Sunset Remembrance Ceremony September 10th

Brookings, S.D. – Aug. 20, 2024 – To honor the memory of people who have died this
past year, Brookings Health System Hospice will hold the second annual Sunset
Remembrance Ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. The event will be held
outdoors on the east side of Brookings Hospital.

“Our sunset remembrance ceremony provides a ritual for the living to celebrate their
loved one’s life,” said Social Worker Donna Bumann. “The sun setting for the evening
creates a symbolic transition of life. For those of us who remain after death, life
continues as the sun rises the next morning and we hold our loved one’s memory in our
hearts.”

The ceremony will include a brief welcome; reading; speaker Denise Larson, MSW,
CSW; and music. In addition, the names of loved ones who have passed away this last
year will be read. Attendees will also be invited to take and plant forget-me-not seeds.
“Forget-me-not flowers spiritually signify remembrance. Their blooms symbolize lasting
affection and treasured memories that remain living within our hearts,” said Bumann.
Everyone in the public is invited to attend. To register a loved one’s name to be read,
please call (605) 696-8089. In case of rain, the ceremony will be held inside Brookings
Hospital’s Conference Room A.

Brookings Health System Hospice guides patients and their families through end-of-life.
Local, familiar faces deliver compassionate care, provide comfort, and focus on quality
of life with the time remaining to give patients a peaceful and dignified death. For more
information on hospice care, including how to volunteer for or donate to hospice, please
visit brookingshealth.org/Hospice .

About Brookings Health System
Brookings Health System, located in Brookings, South Dakota, includes a 49-bed hospital, the
79-bed The Neighborhoods at Brookview nursing home, Brookhaven Estates senior living
apartments, Yorkshire Eye Clinic & Optical, and medical clinics in Arlington, White and Volga,
South Dakota. It is a non-profit, city-owned facility that offers the community a full range of
inpatient, outpatient, emergency and extended care services. Brookings Hospital provides local
access to doctors in Brookings and offers robotic da Vinci surgery and Mako robotic-arm assisted
procedures, making it one of the premier rural community hospitals in South Dakota. For more
information about the services offered at Brookings Health System, please call (605) 696-9000