David cares deeply about providing empathetic presence and compassionate support to people who are experiencing loss and grief. He believes that mourning the loss of loved ones is a journey that no one should have to undergo alone. Over the years, David has provided bereavement support through a variety of grief support programs hosted by Hospice Niagara. He is passionate about lifelong learning and has completed the certificate program in Loss, Grief, and Bereavement Studies at the University of Western Ontario. He is currently enrolled in the Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology Program at Yorkville University. David feels honoured to be able to provide grief support to individuals and families at Essentials and to facilitate the “Bridge to Hope” bereavement program.

Elizabeth was born in St Catharines and has spent her entire life in the Niagara Region, residing in Niagara-on-the-Lake for the last 25 years.
Elizabeth’s bereavement journey began when her youngest sister passed away at the age of 30. While working through her own grief, she began facilitating Grief Recovery classes at a funeral home in St. Catharines. During this time Elizabeth realized her passion for helping people and pursued this as a special role spending 32 years serving people during their time of grief. A certified grief specialist, Elizabeth has participated in numerous talks and clinics on grief and loss. Elizabeth spent 28 of those years working at George Darte Funeral Home as a receptionist, office and administration manager. Elizabeth has volunteered with Hospice Niagara and with the reading program at St.Michael’s school in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

She has been married to her husband Gary for 49 years, with 2 married daughters, and a 12 year old granddaughter. In her spare time she loves to garden, craft with he granddaughter and travel with her husband and family.

Elizabeth is proud to assist families at Essentials by providing grief support and co-facilitating our upcoming bereavement program “Bridge to Hope”.