Provo singer to host event as tribute for deceased children

Provo singer to host event as tribute for deceased children

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PROVO — After seeing the pain her sister went through when she lost a child, a Provo singer has decided to promote healing by hosting a memorial event and creating a music video for parents who have lost children.

Sarah Bertola said she grew up in a musical family and her siblings would often write songs when they were growing up. She started writing some of her own music in high school and performed in a jazz band. After she graduated high school in 2013, she had to undergo surgery for a bone graft and was bedridden for six months during her recovery.

She decided to use the time to launch a Kickstarter campaign to help her raise money to create an album of original songs. Bertola said she aims to use her music to help inspire and uplift people.

"I was able to record an album with all the songs that I had written," Bertola said. "I'm really excited to take the singing and the writing talents that I have and kind of put them to a higher cause to be able to uplift people and help them feel like they have hope."

In February 2015, Bertola's sister, Natalie Mouritsen, gave birth to her first baby. However, the infant had a chromosomal defect and died a week later, Bertola said.

"Just watching my sister go through that and having my whole family kind of so shocked … it was just like, how do you even handle such a thing?" Bertola said. "As we were dealing with that, so many of our close family friends and family members came out and were like, 'Oh, my child was stillborn' or 'My child passed away from SIDS when they were just a few months old.' It turns out there is this whole community of people who have lost babies and I never had any idea."

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Bertola said she was inspired to use her musical talents to help ease her sister's suffering, and she wrote a song that she would sing to her niece in the week before she died. Now she plans to host a memorial event where parents who have lost children can gather and find support.

"They don't get remembered as often as I feel like they should," Bertola said. "I think it's just because it's so hard to talk about. I just kind of thought it would be nice to have an event where people could come and they can realize that there really is a whole community of people who are hurting. Their children's lives were not for nothing. People were affected by them and have been changed by them and they are going to be remembered."

The event will be held Friday, Oct. 9 at Bicentennial Park, 1140 S. 1600 East, in Provo. It will be start at 5 p.m. and will include a short program, music and a candle lighting. People are encouraged to bring a candle and a printed photo of their child, Bertola said. It is free and open to the public.

Bertola also plans to create a music video as a tribute to children who have died. Anyone who wants a photo and the name of their child included in the video can email Bertola at untilheavenmemorial@gmail.com.

Sarah Bertola with her niece Margot Mouritsen. Photo credit: Natalie Mouritsen
Sarah Bertola with her niece Margot Mouritsen. Photo credit: Natalie Mouritsen

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