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Public grief circle for Duffy planned for Wednesday

Undated photograph of Anesha "Duffy" Murnane
Christina Whiting
Undated photograph of Anesha "Duffy" Murnane

There will be a public grief circle for Anesha “Duffy” Murnane on May 18, from 5 until 6:30 P.M. at WKFL Park in Downtown Homer. Spokesperson for Duffy’s family, Christina Whiting, talked about the intention behind the event.

“This is just an opportunity for people to come together," said Whiting. “I think the community feels the weight of this heaviness. I wanted to create a space where people could come together to just collectively hold their grief.”

Whiting said although there is no set-structure for the event, there will be elements of community interaction. She encouraged the public to bring cards to share their thoughts and condolences. There will be a few cards available at the event. Last week, after an impromptu open sanctuary event at the United Methodist Church, over 70 cards were collected. They had a profound effect on Duffy’s parents, Sara and Ed Berg and Duffy’s brother, Gregory Murnane.

“When I gave them to Sara, she immediately laid on her couch. And she was reading them out loud; many people had shared stories of their memories of seeing Sara with Duffy. And those cards meant a lot to Sara, Ed and Gregory,” said Whiting.

Local artist, Mavis Muller, has created a woven sculpture that will be shown at grief circle. Muller’s sculpture will also be at the Loved and Lost Bench Dedication on June 12 at the Homer Public Library. It will be burned during the annual Burning Basket event in September, which is an interactive community art experience meant to “remember and unburden.” The public is invited to contribute spruce cones to the sculpture.

“The idea is that those cones, you know, the seeds represent the seeds that Duffy planted in her life,” said Whiting.

Whiting wasn't sure if Duffy’s family would attend Wednesday's grief circle event. However, she wanted to stress the importance of giving the family space in public. Especially Duffy’s mother, Sara Berg. 

“She desperately wants to be able to go to the post office, or the grocery store, or the beach," said Whiting. “She'll be at Safeway, just going to buy some green peppers, and someone will come up and just throw their arms around her and hug her and start talking and sharing. They are asking for people not to do that. They really need to create a space outside of their home, where they can just exist within some sort of ‘normality’. We're still in the pandemic and Sara is incredibly vulnerable. She has cancer. So she's also immuno-compromised. So there's the physical aspect of keeping the distance and safety.”

But, Whiting said, there are other ways to show empathy and support.

“If you want to love them, there's so many ways you can do that. Sara really is enjoying the cards. They can be left on Wednesday and there’s a mailing address they can go to.”

The grief circle will be Wednesday, May 18 in downtown Homer at WKFL park from 5:00 until 6:30 PM. Whiting says there may be more grief circles. More information about upcoming events can be found on the Facebook Group ‘Bring Duffy Home.’

Letters of condolence can be mailed to Sara, Gregory & Ed Berg c/o Drais, 426 E Bayview Avenue, Homer, AK 99603.

The Loved and Lost Memorial dedication, will be on June 12 at 1pm, at the Homer Public Library. Donations are still being accepted for the memorial bench. There is a Gofundmeaccount set up for the bench. For information about how to contribute you can email Lovedandlostmemorial@gmail.com

The Loved and Lost Memorial Bench will also be the topic on KBBI’s Coffee table on Wednesday May 25, at 9AM. You can listen to that program here at KBBI 890 AM or stream online at kbbi.org.

Originally from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwest Virginia, Desiree has called Alaska ‘home’ for almost two decades. Her involvement in radio began over 10 years, first as a volunteer DJ at KBBI, later as a host and producer, and now in her current role as a reporter. Her passions include stories relating to agriculture, food systems and rural issues. In her spare time, she can often be found riding her bicycle, creating art from handmade paper, or working in the garden.