Preserving Meaningful Moments: Valley City Resident Lives Well With Hospice Care

Preserving Meaningful Moments: Valley City Resident Lives Well With Hospice Care

Sometimes, just being able to enjoy your cherished hobbies means so much, and helps you feel like yourself when facing a delicate time in life. Since Leo Hecker, 88, hung up his spurs and saddle as a ranch hand 20 years ago, his days have been filled with selfless service for a cause near to his heart. With purpose...

Brenda Giere

The Circle of Life: A Daughter Reflects on Caring for Her Father

A father is often one’s first source of strength, comfort, safety and stability for a daughter. The special bond formed between the two is unlike any other, and it’s one which is seldom outgrown. As life evolves and transforms so does this type of relationship, and with age, many daughters find themselves serving in a similar role for their...

Cyndy Andren

Hospice Employees Help Couple Celebrate Their 25th Wedding Anniversary

The old saying, “love at first sight,” rings true for Cyndy and Tony Andren, a Valley City, N.D., couple, who recently celebrated 25 years of marriage, filled with love, compassion, faith and family. Their courtship began as friendly neighbors and effortlessly grew into a deeper affection. “I really started to notice Tony when I witnessed how nice he was...

A Tale of Two Hearts

A Tale of Two Hearts: Hospice Reunites a Patient With a Long-Time Love

Love is a curious thing. Timeless. Enduring. Hopeful. When you’re young and in love, you don’t often think about what will happen to your precious love as you age and weather life’s seasons. But for those who have been separated from the one they love, by death, time or distance, it’s natural for some individuals to wish to rekindle...

Larry MacLeod

Husband Entrusts Hospice to Care for His Wife in Her Final Year

Beginning with a long courtship and throughout 63 years of marriage, Larry and Marcella MacLeod experienced a life together full of depth, adventure and, above all, love. Both small-town natives, they knew of each other because they were from neighboring towns, but they each moved away to pursue successful careers. It wasn’t until several years later that Larry and...

A Beautiful Bond: Hospice Helps Family Live Each Day to the Fullest

Seize the day. In the Kottsick home, these are not just words hanging on the wall, but a daily reminder. For the past 12 years, Julie Kottsick, a mom of two and wife of nearly 22 years, has lived with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. This incurable, progressive disease attacks and disables nerve cells in the...

With Humor and Hospice, Couple Finds Peace and Comfort at the End of Life

When you meet Bill and Karen, you instantly feel the love they have for one another. Their faces light up with joy when they sneak a glance of each other. A quick wit and robust laughter are at the heart of their relationship. They take turns teasing each other in a healthy back and forth, always with a chuckle...

Family Ties: Daughter Forms Close-Knit Bond With Father Through Use of Hospice Care

Growing up on a farm in rural North Dakota as one of six children, Lori Goering pitched in to help wherever she could. As one of only two daughters in the family, Lori often found herself tackling household chores like cooking and cleaning while her four brothers tended to the fields, cattle and horses alongside her father, Robert. Given the...