Owens Memorial Services

01/06/2026

Here is today's thought to encourage you on your grief journey...

It is that pull in your chest that aches, the sudden urge to get back to the place where you once felt steady. And then you remember that place is gone, because they were the one who made you feel rooted. They were the one who made the world make sense.
You can stand in your own kitchen and still feel lost. You can sit on your own couch and feel completely out of place. The walls are the same, the rooms are the same, but the center is missing. The person who used to BE the center of your world is not here, and everything feels strange and off balance.
That longing never fully disappears. You learn new routines, you move through your days, you try to keep going, but part of you is still reaching for the person who felt like home. It is quiet and constant, and other people rarely understand how strong it can be.
And if you are feeling this today, remember that they are still here, just not in the way you want. Home is not gone. It has simply changed shape. When you think of them, when you let yourself remember their love and how they live in your heart, you can still go home in the way that matters. You just close your eyes, think of them, and let the love fill you up.

01/05/2026

SUMMITVILLE, IN – Orville Roger Lee, 87, passed away on Friday, January 2, 2026, at his residence after failing health for several weeks.

He was born on October 16, 1938, in Minnesota to Joseph George and Geneva Lucille (Boardman) Lee. He was a graduate of the Wisconsin Seventh Day Adventist...

01/05/2026

Here is today's thought to encourage you on your grief journey...

01/02/2026

Here is today's thought to encourage you on your grief journey...

The room is calm. The day is ordinary. No bad news is coming in. And still your body stays braced, waiting, alert, tense. You cannot relax into the quiet because grief taught you that disaster does not announce itself.
This is the part that confuses people. They look around and see stability. You look around and see how quickly everything can shatter. Grief removes the illusion of safety. Once something unbearable has already happened, your nervous system does not forget easily. It remembers how fast life can turn, even on a day that looks completely fine.
If this is where you are, you are not losing your mind. You are not being dramatic. You are living in the after of something that changed you permanently. The fear does not mean something bad is coming. It means something bad already did. And you are still here, learning how to exist in a world that no longer feels predictable. Hold on.

01/01/2026

Here is today's thought to encourage you on your grief journey...

If you’ve been around Surviving Grief a bit, you know I don’t sugarcoat these moments, the last day of the year hits different when grief’s got a front-row seat.

It’s like staring at the calendar flipping without the one person who made the holidays (and everything else) feel whole, that heavy ache whispering they’re stuck in the old year while you’re being dragged into the new one.

Truth is, their death didn’t just end things for them; it reshaped your world too, turning traditions into echoes and joy into something that sneaks up guilty and uninvited.

You might freeze at the thought of resolutions or parties, feeling like stepping ahead betrays the love that still burns bright.

But…here’s the thing…you’re not leaving them behind; you’re carrying them forward in every heartbeat.

That guilt about smiling again thing?

It’s normal!

Grief’s sneaky gift is teaching us to grab joy mid-grieve, maybe it’s a quiet toast to their memory or lighting a candle at midnight instead of fireworks.

Permission granted!

Cry when the pain punches, laugh when a silly story bubbles up, because they’re woven into both.

You just don’t ‘get over’ this; you move with it, honoring them through new rituals like a memory jar for the year ahead or sharing stories that keep their light flickering. Self-care sneaks in too, short walks, nourishing meals, or just pajamas till noon on New Year’s Day, because healing isn't a race, it’s your sacred pace.

Grief holds sadness and joy in the same breath, so listen to your heart: ache when it calls, cherish when it warms.

We’re in this together here at Surviving Grief.

So let’s step into 2026 carrying our loves…not leaving them behind.

Gary Sturgis – Surviving Grief

12/31/2025

Here is today's thought to encourage you on your grief journey...

It’s that time again…when calendars get replaced, confetti gets thrown, and everyone decides they’re going to start jogging, eat healthy, and become a better version of themselves.

Meanwhile, those of us who are grieving are just trying to make it to midnight without falling apart.

The New Year hits differently when you’ve lost someone you love. No countdown can prepare you for the ache of realizing that you’re stepping into a year they’ll never see.

It’s like walking through a door you can’t hold open for them, and that quiet, invisible truth sits deep in your chest. Everyone’s celebrating beginnings, but you can’t help but feel the sharpness of endings.

As the world toasts to new adventures, your heart might whisper, “How can I move forward when they can’t come with me?”

Here’s the thing…that’s the hard part about time, it keeps moving, no matter how much we want to stay still for a while.

I used to think that meant I was leaving them behind. But over the years, I’ve come to realize that time doesn’t take them away, it just carries their love differently.

Every laugh that slips out when you didn’t expect it, every tiny thing that reminds you of them, every tear that falls when the countdown starts, they’re all quiet ways love stays.

So maybe this year, the resolution isn’t about starting over. Maybe it’s about carrying forward.

Maybe it’s about allowing some light back in, even when you’re still figuring out how to live in the dark.

And if your plans for New Year’s Eve involve pajamas, tissues, and skipping the ball drop altogether, you’re in good company.

Grief doesn’t follow the calendar, and healing doesn’t clock in at midnight. Whether you step boldly into the new year or quietly tiptoe, do it in your own time.

Because love doesn’t end at December 31st.

It travels with you…into every year that comes after.

Gary Sturgis – Surviving Grief

12/30/2025

Here is today's thought to encourage you on your grief journey...

As we approach a new year, many of us are doing so carrying grief we didn’t choose and hearts that are forever changed.

If you’re entering this new year missing someone deeply, please know you’re not alone. We’ll all take 2026 one breath, one step, one moment at a time.

And please know…I’m always walking this road with you. - Gary

12/29/2025

SUMMITVILLE, IN – Coty L. Barnhart, 34, passed away on Friday, December 26, 2025, at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie from complications related to his Type 1 Diabetes condition.

Coty was born on July 2, 1991, in Phoenix, Arizona to Cory and Raquel (Veler) Barnhart. He has lived in...

12/29/2025

Here is today's thought to encourage you on your grief journey...

I miss me — the me I was when you were here.

I loved who I was with you.
I laughed more. Real, belly laughs that left my cheeks sore.
I told you every stupid thing that happened in my day just so we could laugh about it later.

I didn’t hold back tears.
You’d just sit with me until they passed.

I planned weekends around us — movies, dinners, errands that felt lighter because you were there.
I cooked your favorite meals and loved how happy it made you.
I took more pictures because you were in them.

I trusted my choices more because you believed in me.
I said things out loud instead of keeping them bottled up.
I was softer. Kinder. Less guarded.

I liked my own reflection because you looked at me like I was the best thing you’d ever seen.

With you, I was sure of myself.
Safe.
Seen.

I miss you —
but I miss her, too.
The version of me that only existed because you were there to see her.
Written by: Aimee Suyko - In Their Footsteps

12/27/2025

George Killian Sr's Livestream for his Memorial Service is at 11 AM, Saturday, December 27th @ www.fmnaz.church then select the join us live button.

Fort Mill Church of the Nazarene is a life-giving church in Fort Mill, SC. Join us this Sunday at 10:30 AM! 109 Harris St. Fort Mill, SC 29715

12/26/2025

ALEXANDRIA, IN - Laruetta (Johnson) Linder, 91, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Wednesday, December 24, 2025, from her residence following an extended illness.

She was born on March 27, 1934, in Smithville, Tennessee to Frank and Martha Johnson and has lived in Alexandria ...