News

Barber Veterans Garden opens at Elizabeth House

The Barber Veterans Garden offers a chance for peace in nature.

By Lightning Reports, Published: September 21, 2020

For many who have lost loved ones, communing with nature in a garden brings peace and healing.

For those whose loved one was in military service, the beauty of a garden adorned with flags and patriotic symbols evokes warmth and pride. Memorial markers, including benches and flags within the Barber Veterans Garden, are available to honor, pay tribute to and remember a family member or friend who served our country in the military services. From the clerk typist to the combat veteran, each man or woman who served in peacetime or in wartime dedicated his or her life to serving our country and protecting our freedom. The Barber Veterans Garden is a meaningful way to honor loved ones with gifts that will enable other veterans the opportunity to receive trusted care for serious illness and at end-of-life.

Located on the grounds of the Elizabeth House, the community-funded Barber Veterans Memorial Garden will serve as a peaceful place of remembrance, meditation, and memorial for our Veterans and their families. The garden is named after the sponsor donors Dan and Nancy Barber.

“Four Seasons is deeply grateful to Dan and Nancy Barber for their leadership gift to develop this picturesque memorial garden," said Paige Wheeler, executive director of the Four Seasons Foundation. "We are also incredibly grateful for all the community donors who have helped make the details of this garden come together. Thank you for continuing to faithfully support our 'We Honor Veterans' program so that we can ensure no veteran patient in need of care is ever turned away, regardless of their ability to pay.”

The garden is filled with beautiful trees and flowers; benches are nestled into the landscape. The central feature of the garden is a courtyard which will proudly display the flags of all the branches of the military, including the newly founded Space Force flag. Another prominent area of the garden is a pergola where families and their loved ones can gather for peaceful reflection. These features allow individuals and their families to honor a loved one in the form of permanent memorials, while also providing a place of rest and peace during difficult times.
“This beautiful space will provide a lasting memorial to those men and women who, at one point in their lives, raised their right hand and took an oath to defend our country at all cost," said John Knapp, chair of the Four Seasons Foundation We Honor Veterans Committee. "It will serve not only as a garden of remembrance, but also as a place to hope and pray for our nation and those who defend it.”
More thna third of the patients served by Four Seasons are veterans. Four Seasons is proud to partner with the national We Honor Veterans program and the local Military Officers of America (MOAA) chapter in offering this important and cherished service to patients and families. The original WHV program was developed by the Veteran’s Administration along with the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. The clear and profound impact experienced by patients and families is seen daily and provides yet another opportunity to care for those who have first served us.
The We Honor Veterans program is made possible through Four Seasons by donations from our community. To make a gift in honor or memory of a beloved veteran visit www.fourseasonsfdn.org/impact/we-honor-veterans.