KTRV Fox 12 Terminally Ill: Preserving Family Memories

Terminally Ill: Preserving Family Memories

Treasure Valley, Idaho -- It's the best gift they could have gotten -- a book of memories for Jessica Wolfkiel and her children to cherish this holiday season.

"I realize when I don't have pictures, my mind shuts off and I forget a lot of the memories," explained Wolfkiel.  

Her husband just passed away a month ago at age 31 after a 5 year battle with melanoma. But the family has years of happy memories, playing with the tractor, camping in the mountains, cuddling on the couch. So when the kids talk about their father, or Jessica brings him up. Although he's deeply missed, the conversation is a joyous one.

"Now that he's not here, to see him on pages that actually bring out his personality, is like having him here again and the memories just flood back," she smiled.

Thanks to the pictures, it's easy to have a piece of daddy still with them. 

"That's daddy, that's Michael, that's grandma and grandpa," her boys pointed and giggled. 

When the kids get older, and now bright memories of their father have faded some, they'll still have their beautiful gift to remind them that, although their father is in heaven, sometimes love doesn't ever die.

"To have a book will help them throughout their life remember who the man they were able to be with for a short time in his life," explained Wolfkiel.

The family told their story as a grateful thank you to a local woman who created the scrapbook for them.

Jackie Kelsch's mom died just before Christmas last year, but before she passed her daughter gave her an album of her life.  When she received it, the usually stoic woman grabbed her daughter's hand filled with emotion.

"It just validated what I'm doing," said Kelsch.

Since then, she has shared many moments like that with young families loosing a parent, to grandparents fading in the last moments of their life.

"We shook her and said, 'do you remember this?' She opened her eyes and came alert and talked to us." The goal is a simple one. We want to touch lives," said Kelsch.

Since those last moments with her mom, over 50 women have joined Kelsch -- donating their time and materials for the terminally ill.  

"The people that we're giving these books to and their family, they just enjoy them so much and it just creates wonderful memories that they not only get to take home but we do, as well," explained scrapbooker, Vikki Green.

They spend hours helping detail peoples lives and interests. 

"We build these albums to anybody's flair.  We hit the veterans and we do a family front page," said Kelsch. 

Right now they're working on books for two young moms who died of cancer so their children -- one had three and the other an 18 month old -- will have a keepsake they can hold onto to help them always remember mom.

"They love it so much and they know they get to treasure these forever," said Green. 

Kelsch says she couldn't do this without her volunteers and all the people and businesses who donate to help fund the albums.  Her goal is to eventually take handy hands nationwide. She is currently looking for a space she can use to expand.

Families who want to have a scrapbook made for them, or anyone who wants to help out, can reach handy hands through their website at  www.handyhandsforhospice.org