Hospice hosts Holley author on grief and loss

Collier

Press release, Hospice of Orleans

ALBION – Hospice is well known for caring for seriously ill patients in their final months, weeks and hours of life. What might be less well known is the care Hospice also provides to the families of those who have passed away.

Hospice social workers, chaplains and volunteers offer support, and bereavement services are made available for the first full year following the loss of a loved one.

As part of the ongoing training of its respite and bereavement volunteers, Hospice of Orleans is hosting Holley author Lindsay Collier at 1 p.m. this Saturday at Hoag Library. The public is welcome to attend this free talk.

The day after Lindsay Collier lost his wife of 40 years to ovarian cancer, a huge rainbow surrounded the couple’s Rochester home. This occurrence inspired Collier to write “Jan’s Rainbow,” a book containing his own accounts, as well as his family and friends’, about ways they have taken comfort through signs in nature and coped with their grief in creative ways.

“Writing this book was a major factor in my own recovery from the loss of my wife Jan,” Collier said. “But what makes me feel really great is the fact that this book and the presentations I’ve made to many groups have helped hundreds of people who have lost spouses and other loved ones.”

Collier was a Kodak engineer, developing expertise in creativity and innovation. He retired early to write and pursue other adventures. He now divides his time between Holley and The Villages in Florida and has published several books, in addition to “Jan’s Rainbow,” including: “Organizational Mental Floss,” “Organizational Braindroppings,” “Quotations to Tickle Your Brain” and “How to Live Happily Ever After.”