The Antelope Valley Times

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Light up a Life 2012

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Life up a Life was held at 6 p.m. Tuesday on Lancaster Boulevard at Ehrlich (Elm) Avenue.
More than 200 residents attended the event.

LANCASTER – Hundreds came out Tuesday night for the Hoffman Hospice’s annual holiday ceremony in remembrance of lost loved ones.

The 10th Annual Light up a Life event was hosted by The BLVD in Lancaster for the second year.

In the soft glow of candlelight, Hoffman staff and their guests honored the memories of loved ones who passed away with a reading of names, holiday music and tree lighting.

Guest speakers included Lancaster city council member Sandra Johnson and actress and holiday icon Karolyn Grimes, who played Zuzu in the holiday classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

The event also featured holiday music by local choir the Sunday Night Singers.

View sights from the 10th Annual Light up a Life ceremony below.

Hoffman Hospice Branch Director Roger Doyle gave the welcoming address, and council member Sandra Johnson shared warm memories of her late mother.
City manager Mark Bozigian attended the ceremony.
Newly elected 21st District Senator Steve Knight and his staff also attended the ceremony.
(L to R) Lancaster residents Rachel Garcia, Zahydee Garcia and Loretta Turk attended the event together. Turk said it was her first time at the event. “This was a surprise for me, but I liked the candle lighting ceremony,” she said. “I had a granddaughter that was nine die from cancer.”
Lancaster resident Patty Houseal helps to light a candle for Cassidy Houseal. Both were attending the event in memory of Lorraine Kelly and Florence Houseal.
Actress Karolyn Grimes shared a personal story of the grief she experienced after losing her son. “When you lose a loved one, you just can’t wrap your mind around it that they’re gone,” she said. “I miss him so much, yet I knew that I had to heal. I had to get better, if not only for me, for my family.”
The choir hummed softly during the ceremonial reading of names of those honored or memorialized. For many attendees, this was the highlight of the event.
The Sunday Night Singers led attendees and Hoffman staff in singing “Silent Night.”
The somber event culminated with falling “snow.”

Filed Under: Lancaster

3 comments for "Light up a Life 2012"

  1. Sick of the word “holiday”! It’s Christmas and if you have a problem with the birth of Jesus Christ then you have no business celebrating it! Instead, perhaps you could celebrate a pagan holiday that instead honors man or a pagan deity! It has always been Christmas and always will be. Anyone who has issues with American traditions can get the F out of America. We don’t bend to foreign religions or closet satanists who call themselves atheist!

    • You take a memorial service and turn it into your own personal soapbox about the word “holiday” – I don’t care for the word either but I respect that this isn’t the type of event to attack it. Continue to spread the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ Sovereignty Soldier but show some respect to an event where parents are morning the death of a 2 year old or the loss of their parent or fallen soldier. Come on!!

  2. What a beautiful ceremony on the Blvd. thank you Hoffmann Hospice for a wonderful way to remember our loved ones. See you next year!