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Children's Room Offers Comfort at Bangor Funeral Home


Bangor - For families dealing with loss, one of the most difficult parts is explaining death to children.

"To see their parents grieving. It's important for them to be included in the family unit and that's a learning process for them as well," says Holly Smith-Ferneld, funeral director at Brookings-Smith Funeral Home on Center Street in Bangor.

The staff at the Brookings-Smith has been helping families with its children's room for twenty years.

"They're to go upstairs with their family where there's grieving you know sort of setting up there if you will and then come downstairs to this it's almost like they can be lost down here in this space," she says.

They're giving the room a new life with the addition of a mural. Artist Angela Landon drew inspiration from fabric that was already in the room.

"We did sketches, we didn't want to add too much to make it busy down here on the walls, just something comfortable for the kids to enjoy and make them feel a little bit better," she said.

Landon created a mural at the funeral home's reception center that brings a smile to the heartbroken. For this mural, she uses warm colors to provide comfort.

"It's not a kid's room, it's a children's room so I wanted it not to be bright and too playful comfortable for them."

But Landon's brushstrokes go deeper than the room's walls. The mural is a chance for her to give back.

"To be able to help them in a time where not necessarily they're suffering but they're seeing their family members suffer. If I can ease that in any way for kids that just makes me feel good."

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