Heather McClafferty, of Arnold, left, and her sister Jennifer Moorhead, of Ford City, release butterflies in memory of their mother, Marlene Shreckengost, Sunday afternoon, Aug. 20, at Cranberry Township Community Park. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

CRANBERRY TWP — Heather McClafferty and Jennifer Moorhead watched a symbol of their mother fly away Sunday, Aug. 20.

The sisters’ mother, Marlene Shreckengost, went into Good Samaritan Hospice, a mission of Concordia Lutheran Ministries, in September at the age of 66 after being diagnosed with cancer; and died on Thanksgiving.

Dressed in T-shirts commemorating their mother, McClafferty and Moorhead released one butterfly each Sunday at Cranberry Township Community Park alongside dozens of other people who knew someone in hospice at the mission.

“We never expected her to be in hospice at 66,” McClafferty said. “They were wonderful here; they send a lot of communications following up.”

According to Roni Lucas, executive director of Good Samaritan Hospice, the organization has been hosting a butterfly release yearly since 2017. It gives people who have had loved ones in hospice care a chance to release their feelings, as they release butterflies from envelopes and into the world.

“You hear stories of what they and their loved ones went through; it’s like a release to do this,” Lucas said. “It’s recognizing that even when they’re gone, they’re finally free.”

Following a short program featuring a talk from Lucas, musical performances and a poem reading, dozens of people went to the baseball field at the park to release butterflies. Butterflies flew upward out small clusters of gatherers, who held hands and held one another’s shoulders close as tears fell from their eyes.

Lucas said the butterfly release is often a joyous moment for families who have had loved ones in hospice, while the rest of the program is a time for reflection.

“I had a hard time with the singing, keeping it together,” she said. “When people are sitting quietly, they are thinking about their loved one, and that’s when they tear up.”

The attendance Sunday afternoon was larger compared to butterfly releases in previous years, Lucas said, which could be because of the amount of patients hospices nationwide saw during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

McClafferty and Moorhead said although their mom’s journey through hospice was difficult for everyone involved, they are glad they could attend another service hosted by Good Samaritan Hospice to memorialize their mother.

“It was a good experience for us,” McClafferty said.

Emily Kearney, 6, of Cranberry Township, and her aunt, Kelly Jo Reuter, of Fox Chapel, release a butterfly in memory of Kearney's late mother Sunday afternoon, Aug. 20, at the annual butterfly release held at Cranberry Township Community Park. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

Tammie Carroll, of Zelienople, smiles at a butterfly she released from an envelope which perched on her hand during a butterfly release Sunday, Aug. 20, at Cranberry Township Community Park. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

Kip Meyerl, 4, of Chippewa, colors in a picture of a butterfly Sunday afternoon, Aug. 20, during an annual butterfly release at Cranberry Township Community Park hosted by Good Samaritan Hospice. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

Jackson Martinez, 2, points to the butterfly in Tammie Carroll's hand on Sunday afternoon at Cranberry Township Community Park. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

Roni Lucas, executive director of Good Samaritan Hospice, welcomes people Sunday afternoon to the agency’s annual butterfly release at Cranberry Township Community Park. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

Matthew Kearns, of Butler, left, shows Micheal Maisner, 7, of Franklin Park, how to use the bagpipes on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 20, at the annual butterfly release at Cranberry Township Community Park. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle