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Take the guess work and uncertainty out of sending a sympathy expression by ordering online through our website. We will coordinate delivery with the florist and ensure that your expression arrives on time.

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Our Continuous Care Coordinator

Our support doesn't end when the service is over. We are here for the long-haul, because we know grief is, too.

What is Continuous Care?

The funeral services are over, but the rollercoaster of grief continues. We believe in Continuous Care, which is a free support service provided by the funeral home for the weeks and months to come.

Understanding grief

Grief is experienced in a multitude of ways. Everyone’s loss is unique, which means there are as many different ways of coping with grief. It is said that grief is like a maze—there are those that may be able to navigate it naturally, while others may feel confused, lost, or may need someone to help them find their way.  We can help you try to make sense of this confusing time. Our Continuous Care Coordinator does not take the place of a certified counselor—they are here to give practical help.

Discovering hope

Grief is as individual as people. There is no one way to overcome overwhelming grief, but through support and direction, there can be renewal. Grieving requires reflection, care of body and mind, and most importantly, ample time to heal.

Help is Available

Our Continuous Care program features a variety of options for those adjusting to life after a loss. We offer our services to support individuals and families through times of grief and adjustment in a variety of ways:

  • Meet with our Continuous Care Coordinator for support by phone or for a visit
  • Drop in on one of our Thursday support groups
  • Subscribe to the quarterly newsletter, The Care Courier
Visit Our Blog

Meet the Coordinator

VickiJolene Lindley, known throughout the Cedar Valley for many years as Pastor Vicki Reece, is dedicated to helping people heal their grief and end their suffering so they can live again. She was ordained in 1984 under her birth name, VickiJolene Lindley, which she now uses personally and professionally.
During the past five years, she has companioned many people along the path toward healing, helping them gradually transform suffering-grief into loving-grief they can carry forward in their hearts while creating a meaningful life.
Drawing upon her experience as an ordained United Methodist pastor and Certified Grief Educator, VickiJolene helps people understand their grief in healthy, compassionate, and grace-filled ways. Her training and continuing education include anticipatory grief, ambiguous grief, traumatic and complicated grief, the neuroscience and spirituality of grief, pastoral care, family systems, and conflict transformation. In her groups, people find a safe place to speak honestly, learn, remember, laugh, cry, and discover that they do not have to navigate grief alone.

VickiJolene earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Child Development from Northern Illinois University, with a minor in Family Life. She later graduated from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, with an emphasis in pastoral care. She began her ministry serving churches in Lansing and Wheaton, Illinois, with a special focus on youth and young adults.
She met her late husband, Wendel, while officiating at his brother’s wedding. After they married, they moved to Florida, where she worked in the Office of Communications for the Catholic Diocese of Orlando as a writer and producer for the television program Real to Real. She also served as a pastor in Sanford, Florida.
After returning to the Midwest in 2000, VickiJolene served churches in Cedar Falls, Eldora, and Jesup. Throughout more than forty years of ministry and pastoral care, she has accompanied individuals and families through births, family transitions, illness, caregiving, death, and grief. She retired from pastoral ministry in 2017 and became the Continuous Care Coordinator for Locke Funeral Services in 2021.

VickiJolene is a proud supporter of the University of Northern Iowa, where Wendel worked until his retirement in 2019 and both of their daughters graduated. Their daughters now live near the Cedar Valley. VickiJolene also served as an emcee for the Sturgis Falls Celebration in Overman Park for twenty years. She is a die-hard Caitlin Clark fan and is proud to say she caught a t-shirt shot from a cannon into the balcony at the Fever opener. She sings and serves on the Board of the Metropolitan Chorale.
In addition to coordinating Locke’s Thursday Grief Groups, VickiJolene writes the Locke Care Courier, with articles that complement the subjects explored in the groups. She extends her grief education and writing through VickiJolene.com, where she offers compassionate articles and curriculum to help people understand their grief, find hope, and live meaningfully again.