Compassionate Friends held tenth annual Walk to Remember with over 60 participants
(Talk of the Town photos provided) Above, Mary Glowaski shares a message of hope and remembrance with participants in the recent Compassionate Friends' Walk to Remember. Below, flowers, a sweet reminder of loved ones lost, cover an angel statue in DeMoney-Grimes' memorial garden.
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The Compassionate Friends of Whitley County held their tenth annual Walk to Remember on Saturday, August 14, in Columbia City. 
Walkers gathered at the Whitley County Courthouse gazebo for registration at 7:30 a.m. and the walk kicked off at 8:00 a.m. with over 60 people walking to remember their loved ones who have died.
Walkers wore buttons with pictures of their loved ones as well as a remembrance sign on their back with the names of those they were walking to remember.
The walk consisted of a two mile route and then participants gathered at the Angel of Hope Garden located at DeMoney-Grimes Countryside Park Funeral Home, along with those that were not able to walk the entire route, for refreshments and a presentation. The presentation was lead by Mary Glowaski, pastoral counselor at St. John the Baptist Church in Fort Wayne.
Afterwards Sharon Brockhaus, GSP, CFC, chapter leader and grief facilitator at DeMoney-Grimes Funeral Home, led a balloon release ceremony and participants placed a flower in the arms of the angel statute in memory of their loved one.
The Compassionate Friends, non-profit group, is a worldwide organization that was established to help parents who have experienced the death of a child. The Whitley County chapter has over 250 members with an average monthly meeting attendance of 15 people. Meetings are held the first Thursday of each month in the Community Room at DeMoney-Grimes Funeral Home, 600 Countryside Drive, Columbia City, from 6:30-8:00 p.m.
For more information about The Compassionate Friends support group or if you would like to talk with Sharon about a general grief issue, she can be reached at 244-5122.