Butterflies released in remembrance of lost loved ones

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

The butterflies fluttered by.

In a solemn Independence Day ceremony Thursday in Andres Park behind the Floyd County Museum, MercyOne North Iowa Hospice held a “Wings of HOsPicE Butterfly Release.”

The event was intended to provide a nurturing, renewing experience for those honoring or grieving a loved one, and concluded with the release of butterflies.

Proceeds from the event went to benefit MercyOne North Iowa Hospice patients by helping subsidize services and therapies.

Several dozen people attended and enjoyed refreshments, music and fellowship with other families and friends, and the names of lost loved ones were read. Local lay minister Vickie Zobel told the story of her own loss, and said that the release of butterflies was symbolic of her journey.

“I will be the first to tell you that faith, family and friends are what truly carried me through my journey,” she said. “I’ve thought a lot about my last seven years, and I’ve thought a lot about butterflies. Is the butterfly a depiction of the loved one we’ve lost, or a depiction of us?”

Judy Hauser gave the “Butterfly Blessing,” reciting prose entitled “The Butterfly, a symbol of hope.” The poem says, in part, “… a butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam, and for a brief moment its glory and beauty belong to our world, but then it flies again, and though we wish it could have stayed, we feel blessed to have seen it.”

The ceremony started with a welcome and reading by Katie Schuester, who recited the poem “Remember Me.” Songs were performed by The Zimmerman Family.