20 AUGUST 5, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
1-718-821-6660 or 1-800-479-6419
Serving Ridgewood, Maspeth,
Middle Village & Glendale
Family Owned & Operated for Five Generations
Lasting impressions
are our first priority.
A funeral service represents a family’s
final farewell to their loved one. Knowing this,
we go beyond what is expected to ensure
the ceremony is beautiful and memorable...
a truly fitting tribute to that special life.
We invite you to visit us to meet our staff
and tour our facility. We think you’ll be
pleased to find that making lasting impressions
is our first priority.
MORTON FUNERAL HOME /
RIDGEWOOD CHAPELS
Continuing a proud tradition of dignified, personal service.
Louise C. (Addelson) Pondt,
peacefully on July 21.
Beloved wife of Robert.
Devoted mother of Michael
(Barbara), Stephen (Linda)
Addeslon, Lydia (Paul) Merget,
David (Dana), Douglas and
Robert (Robin) Pondt.
Proud grandmother of 13 and
great-grandmother of 9.
Graduate of Grover Cleveland
High School, former resident of
Glendale, Queens and current
resident of Northport.
Retired religious educator for
over 35 years, Eucharistic
minister at St. Philip Neri RCC.
and awarded The Diocese of
Rockville Center St. Agnes
Medal.
Mass of Christian Burial was
Saturday July 24.
Internment at St. Philip Neri
Cemetery, Northport, NY.
Hess-Miller Funeral Home
ANTHONY J. MARTINO, Lic. Mgr.
DAVID L. MARTINO, Director
Owned By Martino F.H., Inc. Since 1982
64-19 Metropolitan Ave., Middle Village, N.Y.
www.hessmillerfuneralhome.com
Papavero Funeral Home
Is closure ever possible?
We hear people talking about
“closure” as if there is a door
that can be shut aft er experiencing
a tragedy in our lives, losing a
loved one or being witness to a horrifi c
event such as the terrorist attack on
the World Trade Center.
Friends might ask, “Haven’t you
reached closure yet?”
Grief cannot be forced or pushed or
closed off from our minds.
There is no magic formula for working
through grief.
The fact of the matter is that grief
must be expressed and dealt with.
We all experience and react to loss
in diff erent ways depending on the
relationship of the deceased to us, our
past experiences with loss, and sometimes
even our health and emotional
state.
Grieving for a lost loved one can
take years, sometimes a lifetime.
According to Curtis Rostad, a Certifi
ed Funeral Service Practitioner who
has been a licensed funeral director
since 1973, there is no such thing as
closure.
He maintains that those who refuse
to begin the journey through grief
simply delay their own recovery.
Rostad goes on to explain why he
thinks the concept of closure is mentioned
so oft en in today’s culture. “It
should come as little surprise that
a generation of people brought up
with minute rice, instant coff ee and
microwave ovens would search for
quick relief from something we call
grief,” he says.
“We hear it from those who go to the
scene of a disaster where their family
member has died. We hear it from
those who witness the execution of the
person convicted of killing their loved
one. We hear it expressed by those
who have someone missing in war.”
In Rostad’s long experience in
helping families deal with grief, he
has found that seeking closure only
produces feelings of frustration that
join the emotions of sorrow.
There is no closure, but there is a
point where people have a great deal
of acceptance, even peace of mind, and
are able to move on to a diff erent frame
of mind.
It’s a frame of mind that leaves them
supported by the memories, but empowered
to continue with their lives
knowing they did all they could do
with respect to the person they lost.
Why would anyone seek closure?
Why would anyone want to close the
door on thoughts about a departed
loved one?
Grief will soft en in the years aft er a
loss, but the door to memories should
always be open.
Courtesy NYS Funeral
Directors Association
/www.hessmillerfuneralhome.com
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/www.hessmillerfuneralhome.com