Suicide victims remembered at vigil in Upper Providence
UPPER PROVIDENCE » Leonard Gesualdo showed no warning signs, gave no cry for help, left no letter before he took his life on June 8, 2010.
His family could only search for answers.
Gesualdo’s wife, Michelle, and daughter, Noelle, of Upper Darby were among the speakers Sunday evening at the 16th annual candlelight vigil in Rose Tree Park. The regional event, sponsored by Survivors of Suicide, Inc. and M.E. Carpenter for Suicide Awareness, recognized World Suicide Prevention Day and marked the start of Suicide Prevention Week and its theme “Take a Minute, Save a Life.”
“Every day I wake up and think about my father,” said Noelle. “I wonder what he would think of the person I have grown to be – my career and the decisions I have made.”
The tenth leading cause of death in the United States, a person takes his or her own life nearly every 11.9 minutes. Approximately 1,104,825 people throughout the country attempt suicide each year and an estimated 5.1 million living Americans have tried to kill themselves.
Suicide in the nation has reached some of the highest levels in nearly 30 years, with increases in every age group except older adults. The biggest spike has been seen in adults ages 45-60 and is the second leading cause of death among 15 to 24-year-olds. The elderly comprise 14.5 percent of the population, but 16.6 percent of all suicides.
The more than 100 people gathered recalled mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and other family members who took their own lives. The once tightly-knit family of 34-year-old Radnor Police Officer John Miller has never been as close as it was following his death on Sept. 9, 2014, said his sister, Faith Pinkerton, of Norwood. The death of their kid brother, “who was always Johnny to me,” forced his siblings to search for answers to numerous questions.
“Even after three years, I get so emotional as the day approaches,” she added. “It is something that is with me all the time and each year it seems more final.”
Steve and Wendy Lingle’s children never had the chance to know their maternal grandmother, Dale, who took her own life seven weeks before their first son, Patrick, was born. The Marple couple strives to ensure she is part of their youngsters’ lives, however, by talking about her and participating in the annual American Foundation for Suicide Prevention walk, to be held Oct. 1 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
“It is a nice way to remember her,” said Wendy. “We try to talk about her with family and friends so our kids know about her.”
This year’s Mary Ellen Carpenter Lifetime Achievement Award, named for the organization’s late president, was presented to Caryn Hersh, the co-chair of this year’s walk. The honor is given to a survivor in the region who has made a significant contribution in the fields of suicide awareness, prevention and post-prevention.
Each person released a purple or turquoise balloon, the colors of suicide prevention, as a way to remember his or her friend or family member. The vigil ended with a candle lighting, name reading and bell ringing. The individual tapers, illuminated from a central candle on stage, reminded those in attendance of the bond they share and tie that allows them to turn to one another.
Organizer Linda Falasco, whose brother, Jeff, committed suicide 22 years ago, spoke of the solace she received from “My Son, My Son,” by Iris Bolton.
The words were difficult to say, but repeating “You will find a gift in this” sustained her then and now.
“I look to God and live my faith,” she said. “I speak Jeff’s name out loud and remember him as a person, not just how he died.”