By Logan J. Davis
The family of Caleb Heart hosted a memorial in his memory last Sunday with a walk across the Four Bears Bridge and a gathering at the Johnny Bird Veterans Memorial Hall.
The memorial was very special and served two important purposes for Hazel Heart of Four Bears Segment, and that was to honor her son’s memory and to create awareness in the community about the crisis of overdoses. The event helped to ease the grieving mother’s pain that has been felt for so long.
“To see so many people who cared made me feel better,” stated Hazel Heart. “I really appreciate everyone who came to the memorial.”
There were dozens of walkers who did the walk and even more who took part in the memorial that took place later. Caleb Heart passed away due to an overdose of fentanyl last year and the walk and memorial underscored the importance of overdose awareness. The entire country has been plagued by overdoses on a massive scale and it has struck in every community. Most people are affected in some way by the overdose epidemic and it is time for people to come together, stated several individuals at the memorial for Caleb Heart.
Hazel Heart CENTER honored many people who supported her after her son Caleb passed away
Lawrence Baker was the emcee for the Caleb Ray Heart Memorial at Four Bears Segment
Lawrence Baker was the emcee for the Caleb Ray Heart Memorial at Four Bears Segment
Caleb Heart, who was only 29 years old when he died has two daughters, 11-year-old Tina Grady and 9-month-old DaleRay Heart.
“I am legal guardian of DaleRay now and she will be one year old in November. We need families to get involved and step in right away and encourage their family member to be healthy and stay away from drugs of any kind,” said Hazel Heart.
Hazel Heart added that she will continue to fight the scourge of drugs and try to save family members and relatives from the pain she has seen and experienced.
All of the people who walked on the bridge or participated in the memorial gathering each received a tee shirt that had ‘In Memory of Caleb Ray’ and the hashtag #OverdoseAwareness.
At the memorial held at the Johnny Bird Memorial Hall, the Heart family sponsored door prizes, bingo, and a home-cooked meal. Lawrence Baker was the emcee that spoke about the overdose crisis and he also was the official bingo caller for the event. Baker noted that there were no easy answers to the overdose epidemic. Hubert Heart was also a speaker who spoke on behalf of the Caleb Heart family.
“All we can do is pray and love one another. God listens and He is always listening for us and for us to open our hearts. He is waiting for us all to come home,” Hubert Heart said. “When we lose a loved one, there is always a hole in our lives. We can’t heal from something like this in 24 hours, six months or even a year. It’s very hard when we lose someone and it’s especially tough on the mothers. Mothers gave birth to these people who leave us. Respect and love the mothers who raised you.”
