Light up a Life: “Grief comes on the journey with you” – Jan’s Story

For Jan Camp, the festive season starts with a special delivery. The arrival of her Light up a Life pack is usually her first Christmas post, and marks a time to remember and celebrate the lives of her late husband, Alan, and her son, Andrew.

Jan has been dedicating lights and attending our annual service since it began in 1996 as ‘The Tree of Life’. Alan had died the year before, and then, tragically, Andrew passed away just two years later at the age of 31.

“The grief doesn’t go away,” Jan explains. “It comes on the journey with you, so it’s nice to go to the service to remember them. I look at the tree, choose two lights, and focus on them. You can see others who are going through something similar and struggling because they’ve also lost somebody. There’s definitely a feeling of togetherness at the service.”

Whilst Alan and Andrew weren’t in the care of Weldmar, the hospice holds a special place in Jan’s heart. She dedicates her lights each year not only to remember them but also to support the work of the charity. “The hospice has that special feeling about it. It’s actually a happy place, and you don’t come out feeling miserable because you know that person you’ve seen is being so well cared for.”

“I always put the little Light up a Life card on my mantelpiece, and that means we’re ready and set for the start of Christmas,” says Jan, who saves the wooden stars that arrive each year, putting them up around her home on Portland. “Christmas is a happy time, but it’s also a time to remember those we’ve lost. It’s very special.”