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In memory of David Gray.
Beloved parent and member of
VIS Board of Directors.
In my role as Head of School I come across death quite a lot, mainly because I am the person people often have to inform. If a member of staff has a dying relative it is part of the course of life and something I can empathise with and support as we give our staff time to grieve and make arrangements. Further along the spectrum is the horrible event of a student’s parent’s death, a trauma that cracks the child’s normal journey. Hearts break for the children left behind who have to find the courage to face life without that pillar of support. As a school we try to be a stable and reliable force to see them through the darkest days so that they can cope with everyday life without that essential being. Death is a wound that although it scars over may fester and the pain stabs and throbs for a lot longer than the person may acknowledge.
The process of mourning is an essential component of moving through the stages of grief and as a school we have done our best to offer counseling to those that need it, but equally we recognize that opening up the Pandora’s box of grief can be a long journey that requires patience and recognition. We all have different ways of processing the many aspects of someone dying, some want to talk, some don’t. It is always very hard to process the passing of a loved one, a friend, a classmate, harder still a parent, sibling or child. One day that person is there, walking around, smiling, complaining, shouting, laughing, then they are gone and we have to hold on to what we had, our memories.
In the meantime, our hearts and condolences go out to both Viti and David’s family as they and many of us step through the fog that accompanies loss.
Fondly remembered VIS student,
Viti Pánczél.