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The Marin County, CA Chapter is part of The
Compassionate Friends, a national nonprofit, self-help organization with over
650 chapters in the United States.Our
meetings offer friendship, understanding, and hope to bereaved families
(parents, grandparents, and siblings) who have experienced the death of a child
from any cause and at any age. Our monthly meetings are open to all family
members who are grieving the death of a child. TCF
is nondenominational and there are no dues or fees. We offer a safe place for bereaved parents,
grandparents and siblings to meet and talk freely about your child and your
grief issues.
The Marin County, CA
Chapter of The Compassionate Friends was formed by two Marin families in
1979. Larry and Sally Norton lost their
12 year-old son, Jimmy, from smoke inhalation during a fire. Another San Rafael couple, John and Georgia
Alioto, lost their 11 year-old daughter, Alana, in a horseback riding
accident. Both couples felt that there
was a need in the area for a support group for parents who were grieving a
child and feeling isolated. They joined together to start the chapter to offer comfort and hope to
other
bereaved families. “You have a lot of
support in the beginning,” Norton says, “Yet my need for help continued longer
than my willingness to ask for it. With
a group like this, you know people would be there over a long period of time. You wouldn’t feel like you were bothering
anyone with your pain.” Through the dedication and hard
work of its early members, TCF Marin has developed a presence in the area,
helping hundreds of newly bereaved parents find their way through their loss.
On
the 2nd Sunday in December, our chapter joins the hundreds of TCF
chapters around the world in a candle lighting service. Our chapter also has installed a memorial to
our children in a quiet circle of land next to the Greenbrae bike path on Corte
Madera Creek. There are links to the
World Wide Candle Lighting and the Children’s Memorial on the website with more
information.
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The Long Forever
You left us so quickly;
there were no goodbyes.
How long this forever,
your death and our lives.
The sadness, the anger,
the loneliness of three,
preferring four always,
how small, this new we.
Printed with permission from :
Genesse Bourdeau Gentry
from Stars in the Deepest Night
– After the Death of a Child
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