Loss, Grief, and Healing

A widower’s Journey- A hospice volunteer helping others in grief

It’s been more than three years since Ted Coyle lost his beloved wife Dee. The couple were soulmates, married for 46 years.  As he cared for her during her final days in their PIttsgrove NJ home, Dee would thank Ted for his devotion, noting that he indeed lived up to their wedding vows.

Their life was a love story that began when they met at Stockton State Collage and one that continues now even after her death and documented in a book Ted wrote of his experience.  “Loss, Grief and Healing: A Widower’s Journey” is his self-published book that all began with the advice he received from Angelic Health Hospice Bereavement Counselor, 

Margaret Pancoast, who headed a grief support group, encouraged Ted to journal every day, writing his thoughts and feelings.  The exercise became part of his healing process, and he soon knew he wanted to develop his daily writings into a book to help others through their grief.

“I forced myself to write, I was writing things that worked for me,” Ted recalled. As he wrote he went through a gamut of emotions—pain and joy, and this he knew was part of the healing process.

Ted and Dee Coyle married their junior year as students at Stockton State College (now Stockton University). The two spent many days on the beach and boardwalk in Ocean City.. which is why the boardwalk photo appears on the cover on his book about. He continues to walk that boardwalk as part of his journey today without her.

A year or so after Dee passed, Ted became an Angelic Hospice bereavement support volunteer, assisting in grief support groups, serving others who mourn the loss of loved ones.

“Ted has taken his grief and refused to let it go to waste,” said Ken Jackson, a bereavement counselor at Angelic Health Hospice.  “I appreciate his humble service to grieving people.”

In the 120 pages of the book, Ted goes through his experiences from caregiver to widower.  and how he coped with missing Dee.  Going through her belongings, photos and mementos of their life together, and all the firsts of milestone, holidays and everyday that followed has become not just a book on grief, but a guide to grieving.

Dee may not have approved of the Christmas tree he selected for the first Christmas without her, but it is certain that she would approve of this book, a legacy of love and healing.

Coyle's book is available on Amazon by searching author Ted Coyle.

Loss, grief, and healing.

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