After The Loss Of A Loved One, Your Holiday Traditions Change But Hope Endures

Richard Beebe cherishes this quilt in memory of his wife, Eileen.

Courtesy of Richard Beebe

What was once a lavish production for Ma’Ko’Quah and Christopher Jones has evolved into a humble, close-knit Christmas.

“We had two little girls and looked forward to spoiling them at Christmastime,” Ma’Ko’Quah Jones says. “We took them to get Santa pictures every holiday, went and looked at Christmas lights, and shopped the blockbuster deals after Thanksgiving.”

All of those cherished rituals shifted in 2008. That September, Ma’Ko’Quah Jones and her husband lost their third child and first son, 8-month-old Osceola Jones, to SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).