Franklin – On a beautifully Sunny Saturday morning on June 9, the first annual memory ceremony was held in the Franklin VNA & Hospice’s newly dedicated Teuscher – Wilson Hospice Garden.

The Memory Ceremony was held in honor of the Franklin VNA & Hospice volunteers staff and the patients they have served as well as the caregivers for those loved ones. Chaplain Tobias Nyatsambo was on hand to give a moving appreciation for the role of the Garden in our lives in part stating, “The Garden is where life happens.”
There was also a moving remembrance for recently-passed Franklin VNA & Hospice Garden champion and former board member, Judy Merriam, followed by the beautiful song “In the Garden” sung by the St. Gabriel’s Choir. The public dedication ceremony following was a similarly joyful and emotional event.
United States Senator Jeanne Shaheen sent a letter of support for the project noting, “For years the Franklin VNA & Hospice has been an important community resource known for helping patients and families through trying times. Its nurses and health care providers approach its mission with compassion, devotion and energy and you all continue to build on this legacy each day as you provide support and promote the dignity and wellbeing of individuals in the community.”
Watts Water Technologies was on hand to receive a thank you gift for being a founding donor of the project, and an engraved brick anchors the center of the patio as a monument to their support.
Also on hand to receive a gift of appreciation was the Franklin Elks Lodge Exalted Ruler, Joe Giunta and Secretary Winnie Keyser for their support as an Amethyst Sponsor of the garden.
Janet Rosequist and Mike Petrun of Winnisquam Regional High School were also there as was senior Brian Scacheri, all recognized for the monumental amount of work the students put into building the garden and in particular the patio which was Brian’s Capstone project.
At the conclusion of the ceremony all present were invited to explore the garden and the memory patio that is featured at the front.
Barbara Normandin executive director of the Franklin VNA and hospice stated, “This project was truly a labor of love by so many. We Are forever grateful to everyone who contributed to it and we hope that now that it is completed we will have many visitors to the garden!”
Franklin VNA & Hospice is an independent, non-profit organization established in 1945 to serve the Home Health care needs of the community. They provide home care, Hospice, clinic and community education services to Andover, Belmont, Boscawen, Canterbury, Franklin, Hill, Northfield, Sanbornton, Salisbury, Tilton, Webster and surrounding towns, as requested. For more information on sponsoring a Memorial Brick or partnering with them for a stronger level of support for the Teuscher- Wilson Hospice Garden, call Franklin VNA & Hospice at (603)934-3454 or visit www.FranklinVNA.org.