Noah's Butterfly Project allows volunteers to reach out to those who have lost a child

LA GRANDE — Bonnie Shepherd no longer wants to stay on the sidelines on Mother’s Day.

The La Grande woman is instead stepping forward to ease the pain of others and bring people together.

She is doing so 21 years after losing her son, Noah, a few hours after his birth on Mother’s Day in 2003. The passing instilled unspeakable sadness within her, a feeling of pain that spiked each Mother’s Day.

“I would hide on Mother’s Day," she said.

Then, in 2019, Shepherd’s life changed. She read about a woman who had also lost a child and was placing plastic butterflies on children’s headstones in cemeteries to ease the pain of the children’s parents. The story inspired Shepherd to start Noah’s Butterfly Project in honor of her son.

Each May, prior to Mother’s Day weekend, Shepherd leads a group of volunteers to place plastic butterflies mounted on metal stands near the gravestones of children at local cemeteries.

“It is a way to show love for mothers who have lost children," she said.

Shepherd and a group of volunteers were at it again on the morning of Friday, May 10, distributing butterflies to the gravesites of children and young adults at Hillcrest and Grandview cemeteries in La Grande and Island City Cemetery.

The work of love at these cemeteries is part of a much larger picture for Noah’s Butterfly Project. Volunteers also placed plastic butterflies at cemeteries in Elgin, Wallowa, Union, Baker City, Milton-Freewater, Gresham and Boise, Idaho, prior to Mother’s Day.

The number of sites touched by Noah’s Butterfly Project is on the increase. The cemeteries in Wallowa and Milton-Freewater are new this year.

“We are growing," Shepherd said.

In most cases, butterflies are placed at graves found by volunteers on the lookout not only for dates of birth and passing but also symbols of children etched into headstones. Some of the butterflies are placed on headstones requested by families or friends.

Some of the headstones butterflies are requested for prove difficult to find, including the gravesite of a girl from China. The headstone for Kiku Kokubu, who was born Aug. 25, 1911, and died July 29, 1917, after some searching was finally found by Shepherd at Hillcrest Cemetery.

Shepherd said that the process of setting up plastic butterflies on the headstones of children provides her with a respite from the emotional pain she has felt since Noah’s passing.

“It left a hole in my heart," she said. “This shines a light through the darkness of that hole."

The volunteers who helped Shepherd on May 10 in La Grande included Nikki Carlson and Kaitlyn Falley, both of Union County.

“Doing this helps people heal," she said.

Carlson said that just indicating you understand what someone is going through can mean a lot.

“Sometimes all people need is to know that people understand," she said. "We feel their loss."

Carlson said she is impressed with the job Shepherd is doing to lead to Noah’s Butterfly Project.

“She has taken it and really run with it," she said.

Falley said she was happy to step forward and assist.

“I wanted to do something to honor them," she said, speaking of the children who had died and their parents.

Volunteers discovered a number of interesting things while checking headstones in search of those for children. Dan Keller said the process was illuminating. He said he enjoyed discovering what they said about the people who had died.

“I love reading those tributes," he said.

Some volunteers found intriguing items next to headstones. For example, one found two pennies and said someone told her they may be pennies from heaven.