Remembering to Heal

The memorial garden at Southeast Health Group’s 100 Kendall facility offers a space for quiet reflection. Photo by Rob Nicklos

Set against a backdrop of native prairie and big sky, the memorial garden at Southeast Health Group’s 100 Kendall facility offers a space for quiet reflection.  As Memorial Day approaches, our minds turn to the names and bittersweet memories of those we’ve lost.  Grief is a normal part of living, but it doesn’t pay attention to clocks or calendars.  Each of us has to take as much time as we need to heal.

Jackie Brown and Rex Miller take care of the Xeriscape plantings in the garden, which were a gift of the Colorado Garden Foundation in 2011.  The memorial garden also features a stone monument and a bronze bear sculpture created by Higbee artist, Brenda Daniher.  “Our former Executive Director, Bob Whaley, passed away unexpectedly while we were building the new Lamar facility,” said Becky Otteman, CEO of Southeast Health Group.  “It just felt natural to honor Bob’s contributions to the agency in a special way.”

Whaley, who had served for 23 years, was honored in 2010 as a “Behavioral Health Champion” by the professional journal Behavioral Healthcare, as one of the most active and accomplished executives and leaders in the field.  Whaley was not available to receive the congratulatory call, as he was on vacation in Canada hunting bear.  When he came home, he was more excited about the bear he had shot than he was about the national award!  In honor of BOTH accomplishments, the Board of Directors commissioned Daniher to commemorate the events by sculpting Bob’s trophy in bronze.  A replica of Bob’s bronze bear now sits in the garden, where the morning sunrise lights the bear’s face through a space in two adjacent monuments on Bob’s birthday.

One of the adjacent monuments is carved with the names of major donors to the building fund.  Next to their names, donors recognized parents, grandparents and mentors who have passed away.  Nancy King, SHG Development Director, included her grandfather, a war veteran who lived with a severe mental illness in a VA facility after WWII.  Architect Joy Ramsey Spatz remembered her grandmother, Johanna May Bent Ramsey, who was a cousin to frontier trader, William Bent.

“It’s important to take time for grief, and to remember those we’ve lost,” says Otteman.  “We hope the Lamar community will enjoy the memorial garden as it matures.  Eventually, the locust trees will spread their branches over the south lawn of the facility and provide shade.  Our perennials came back strong this year to add some cheerful color.”

For those who may be struggling with a reaction to loss, or experiencing prolonged grief, counseling services are available by calling 1-800-511-5446.

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