Richard DeFord, BCC, BCPC

Offering 2 Grief Recovery groups - (click each group to download the current flyer) - Class lasts 8 weeks        Group 1 - Marshall @ Fitzgibbon Hospital - Next group will begin January 5, 2026.(Cost to attend this program is free, including the book.  Underwritten by Fitzgibbon Home Health & Hospice.) "I sought this training to help others.  I had no idea what the program would do in helping me overcome my own grief."      My journey of grief began as a young adolescent with the loss of three friends to three different accidents in the span of a month.  Grief continued with losses of grandparents, mom, mother-in-law, father-in-law and most recently, my dad.  All of these deaths were sudden and traumatic for me and my family.  As a hospice and healthcare chaplain, I see the devastating effect that grief can have on the individual, marriages, families and a community.  That is just grief associated with death or loss of health.  That doesn't include the nearly 40 other types of grief that we frequently experience as we walk this journey of life together.  From divorce to the loss of relationships, significant life change, and health, grief can touch us in a myriad of ways and in many different intensities.     I am a hospital and hospice chaplain serving the west central Missouri area through Fitzgibbon Hospital and Fitzgibbon Home Health and Hospice in Marshall, MO.  As a Grief Recovery Specialist, I offer my services to the families of my patients and to the community at large in Marshall with new 8-week classes forming regularly.       I am also the associate pastor of Katy Park Baptist Church in Sedalia, MO and offer support in Sedalia regularly as well.  I am married to Amie, a preschool teacher, and together we have three children.  Caleb (24), Nathaniel (21) and Sarah (16https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmcKUcfV_LY).     It should be noted that the grief recovery process is not a faith-based program.  Grief touches us all, regardless of our backgrounds and these very directed sessions offer a safe place for people of all backgrounds, ages, and situations.