Lang's homecoming will revive grief support program

Kerin Lang is someone who has been helping people cope with grief and loss for many years in a variety of capacities. Now, she will be bringing her experience in the field to Humboldt, on a regular basis. Lang has been an ordained Presbyterian minister for 28 years and has been a military chaplain for the past 10 years. She has also been a bereavement counselor for many years.Lang recently relocated to Humboldt, which was her hometown during her high school years. In 1970, Kerin’s parents, Jerry and Willa Dean Lang, bought the flower shop and greenhouse on 3rd Avenue South. After spending the last 23 years in San Diego, CA, Kerin felt she was ready for a change. She moved back to Humboldt and took a job as a chaplain/bereavement coordinator for Iowa Hospice, a One Gentiva® Company, in October 2013. For people suffering from grief or loss, Lang wants to provide a comforting, non-threatening, non-judgmental, confidential and supportive environment by starting a grief and loss support group in Humboldt. Her desire dovetails perfectly with something funeral director Lincoln Mason with the Mason-Lindhart Funeral Home has wanted to establish for several years. Lincoln’s mother, Elaine Mason, offered a service called “Tender Talk,” which was a monthly meeting for people to meet informally and talk about grief and loss. After she retired from the family business, the free service went by the wayside, and Lincoln has been interested for some time in getting it re-started. Iowa Hospice and Mason-Lindhart Funeral Home are pleased to announce the re-establishment of “Tender Talk,” on a weekly basis at the funeral home, 612 2nd Ave. S. The gatherings will be Thursday afternoons from 3:30-4:30 p.m., with the first meeting set for Thursday, April 3. The discussion will be led by Lang, and is free of charge to the public. If a person would like more information about the new program being offered, they can contact the funeral home at (515) 332-1321 or Lang at her office in Fort Dodge, at (515) 955-5553. Read more about the subject in this week's Humboldt Independent, on sale at newsstands, or subscribe by clicking on the link at the top of this page.