Lost & Found Grief Center Commemorates 25th Anniversary
SPRINGFIELD, MO — The year 2000 marked a significant change for society as people looked forward to the dawn of the new century and millennium. That year was also an important milestone for grieving families and individuals in southwest Missouri. In 2000, Lost & Found Grief Center became the first organization in southwest Missouri to provide no-cost, professional therapeutic grief support to children and their families.
In 2025, Lost & Found Grief Center commemorates 25 years of providing help, hope, and healing to bereaved children, families, and adults through therapeutic grief support groups.
“We started Lost & Found because there is such a tremendous need,” said Dr. Karen Scott, co-founder and former executive director. “Most families who experience a death do not have the funds to pay for counseling. Lost & Found was a way to provide a much-needed service at no cost to families.”
Founded by Scott, a former school counselor, and local attorney Shawn Askinosie, Lost & Found held its first group sessions in Askinosie’s Springfield law offices. The need for grief therapy grew, and by 2006, Lost & Found moved to the Conor House, named after Conor Foster, who died at the age of 4. In the Conor House, Lost & Found expanded its offerings to include adults, not just children and their families. In 2015, Lost & Found continued to grow when it moved to its current location at 1555 South Glenstone Avenue.
Lost & Found started with a group for children and a group for their parents. Those first two groups had fewer than 20 people in total. Over a quarter-century, the number of people Lost & Found served through groups, individual counseling, grief education, and other services is well over 25,000.
Lost & Found provides bereaved people the opportunity to grieve in a supportive, understanding, and non-judgmental environment and is guided by the following principles:
- Grief is a natural reaction to death for adults, as well as children.
- Within each individual is the natural capacity to heal oneself.
- The duration and intensity of grief are unique for each person.
- Caring and acceptance assist in the healing process.
“Lost & Found employs a forward-moving model of grief,” said Melanie Blair, Lost & Found assistant executive director. “Rather than viewing grief as something to ‘get over,’ we approach grief as a process, where the goal is to move forward and live a meaningful life.”
In addition to no-cost therapeutic grief support groups, Lost & Found also offers fee-based individual counseling.
Contact: Mark Miller, Lost & Found Grief Center, Executive Director, (417) 839-2886, mmiller@lostandfoundozarks.com
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About Lost & Found Grief Center: Founded in 2000, the Lost & Found Grief Center strives to improve lives in the community by providing help, hope, and healing through professional grief support services. The Lost & Found Grief Center works with those who are suffering to provide education and support as they face life without their deceased loved one.
"Lost & Found changed my life for the better"
“How I wish, how I wish you were here.” – Pink Floyd
That lyric from the iconic Pink Floyd song “Wish You Were Here” is appropriate when discussing the Neuberger family. Pink Floyd was Aaron Neuberger’s favorite band.
“Aaron’s love of Pink Floyd goes back to his dad and his grandpa,” said Olivia Neuberger, Aaron’s widow. “I remember the first time we sat down and watched a concert on TV. He was giddy like a little kid.”
Now, Olivia outfits her young daughters in Pink Floyd t-shirts and dresses to commemorate their dad, who died in October 2022 due to complications from Pancreatitis.
“I lost my best friend, my husband, my children’s dad,” Olivia said. “There is a huge hole in my heart and our house.”
While Aaron was in the intensive care unit, hospital officials informed Olivia about Lost & Found Grief Center, but she was initially resistant to seeking help.
“I thought I was too strong to need assistance,” Olivia said. “Little did I know that four weeks later, I would be sitting in my first group session while my girls attended the kids’ class.”
That first night of group at Lost & Found was terrifying for Olivia because she had to admit that Aaron was never coming back.
Olivia’s girls were both scared and sad on the first night at Lost & Found. Now, they would tell other kids about attending Lost & Found that despite their sadness, they will make new friends and have fun learning how to process their grief.
“Lost & Found taught me that it’s okay to grieve, to talk about how I’m feeling, and to grow,” Olivia said. “My life changed when Aaron died, but Lost & Found also changed my life for the better.”
When Olivia or his girls would get frustrated, Aaron would often reference another Pink Floyd song “Another Brick in the Wall.” Olivia recalls, “Aaron would say, ‘It’s just another brick in the wall. It’s just part of your path. Sometimes you have to go through the hard part to make a pretty path.’”
"I had hope that things would get better"
Nikki Moore describes her late husband, Jabe, as a chameleon. Jabe had several careers and pursued many hobbies. Most recently, he worked in energy management at Fort Leonard Wood, and in his free time, he played golf and pool.
Jabe was also a friendly guy who could turn an errand into a social event.
“He’d run to the store and be gone for an hour because he was talking to someone,” Nikki said. “Jabe would say, ‘God just sends me people, and they tell me things they wouldn’t normally tell someone else.’”
Jabe died in the summer of 2023 due to an enlarged heart. He was only 44. Jabe’s death left Nikki alone to parent their three daughters.
“He was my best friend,” Nikki said of her high school sweetheart. “I miss his input and having a partner to decide what is best for our girls.”
Some relatives told Nikki about Lost & Found Grief Center, and she attended the Caregivers Group while her daughters went to the Children, Middler, and Teen Groups.
“I was nervous that first night in group because I didn’t know what to expect,” Nikki said. “But seeing people who were farther along in their grief journeys gave me comfort because I had hope that things would get better.”
The Moores live in rural Webster County, and when group night rolls around twice a month for Nikki and her daughters, it would be easier for them to stay home rather than make the trek into Springfield. However, Nikki and her girls are committed to the process and regularly attend group sessions.
“I find so much strength at Lost & Found. You go to group and leave feeling lighter,” Nikki said. “Just to hear someone say they are struggling with the same things you are struggling with. Lost & Found helps keep you going.”
Nikki’s youngest daughter also found healing at Lost & Found, “You are in a safe environment and as time goes on it gets easier to talk about your person. I would tell anyone thinking about going to Lost & Found that the people at this place are super-duper nice, like, max level nice.”
Just as Jabe had a way of getting others to open up to him, Nikki and her daughters found a similar connection in their groups. Through Lost & Found, they discovered a place to share stories about their friendly husband and father. The man who could turn a simple errand into a heartfelt conversation. They keep Jabe’s memory alive through the bonds they are forming with their fellow participants.
"Lost & Found, it's like a family"
When Joe Struble died in August of 2023, he left behind his wife and two young sons. Losing a spouse after a prolonged illness is hard enough, but Joe’s wife, Orlymar, dealt with challenges most widows do not face. When Joe died, Orlymar found herself in a foreign country thousands of miles from her native Venezuela. The day after Joe died, Orlymar called Lost & Found Grief Center.
“It’s like a family,” Orlymar said. “Where I come from, we don’t have this type of help.”
Joe met Orlymar in 2008 while working at the oil refineries in Venezuela. Orlymar began dating the Billings native. They eventually married, moved to the Ozarks, and had two sons.
“Joe was a nice person. He was always willing to help people,” Orlymar said. “I loved that about him.”
An attentive father, Joe played basketball with his boys, took them four-wheeling, and loved being outside.
“We used to walk to McDonald’s with Dad and then walked to the park to play,” his older son recalled.
For a child who loses a parent, it is easy for them to feel like they are the only one without a mother or father, but through Lost & Found, they know they are not alone.
“Their classmates have dads, but my boys know that at Lost & Found, they have friends going through the same thing,” Orlymar said.
The Struble boys look forward to their group nights at Lost & Found. They made connections with other children and, through activities like mask-making, have learned to manage their emotions.
“I am really thankful for Lost & Found,” Orlymar said. “If it weren’t for Lost & Found, their daddy’s death would have been much harder on them. It has made a change in my boys.”