When Larry’s wife Ardis died in late 2022, people suggested he try grief support.

“I’ll be honest,” Larry said. “I was skeptical of it.”

He started with grief support meetings at a local senior center, but after receiving an email from his synagogue listing JCFS Chicago’s monthly grief support group, he realized he’d like to try meetings with a Jewish orientation. So he signed up and began attending the Zoom meetings.

“What I really appreciate about this group is that I get some insights and I can talk about my loss in a way that other people in the room understand,” Larry said of the group that transitioned from online to in-person at Temple Beth El in Northbrook last September.

“And I can understand when they’re talking about their losses,” he added. “It makes me realize how I’m not alone and there are a lot of people who have experienced this similar loss, who are under more difficult circumstances than what happened with me.”

After several months of regular attendance at the monthly group meetings, JCFS Manager of Bereavement Support Marsha Raynes invited Larry to share the story of his grief journey at Grieving the Death of a Loved One: An Evening of Support, which is a quarterly virtual event tailored to those grieving a recent death.

Larry said he was flattered to be asked to speak, and it would be just days before the first anniversary of Ardis’ death.

“The experience of speaking was a positive one for me,” Larry said. “Preparing what I was going to say, which tied to some degree to that anniversary, allowed me to work through my feelings as that day approached.”

Grief Specialist Leah Shefsky added that everyone who has spoken about their grief journey at these programs has reported it to be a very powerful experience.

The Evening of Support also includes music provided by a cantor from one of our local synagogues, poems for healing, reflections from our rabbinic counselor and chaplain, Rabbi Joseph S. Ozarowski, grief education from Leah and optional smaller break-out discussion groups.

JCFS also offers a variety of other grief support groups and programs in response to community needs.  

“We use many different modalities to explore grief and loss”, Leah said. “We know that talking about it doesn’t always work for everybody.” These programs include art, music, yoga and meditation, allowing people to explore grief in other ways.

Marsha shared that the grief groups offer support, connection, and community. And Larry would agree, saying he has made some new friends in his group.

If you or someone you know has faced a loss and you are unsure about what to do next, Larry has some advice.

“Whether you're going to join a group like this or you're going to rely on your personal network, don't be bashful about reaching out to people,” he said. “People have been wonderful, way beyond anything I would have anticipated.”

JCFS Chicago’s support for those mourning the death of a loved one is generously underwritten by the Lauri S. Bauer Foundation for Sudden Loss. For more information about our groups and programs, click here. To watch previous Evenings of Support, including the December 2023 program with Larry’s grief story, click here.