On Thursday, residents gathered in the sprawling gardens at the Cathedral of the Pines in Rindge to release butterflies in the name of people that they have lost.

It’s a tradition, hosted by Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services, or HCS, held each year at the cathedral and in Butterfly Park in Keene. HCS Director of Operations Katie Hart said many of the people who attend the event are family members and caregivers of those for whom they have provided hospice care, but it is open to any member of the public who wants to take a moment to memorialize someone they’ve lost.

Hart said she releases a butterfly every year in honor of her mother, who died 11 years ago. Last year, she said, she added a second in honor of her grandmother, who died on the first day of the annual butterfly release.

“I think that’s so important,” Hart said of taking a moment to remember those who have been lost. “Not only a person experiencing this myself, but something that we can share with the families that we serve, and providing this opportunity for them is really an integral part of what we provide as part of our hospice services.” 

Maura McQueeney, president and CEO of HCS, said that since its inception 14 years ago, the event has grown and now encompasses a three-day celebration of life, culminating in a final day that is more about fun, family and food.

“Just as the butterflies expand their wings, we too have expanded. It used to be a rather somber and contained event to memorialize folks near and dear to us and those who passed in our hospice program,” McQueeney said. “Over the past four or five years, it’s really morphed into more of a celebration of beauty and nature and community.”

Cathedral of the Pines Executive Director Michelle Lowe said the organization has been partnering with the event for years now. It’s among her favorites that the cathedral participates in, partly, she said, because she sees so many diverse people coming together to share in a common human experience. She said she sees families with toddlers come together with a visiting bus from the senior center, bikers from nearby motorcycle clubs and everyone in between. 

“People leave everything that's disturbing in the parking lot, and when they come to the gardens, they find common ground. You don’t have to have lived long to lose someone. It’s a way of remembering those that you have lost, or are no longer in your lives,” Lowe said. “This is just a way to bring messages to them.”

Lowe said that as the cathedral was established as a memorial to the war dead, and has been used in various ways as sacred ground for quiet contemplation in the past, the butterfly release fits with their mission. 

Friends Pat Martin and Sharon Rasku were there together to release butterflies for their loved ones, and also for a friend who was unable to attend the event. Martin said she’s attended the event every year since 2020, when she lost her husband, Danny Craig. Rasku was releasing for the first time in memory of her daughter, Katherine Benkiren, who she lost in the past year.

“It's a lovely, lovely thing,” Martin said. “I’ve been doing it since Danny died.”

McQueeney said this year, she released eight butterflies for her own loved ones. While each person who attended the event found their own way to release their butterflies, McQueeney said she likes to find a quiet place to release hers in private.

“it's good to be with your memories of your loved one in private, and watch each butterfly select their next stop. In my belief system, life goes on, and I’m curious in a way, about where their next stop was,” McQueeney said. 

Funds raised and donations made through the Butterfly Release all go to support hospice care at HCS. 

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.