Oral histories — A lasting legacy

What is the value of an ordinary life?

What lessons can be learned from those who don't blaze across the firmament but shine with a small and steady glow?

As a person approaches the end of his or her life, what words and stories should be left behind?

With question such as these in mind, Meg Brady began her "Folklore Genres: The Life Story" class at the University of Utah last fall.

Over the course of the class, the students would not only learn the techniques and methods of collecting oral histories, but each student would be paired up with a hospice patient from the CareSource Charitable Foundation, which offers Medicare-certified home health care and hospice services in the greater Salt Lake region. The student would record and compile that person's life story.

Brady has taught oral history classes before, but this was the first time they teamed up with hospice patients. It was a project that had much to recommend it, she says.

On the students' side, it bridged a generational gap that brought together 20-somethings with octogenarians. That itself is "a colossal learning experience. As students record the life stories of hospice patients, friendships develop that teach far more than any classroom experiences could: the richness and continuity of life and the importance of really listening to older generations who — surprisingly for many college students — have so much to offer through the wisdom of their years."

The project was also a gift to the hospice patients and their families, says Gina Coccimiglio, co-founder and Chief Clinical Officer at CareSource. "I've observed hospice patients over many years, and one thing remains constant: There is a joy that comes when someone shows genuine interest in them. Sharing details of their lives with a person outside their circle of loved ones is an important step as they face their own mortality."

Plus, she says, the biography will be a treasured remembrance for the family. "My own father died here. I'd give anything to have his words, his voice like this."

At the end of the semester, the students compiled the life stories onto CDs and made printed booklets for the families. Copies will be kept both at the CareSource and catalogued at the U.'s Marriott Library.

Just before Christmas, students met with some of their hospice patients, families and the CareSource staff to present the materials and talk about what they had learned.