Ele’s Place archive summary
Original source: Ann Arbor Observer · August 1, 2014 · Ann Arbor
Richard Bailey walked his daughter Oceana to school and taught her about baseball. After he died, she wore his initials on a necklace and slept under a quilt made from his T-shirts. Those were among the details Oceana shared with Ann Arbor Observer writer Anita LeBlanc in 2014.
Oceana was in sixth grade when her dad died. She told LeBlanc how difficult it could be to explain what she was feeling to friends, even close ones. Her mother, Julia Huttar-Bailey, had learned about Ele’s Place before Richard died. The profile gave both mother and daughter space to describe what followed.
For a conversation about why children sometimes turn to peers who have experienced a death, read Kelly Koerner Talks With WKAR About Children’s Grief.