Sometimes somber, sometimes tearful, the 2025 Blossoms of Hope Brunch on April 27 was a time to remember loved ones lost to suicide, celebrate survivors, and support the Catholic Charities program that has supported many of the more than 400 guests at the Westin Chicago Lombard that day. A total of $160,000 was raised during the brunch to support the Loving Outreach to Survivors of Suicide (LOSS) Program.
“I’m surprised by all the joy that’s here,” said Carol*, who lost her son, Mark, 30 years ago when he was 18. A LOSS group facilitator for 20 years, Carol said, “LOSS was my salvation.” She found community, support, and understanding.
“Here, you can look at each other and give each other hugs and you don’t have to cry,” Carol said of the brunch. “It’s something you live with for the rest of your life, but you learn through things like this how you can approach it.”
Celebrating strength and survivorship
The LOSS Program provides grief support to individuals and families who have lost a loved one to suicide. Since 1979, the program has served thousands of survivors through support groups and individual counseling services that offer safe spaces to share and process feelings and experiences related to their loss. Last year, approximately 350 people received grief support services through the LOSS Program.
Monica Pederson, an HGTV star, and a survivor who lost her twin brother to suicide at age 16, emceed the brunch. Father Charles T. Rubey, founder of LOSS, spoke during the event, along with brunch chair Paula Grapes, and Sally Blount, President and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
“Today’s brunch is the day we come together to celebrate and support each other on how far we have come as survivors from those days when we were feeling shocked,” said Paula, a survivor who lost her husband to suicide.
2025 Charles T. Rubey LOSS award recipients
Father Rubey told guests, many whom he personally counseled over the years, that even as they question why suicide exists, “to me, it’s all part of the mystery of God.” He presented the 2025 Charles T. Rubey LOSS Award to Brendan and Carol Deely — who lost their son, Gabriel, to suicide at the age of 12 — for their advocacy, courage, and commitment to preventing youth suicide.
“We know that we are in sacred company today, in a very sacred space, surrounded by angels, and beautiful souls and saints that are definitely in the loving arms of God. We are surrounded by love.”
— Sally Blount, President and CEO, remarks at the LOSS Blossoms of Hope Brunch
“I am honored to be with Carol and Brendan, I’ve walked with them in their pain, and the pain is unrelenting,” Father Rubey said. “But the program works, I’ve seen people recreate their lives to experience joy again thanks to the LOSS program, the wonderful therapists, and facilitators.”
On the one-year anniversary of losing their son Gabriel, Carol and Brendan Deely launched Gabriel’s Light, a nonprofit organization with a mission to prevent youth suicide through mental health education that drives awareness and empowers action. They’re dedicated to sharing their family’s story to encourage others to confront mental health challenges head-on — and over the past six years, their mission has had a powerful impact.
“[LOSS] was a lifeline,” said Brendan Deely. “It really helped us work through this journey that doesn’t end but maybe gets a little easier with time.”
9-8-8, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, is a 24-hour, toll-free, confidential suicide prevention hotline available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.