sweet daughter Tessa passed away.  She had lived only three days and my husband and I were torn apart with grief.  My sister spoke with you about our wishes to cremate our daughter and you told her you would take care of it, free of charge.

I wanted to sincerely thank you for such an enormous gesture of kindness.  When my husband and I met with you to fill out paperwork, you told us, "No parent should ever have to go through losing a child."  You approached the difficult conversation about cremation with such care and sensitivity. Then, you took care of everything for us, like picking her body up from Oakland after the autopsy, taking her to be cremated, making sure we gave you a blanket for her to be wrapped in, and then bringing her remains back to us.  You made us feel comfortable with the whole process.

We are so lucky to have met you and I can't thank you enough for taking care of us and for taking such good care of Tessa.  Your generosity and kindness will never be forgotten.

Sincerely,
Georgia Walton