When Jim met Genie she was so vibrant and lovely, he never would have guessed she was 13 years his senior.
In 1997, just three years after Angela Hospice’s Livonia Care Center opened its doors, Jim Jeziorowski met someone there who would change his life forever.
Having completed his internship as a hospice social worker, Jim was considering returning to the field. Georgine “Genie” Favazza was exploring the idea of volunteering as a clown to bring cheer to hospice patients. As it turned out, Genie decided not to volunteer, and Jim went on to work with troubled youth instead of hospice patients. But their meeting at Angela Hospice was fateful one – or maybe rather a faithful one.
Just two weeks prior, Genie had traveled to Rome to sing at the Vatican with the St. Mary’s Church choir. While she was in Rome, she threw some coins in the Trevi fountain and made a wish.
“She was hoping to meet somebody,” Jim explained. “And two weeks after she got home, she met me.”
Jim proposed to Genie on a beautiful October day as they made their way through Michigan on a road trip.
“The sun was out, sky was blue ─ just bright blue. And the trees were all sorts of colors, you know… reds, greens, yellows, auburn, rust colors. They were just so beautiful,” Jim recalled. “I wasn’t planning on asking her, but the time was right. Something was telling me, ‘Go ahead, go ahead!’”
To hear a radio show Jim hosted in honor of Genie, visit listen here.
Jim got down on one knee and pulled out a poem he had written and tucked in his pocket. He proposed and Genie of course said “yes!” When they got back into their car, “I Got You Babe” by Sonny and Cher started to play: a perfect soundtrack for the beginning of their life together.
Sadly, after 25 years of marriage, Genie was diagnosed with brain cancer, and Angela Hospice once again became part of their journey. About six months after her diagnosis, Genie passed away on December 5, 2025.
“The grief is…it’s the loneliness, I guess,” Jim said. “I feel lost. It’s like somebody plucking you up and taking you to somewhere you’ve never been before, and saying, ‘Well…good luck.’ That’s how I feel.”
Jim is taking a proactive approach to his grief, attending workshops, reading books on grief, and talking to others who understand.
One of the people who is helping him work through his grief is Angela Hospice Grief Counselor, Meg Halstead. Funded by generous donations, Angela Hospice provides up to 13 one-on-one counseling sessions for the bereaved families of those in our care.
“It’s been comforting,” Jim said of his grief counseling. “Meg offers good insights.”
Writing has been helping Jim, too, although Genie had been his muse. But when the mood strikes him, he’ll put on meditative music and let his fingers move across the keyboard.
“It relieves some of the anxiety,” he said.
In addition to the counseling services Angela Hospice offers to patient families, donor support enables a variety of grief workshops, support groups, and educational grief presentations, all available free of charge for anyone in the community who is grieving.
Every day, people throughout our community find themselves navigating unimaginable loss. They are parents, siblings, spouses, neighbors – all learning how to move forward while carrying heavy sorrow. For those in our community, compassionate support can make all the difference.
If you would like to be part of someone’s healing journey, to ensure no one has to grieve alone, please consider making a donation today. Your generosity allows us to continue the counseling, workshops, and outreach programs that bring comfort, understanding, and hope to those, like Jim, who need it most.
Please visit angelahospice.org/donate to offer your support.
Georgine
written by Jim Jeziorowski
Georgine is my beauty queen-the prettiest woman
That I have ever seen
Georgine, who will be 87 was sent to me from the sweetest part of heaven
To love and guide me to become the person I was meant to be
What can I say after all these years? She has been there for me and stood
By my side with me bursting with pride
She is my wife-the joy of my life reaching out to anyone in need
To comfort them-indeed
She has been on this earth for quite some time and feel like she is still
in her prime
She remains oh so young at heart still married to this old fart
Many years ago we had our start and will be married to the end
Georgine is my lover, wife, confidant and friend and will love
And be true to her to the very end
After being married once before-Genie walked right through the door
Wanting nothing more than to be with me for all to see
I, though, sometimes irritate her when I lower the AC and she goes-brrrr
Then we cuddle close and I hear her purr
