Time to Remember is the name of a monthly service in the East Cheshire Hospice chapel.
It is a tradition to invite family and friends of patients who passed away three months before.
Ann McLoughlin, from Macclesfield, attended almost a year ago, lighting a candle and honouring the memory of husband Kevin, who worked for insurance company Royal London.
Ann, who was accompanied by Kevin’s father Patrick, was surprised by the turn out.
She said: “What struck me the most was the number of names read out. There were 56 patients who had passed away during the same month as Kevin.
“That’s a lot of patients for the doctors and nurses to look after till the end.
“It was a beautiful service. The chapel was full of immediate family and friends, everyone coming together to remember lost loved ones.”
Monthly attendances average 30 and services are by invitation only.
Services are conducted by Hospice chaplain Marion Tugwood.
They offer guests a simple, reflective space to remember, alongside others on similar journeys with loss and grief.
A recording of the latest service is available on the Hospice website.
Meanwhile, Ann will also be dedicating a leaf to Kevin on a Memory Tree in the Hospice garden.
She admits one of her most difficult decisions is choosing the dedication to engrave on the leaf.
Ann said: “It’s hard to know what to put. I’m sure I’ll find something that’s appropriate to remember Kevin.”
* To dedicate a leaf visit www.eastcheshirehospice.org.uk/memory-tree