How one family chooses to honor their daughter’s memory — and supports other families in the process
Most parents adore talking about their children, and Claire Clark is no different. The mother of three loves to rave about her kids. But when someone asks about Alexandria, her firstborn, Claire is especially grateful for the opportunity to talk about her.
Alexandria was born on October 16th of 2019. Sadly, she lived just 28 days. Alexandria was absolutely beautiful, and immensely loved in her short life. It wasn’t more than a few hours after she was born that Claire and her husband, Nick, noticed some unusual movements Alexandria was making. The team at the hospital said Alexandria was having seizures, and determined she’d had stroke.
“It’s hard to tell her story without getting emotional…” Claire said.
But despite their tragedy, the Clarks are so grateful for the time they had with their beautiful baby girl. Dr. Nadia Tremonti referred the Clarks to Angela Hospice’s My Nest is Best Pediatric Program, which allowed Claire and Nick to take Alexandria home, where they spent the next three weeks loving and cuddling their baby.
“Our whole family was able to come and see her. And it was a really special time that we had with her,” Claire said. “Angela helped us have that really special, peaceful time.”
“We feel so blessed just that we were surrounded with a lot of support and a lot of love,” Claire continued.
The Clark family knows that the intensity of grief they experienced at Alexandria’s passing is a testament to the magnitude of their love for her.
“There’s so much love there. It’s made us better parents. It’s made us really grateful for what we have,” Claire reflected.
The Clark family at the 2025 Angela Hospice Walk of Remembrance: Nick, Elle, Oliver, and Claire. They walked under the team name “Angel Alexandria.”
To this day, pictures of Alexandria are all over the Clarks’ home, and Nick and Claire are intentional in talking about Alexandria with their 4-year-old, Oliver, and 2-year-old, Elle.
As a family, the Clarks created an endowment fund with The Children’s Foundation in Alexandria’s name, and they’ve supported fundraisers in Alexandria’s memory as well, including Angela Hospice’s Walk of Remembrance and Tree of Life.
“We just keep coming back to the love that we have for her and really wanting to honor her with our lives and our relationships,” Claire shared. “…Anything we can do where we get to talk about her or do something for others in her memory, it’s like I’m mothering her, or we’re parenting her in that way. And that feels good.”
These fundraisers, as well as markers like Alexandria’s birthday and Infant Loss Awareness Day, let the Clarks dedicate time to honor Alexandria and the huge impact she’s made in their lives. It’s also a way that they can encourage others to share in Alexandria’s memory too.
“It’s important and special whenever we can do something in her memory, because we always leave feeling that much closer to her,” Claire said. “The hardest part of losing someone, especially your child, is feeling that with each passing year, you are further and further from the time you had together.”
Claire said she’s lucky that she has friends and family she can talk to about Alexandria, but she knows sometimes people are afraid to bring her up, afraid of upsetting Claire by reminding her of the tragedy of Alexandria’s passing. Her story is one of deep emotion and profound loss.
“It’s often a situation where people simply feel like they don’t know what to say,” Claire said.
So when someone mentions Alexandria, or sends a text saying they were thinking of her, or remembers Alexandria’s birthday…to Claire that is a gift. Because the truth is, she’s thinking about Alexandria 24/7—when she’s happy, when she’s upset, when she’s at work or at home—Alexandria is always with her.
“There’s never a time when someone mentions her, talks about her, where I think, Gosh, I wish they wouldn’t have. Usually I think, How incredible that they remember her and have the courage to say something to me,” Claire said. “Maybe people are different, but for us at least, there’s never a time when someone brings her up that I’m not just thrilled to talk and brag about her.”
If there is someone whose memory you’d like to honor this holiday season, Angela Hospice’s Tree of Life is an opportunity to pay tribute to someone special, while supporting the compassionate work of Angela Hospice. Donations to Angela Hospice help fund special programs like the My Nest is Best Pediatric Program, which allowed the Clarks to spend treasured time making memories with Alexandria in their home together.
To make a gift in support of families like the Clarks, and pay tribute to someone you’re thinking of, visit the Tree of Life.
