Paying it Forward
Fortunately, most parents have never thought about preparing a funeral for their child, nor do they have the savings to cover the cost. At Jane’s Fund, we think about celebrating the lives of children who have died of cancer a lot, because the ask for support comes often. Always a shock and reminder of one of the reasons Jane’s Fund exists, our answer is always, “Yes”.
Founders Jane and Mike Harrell still do not know who paid for their daughter Jane’s funeral expenses when she died of brain cancer, nor do they remember the details of the celebration day. But they will always be grateful for the community that stepped in to hold them up during the most challenging time of their lives.
Big Jane will never forget asking Little Jane in the hospital how she wanted her family to celebrate her life. Despite emphatic opinions about all details of her end-of-life medical care, Little Jane had only one suggestion about her funeral: “Have it outside in the sunshine and make it about God. I won’t be here but it’s important you plan it because that may help you.”
Big Jane couldn’t imagine reaching out to a funeral home to celebrate her daughter’s life, so she reached out to praying friends, church leaders, and a party planner after hearing Jane’s advice. A funeral outside in the sunshine proved to be a near-impossible ask that only one of many vendors agreed to host, yet another exclamation point of how God always comes through but almost never in the way we anticipate.
Parents struggle to function when their child dies, and for the Harrells, friends and family helped with incomprehensible tasks and decisions: burial plots, a tombstone, service details, a band for worship music, and the list goes on and on. What the Harrells now know is hospital social workers are often the community that help parents plan and find funding for their child's funeral. Believing they have many funerals to pay forward, the Harrells are grateful for the generosity of the Jane's Fund community that allows us to raise our hands and say, "Yes" every single time.
44 funerals to date.
