TCF History
TCF History
The Compassionate Friends was founded in 1969 when a chaplain at the Warwickshire Hospital in England brought together two sets of grieving parents and realized that the support they gave each other was better than anything he, as a chaplain, could ever say or provide. Meeting around a kitchen table, the Lawleys and the Hendersons were joined by a bereaved mother and the chaplain, Simon Stephens, and the Society of the Compassionate Friends was born. The Compassionate Friends jumped across the ocean and was established in the United States and incorporated in 1978 in Illinois.
“With a group like this, you know people would be there over a long period of time.”
Marin Chapter
In 1979, two Marin families formed the TCF Marin Chapter because they felt there was a need for a support group for parents grieving a child to build connection and end isolation. Larry and Sally Norton lost their 12 year-old son, Jimmy, from smoke inhalation during a fire. John and Georgia Alioto, lost their 11 year-old daughter, Alana, in a horseback riding accident. They joined together to start the chapter to offer comfort and hope to other bereaved families.
“You have a lot of support in the beginning,” Norton says, “Yet my need for help continued longer than my willingness to ask for it. With a group like this, you know people would be there over a long period of time. You wouldn’t feel like you were bothering anyone with your pain.”
Through the dedication and hard work of its early members, TCF Marin has developed a presence in the area, helping hundreds of newly bereaved parents find their way through their loss.