Condolence Gift Basket For the Children

by Robert Smallwood
(Youngstown, Oh)

A close knit neighborhood on the west side of a town had recently been saddened when it was learned that Bill, a soldier that my sister Susan was married to had been killed in action while serving in Iraq.

Susan and their three children, along with the entire neighborhood, were devastated by the loss of her husband, father of her kids and friend.

The unbearable sense of reality along with the irreplaceable loss continued as the mourning process moved along.

Thoughts and gifts of compassion were received and Susan was especially moved by a basket that arrived by Express Delivery. Hers may have been from this selection of Sympathy Gift Baskets - it's hard to say for sure.


It was from the Washington family. Included in it were mementos and memories from the fifty year friendship of the two families. The package was addressed to the children.