Preite Memorial Garden Remembers Benefis Senior Leader

On what would have been her 68th birthday, the Terry Preite Memorial Garden was officially christened at Benefis Peace Hospice.

Terry Preite was a senior leader at Benefis who combined great vision with a personal touch. The garden named in her honor features sculptures by local artist Mike Hollern, perennial flowers, and winding sidewalks.

Folks gathered to honor her memory and dedicate the garden on Monday morning.

Jerry Lehman, a Benefis Foundation board member and Hospice volunteer, said Terry oversaw two departments close to his heart – Peace Hospice and Benefis Foundation – with dedication, a servant’s heart, and what she called “sheer gut force creativity.”

When Terry was diagnosed with cancer in 2010, she expected her path would end at Hospice someday, and she took comfort in that. Nine years later, in December 2019, Terry spent her last days at Hospice.

Terry loved Hospice. “How could you not?” she said. Being here was, she said, “like being in God’s hands.”

"For volunteers, donors, and this outstanding Hospice team, we have the honor of being part of the sacred moments that happen through Hospice. This garden is a continuation of that spirit," Jerry said.

When she was a patient at Hospice, Terry said this is one of the things she learned in her life: “Your simple gesture, your kind word can mean everything. We impact each other’s lives all the time.”

"She saw the difference small gestures made, and she treasured memories of times staff went the extra mile for weddings in Hospice or birthday celebrations in the hospital," Jerry said. "The Hospice team and the volunteers listen to patients, figure out what they need, and meet that need. I hope we always rise to meet those needs, even if it takes 'gut force creativity.'"

Terry lived her life to the fullest, said Rayn Ginnaty, president of System Hospital Operations.

"She was a lady who brightened every room she walked into and touched so many lives," Rayn said. "Terry Preite’s motto was: 'If you do the right thing for the right reasons, you'll always get the right result.'”

Terry's brothers, Nick, Chuck, and Tim, also attended the event. They praised the Hospice care she received as a patient and the beauty of the remembrance.

Attendees also took in the new wind phone, which is awaiting a few finishing touches but is in place. It’s a project led by Hospice volunteer Cortney Leverentz in memory of her dad, Lyle. The phone gives people a space to go to say what they wish to tell those they’ve lost, their voices carried to the wind. Cushing Terrell and Guy Tabacco Construction brought the vision to life.

The first wind phone was installed in Japan, an out-of-commission phone booth that offered a grieving man the space to speak to those he missed. After the 2011 tsunami, many more visited the wind phone to say all they wanted to say to those swept away. Their voices were carried to the wind, but it helped their hearts heal.

Instead of an upcycled phone booth, Cortney envisioned a custom, enclosed gazebo with enough room for a wheelchair or walker and a support person so everyone can access the space. It’s meant to be durable to continue to bring comfort into the future.

“You go into the wind phone booth with your own grief and feeling alone, but then you’ll feel those who grieve, too, and made this project possible,” Cortney said. “It will be open to the community as a meditative and reflective place for those who need it.”

You're invited to walk the path in the Terry Priete Memorial Garden and speak into the wind phone on the southwest lawn behind Hospice.