Candle lighting ceremony to honor lost children

Lighting a candle is a simple way for parents and extended families to remember a child they lost. Compassionate Friends of Yuma are gathering Sunday to join in the 11th annual worldwide candle lighting ceremony.

Carl Komor, one of the leaders of the event, said, "The ceremony will be in the Fellowship Hall of the Gloria de Cristo Church, 40th Avenue and Fortuna Road, starting at 7 p.m. Doors will be open at 6:30 for anyone who has lost a child - any age. We will have candles, but anyone can bring their own to join in an event believed to be the largest mass candle lighting in the world."

Komor and his wife Sally, were instrumental in reviving the Compassionate Friends in Yuma. They are winter visitors who lost a son in late 2005.

The Yuma organization was started in the late 1980s by Ron and Evelyn Shook and others who had lost children. They helped getting the memorial wall built at Desert Lawn.

One of the Compassionate Friends, Karen Velasquez of Yuma, said, "My husband Dan and I lost our son Mark on June 20, 2005. He was 22 and died of heart failure.

"Since then his friends have come to our house on many occasions - just to talk and share their memories. On the Day of the Dead and for Mark's birthday, we go to the cemetery. We just hang out, tell stories and leave a bottle of beer on his headstone. It's really good to be able to share memories with friends, and with others experiencing the feelings to cope with the loss of a child," Velasquez said.

"A year later, I am doing better. I still go one day at a time because some days are more difficult than others," said Barbara Zeigler, a co-leader of the CFY. Her daughter, Julie Fenzel, was 17 when she died March 3, 2005.

Zeigler continued, "I really miss Julie - her laughter, how we used to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving, and how she used to help me decorate for the holidays. The people in our support group are a big help to me. We are there together for the same reason - to help each other deal with the pain of losing a child. The candle lighting will show that our children will always be remembered."

The candle lighting ceremony and the informal meetings on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. at the Gloria de Christo Church are open to anyone that has lost a child.

For details, call Komer at 344-5529.

----

Pam M. Smith can be reached at psmith@yumasun.com or 539-6856.