BETTENDORF, Iowa — The night sky is blue again in Bettendorf as Genesis Hospice lights up its remembrance tree for the holidays. The lighting of the tree has been an annual tradition since 2004.
Linda Paplinski was at the ceremony, remembering her husband Dick, who passed away in March 2023. “He had a great smile that I’ll always remember,” Paplinski said. “Our whole family will always remember that smile.”
Dick only stayed in Genesis Hospice care for a few months before he passed, but the family got one last chance to come together. “14 of us on Super Bowl Sunday, in his room — two crock pots of chili going, and corn bread and cookies,” Paplinski recalled. “Dick looked around and he looked at me and said, ‘We are the roots.’ ‘Cause there were my two daughters, my two sons-in-law, seven grandkids, a couple of spouses and one grandson.”
It wasn’t just the community finding some healing through light. The Genesis Hospice team also remembered one of their own — grief counselor Kate Bowman, who passed away in Spring 2023.
“She was a shining light. She really was somebody that really cared deeply for people, and she was amazing at helping people through grief,” Genesis Hospice medical director Steve Sorensen said.
The tree will remain lit through November and December.
Since 2004, the tree has raised more than $100,000 for hospice care services through charity sales.
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