​Jennifer Matthews on How COVID Reshaped Family Mourning and Connection

The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped nearly every aspect of daily life, but perhaps none more
intimately than how we connect with each other, care for one another and mourn. At the center of
this transformation was Jennifer Matthews, a professor and grief counselor at Oakland
University, who witnessed firsthand how families were forced to confront loss without the
comfort of traditional mourning habits. As the world went into lockdown, the core aspects of
familial support—gatherings, funerals, hugs, and shared tears—were suddenly pulled apart.
Matthews recalls how the pandemic triggered an overwhelming demand for funeral services
while simultaneously stripping families of the communal spaces that allow for grief to be
expressed and shared. Yet among this chaos, she also observed something remarkable: a revival
of creativity, resilience and love within grieving communities. Families found new ways to say
goodbye, to remember and to connect. One of the most touching examples Matthews highlights
is the Belle Isle public memorial in Detroit, where nearly 900 billboard-sized photographs of
loved ones lost to COVID were displayed. Families could drive through, honk, wave or sit in
silence, honoring the lives taken too soon in a shared space that was both public and deeply
personal.

Matthews’ work and insights remind us that while COVID upended our expectations of what
grief should look like, it also revealed how adaptable and strong our human need for connection
truly is. In the wake of tragedy, families didn’t just survive, they found new ways to heal.

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