Family Stories
Jessica’s House brings hope and healing to families who are grieving a death. We know life will never be the same, but it helps to find connection with those walking a similar path. Here are just a few stories.
Samantha’s Family
Samantha and Jeff met during college when they volunteered together at a local nonprofit. Jeff taught special education, and Samantha worked as a school counselor. After Jeff and Samantha married, their lives were filled with hiking in the mountains and visits to the beach. Jeff loved entertaining and cooking for his friends and family.
When Jeff and Samantha welcomed their daughter, Cora, Jeff described it as “The best day of my life.” A few years later they celebrated the birth of their son, Connor. Samantha said the kids were Jeff’s world, “He was the ‘fun dad,’ the ‘yes dad’ and knew how to have fun while also providing structure.” Jeff often came home after a long day of teaching and said, “Everyone in the car, let’s go for a hike!”
Their family’s lives were forever changed when Jeff died from a sudden heart attack on the evening of April 3, 2021. Samantha said the early days after Jeff’s death were a blur.
They were having a hard time processing their grief as a family. That’s when a school nurse encouraged Samantha to reach out to Jessica’s House.
After their first family orientation, Cora and Connor said, “We want to go back.” Their family began groups at Jessica’s House in September of 2021. “Jessica’s House was just what we needed.” Samantha shared, “The first few times in group were tearful, but finding connections with others going through a similar loss helped.”
“Jessica’s House is such a welcoming space. We bonded over difficult life circumstances and realized we weren’t alone. As time went on, we saw joy in others, and we knew that was a future possibility for us.”
Today, Samantha, Cora, and Connor are learning to live again. Samantha says that now when she thinks of Jeff, she does so with more love than grief, even though it’s not easy. She says, “When you love hard, you grieve hard. We had a good one.”
Leticia and Analía
Leticia Gonzales was 21 when her high school sweetheart died of cancer. She was just getting back on her feet and learning to trust again when she met Frank at her local CrossFit gym. “We loved working out, football, hiking, adventure, and shared a love of family.”
Before long, they went on their first date. Soon they married and welcomed their daughter, Analía. “Frank was such a caring and amazing person and dad. When Analía was born, everything he did was for us. He made us feel safe and was so protective.”
On the morning of February 9, 2018, Frank headed to work like every other day.“His supervisor called me at 6:30 a.m. and said, ‘Hey, Frank didn’t show up for work. Is he running late? Some of the guys said there was a big car accident. Can you check on him? He isn’t answering my call.’”
“I just knew at that moment that something was wrong. Frank had always shared his location with me, and I looked to see where he was. When his location didn’t move, I knew.
Analía was just two weeks shy of her second birthday when her dad died. Leticia plunged into the darkness of her grief and when Analía struggled in school because of fears of her mommy not returning, Leticia knew it was time to go to Jessica’s House.
“Hearing the stories of others going through the same loss as me, I felt so relieved. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh! I’m not crazy!’ When I come to Jessica’s House, sometimes I cry through most of the group, but it brings me peace when I hear others talk about their grief story. It’s a community. There is no pity. It’s a safe space just to be.”
Leticia said Analía loves coming to Jessica’s House. “Analía tells me it’s sad that other kids have also lost their dad, but it helps her feel like she can talk about her dad at Jessica’s House. At school, she doesn’t know anyone else whose dad has died.”
Today Leticia is finding peace in her life, and Analía is doing better in school. She wants others to know that Jessica’s House is a place for hope and healing. “At Jessica’s House, I feel peace knowing that those in my peer support group understand what we’re going through. Having their support is the greatest gift.”
Amy’s Family
Amy brings her children—Cash, Audrey, Tommy and Henry—to the Parent Loss support group. The family sought the help of Jessica’s House following the death of their dad, and Amy’s husband Hank.
“Since we lost Hank, it has been my goal to create a net under my kids to help soften the struggles they will face. Jessica’s House is a vital component of this process for our family,” says Amy. “When you experience a loss like we have, it’s hard for others to relate if they haven’t been through a similar loss. At Jessica’s House, there is no judgment—only 100% support for what we need. We truly feel grateful to have Jessica’s House in our lives.”
Amy’s son, Cash, describes the difference Jessica’s House has made. “I feel better when I talk with other kids who understand what it’s like to lose a dad. I can talk about my dad and share memories of him like the time we went to a hockey game,” Cash says. While at Jessica’s House, he especially enjoys therapeutic activities like art and playing guitar. “My dad and I liked to play music together,” Cash remembers.
Audrey and Gloria
When four-year-old Audrey found her dad lying quietly, she thought he was sleeping. He wasn’t. Her dad, Mark, an apparently healthy 53-year-old, had an undiagnosed heartbeat irregularity and had died suddenly in his sleep. It was a sudden and shocking loss for Audrey and her mother, Gloria.
“You feel like you’re going to die,” Gloria said. “You feel like you’re just not going to get up the next day.” Back when Jessica’s House first opened in 2012, Audrey was one of the first participants of a new after school grief support group.
Audrey benefitted from knowing she was not alone, and from being in support groups where she could share about her dad while making new friends. Audrey and Gloria connected with other families, even meeting another Jessica’s House mother and daughter for outings, such as breakfast together. “She loves the activities and the other kids,” Gloria shares. “Having a close community of family and friends is so important in getting through something like this.”
Paul and Stephanie’s Family
Kaiden Pacheco is described by her mom, Stephanie, as loving and thoughtful. She was also stubborn, curious and artistic. She loved creating makeup tutorial videos with her little sister, Karagyn, and baking. She also had the biggest heart. Kaiden was only 7 years old when she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma.
Kaiden’s teacher at Elim Elementary School in Hilmar, California, reached out to Jessica’s House staff to see if they could help her students as Kaiden neared the end of her life. She wanted Kaiden’s friends to have the support they needed as they said goodbye. Jessica’s House staff member, Nancy Daley, went to Kaiden’s class to talk with the students about cancer and help them express what it feels like when someone you care about is sick. Kaiden’s last day on earth was February 18, 2016.
Jessica’s House continued support for students and teachers and helped organize a ceremony at the Hilmar High School football field to honor Kaiden. Hundreds came out in support of Kaiden’s family and created luminaries in her memory. They ended the ceremony by walking around the track as the stadium darkened and the luminaries spelling KAIDEN were lit on the field. They watched as turquoise balloons, Kaiden’s favorite color, lifted to heaven.
As time went on, Kaiden’s sister, Karagyn, found ways to express herself at Jessica’s House and at Jessica’s House school groups at Elim Elementary. She shared a love of art with her sister and found it helped. She said, “I loved doing art at Jessica’s House. It helped me express my feelings.”
“It gave us strength to know that others understood what we were going through,” said Karagyn’s mom, Stephanie. “Jessica’s House helped Karagyn, and I saw her mood lighten after group.”