Carissa Kovalick holds a monarch butterfly before it flies away at the Beyond Memories butterfly release event held Sunday, Sept. 18, at the Butler Fairgrounds in Franklin Township. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

Carissa Kovalick and Holly Kovalick help release one of their monarch butterflies at the Beyond Memories butterfly release event held Sunday, Sept. 18, at the Butler Fairgrounds in Franklin Township. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

Emery Stepowski, left, hands out programs and butterfly pins to everyone that came to the Beyond Memories butterfly release event held Sunday, Sept. 18, at the Butler Fairgrounds in Franklin Township. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

The Leo family release their monarch butterflies at the Beyond Memories butterfly release event held Sunday, Sept. 18, at the Butler Fairgrounds in Franklin Township. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

FRANKLIN TWP — A moment was shared, and then butterflies flew into the sky, each one carrying a memory.

“170 butterflies were released in honor or in memory of someone,“ said Suzanne Grove, hospice director for VNA Hospice. ”It was a very lovely day.“

The release was a featured part of the hospice’s annual memorial service, called Beyond Memories.

According to Grove, the hospice has conducted the service for several years, and it provides a great way for families to come to terms with the loss of their loved ones.

Grove said this year’s number of butterflies and attendance was a bit above where it has been the past couple years. The event was canceled in 2020 because of COVID-19, and it has been slowly regaining its past attendances.

Grove said it’s an event that is near and dear to people, and the releasing of butterflies helps a lot of the patients’ families gain a sense of closure or feel closer to their lost loved one.

“The releasing of the butterflies represents different things to different people,“ she said. “It’s a unique kind of experience.”

Grove said the memorial and release also bears significance for the hospice’s staff, too, who are often reconnecting with former patients’ families.

“It’s not an easy job caring for people who are terminally ill,” Grove said. “This is an opportunity for them to remember all those whom they cared for.“

From left, Carissa Kovalick and Holly Kovalick release their monarch butterflies at the Beyond Memories butterfly release event held Sunday, Sept. 18, at the Butler Fairgrounds in Franklin Township. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

From left, Bentley Williams, Krista Shirley, Maddox Williams, Trisha Williams and Justin Hooks have a family day at the Beyond Memories butterfly release event held Sunday, Sept. 18, at the Butler Fairgrounds in Franklin Township. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

Lars Morrison plays the bagpipes to help open the Beyond Memories butterfly release event held Sunday, Sept. 18, at the Butler Fairgrounds in Franklin Township. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle