Light Up a Life

Each holiday season, the Agrace Foundation invites our community to Light Up a Life with a gift made in memory of someone special. Your gift supports compassionate care for patients and families across Wisconsin—and adds a light to our seasonal memorial display at Agrace in Madison, representing the love and memories that continue to shine bright.  

When you donate to Agrace, you help bring comfort, dignity, and peace of mind to people facing serious illness, aging, or grief. 

Thanks to 2026 Agrace Community Luminaries Fred and Ann Rouse, your gift will be matched dollar for dollar through December 31, up to $100,000. 

“More than anything, he wanted to be there for the kids.”

—Josh, LeRoy’s son 

“Grandpa LeRoy” Anderson was the center of his family, even though he lived in Iowa. Several times a week, he drove to Marshall, Wisconsin, to visit his son Josh, daughter-in-law Emily, and his grandchildren, Max, Macy, Maverick and Maddyn. “When Grandpa showed up, everything was going to be taken care of,” Josh says. “He was always everybody’s stability and rock.” 

LeRoy and grandson Max

But in 2025, LeRoy’s cancer diagnosis left Josh and Emily suddenly facing a decision about how to care for the person who was so used to caring for everyone else. 

They wanted to move LeRoy, so he could receive hospice care in their home. “Deep down, I knew it was what our family needed,” Emily recalls, “but the unknowns of what my kids might experience made the decision far more difficult than I expected.” 

When Emily called Agrace, two things mattered most: keeping LeRoy’s pain managed and making sure her children had support. 

Agrace spiritual & grief counselor Carmela worked with the children right away, helping them prepare for the changes ahead. She suggested each child make a book of photos of themselves. “I would find LeRoy by himself looking at the photo books they made, and he loved going through them with the kids,” Emily remembers. 

Having hospice care at home normalizes dying
as a natural part of life

Keeping LeRoy comfortable 

LeRoy worried that medication might leave him too sedated, but he trusted his Agrace nurse, Melissa, when she explained how it would work. “The medication helped tremendously,” she says. “It made him comfortable and able to stay where he wanted to be—home with his son, daughter-in-law and grandkids.” 

Josh says, “Keeping his independence and dignity was so important to him. More than anything, he wanted to be there for the kids.”  

And he was. LeRoy attended Max’s baseball games. Macy and Maddyn painted his nails and Maverick put on a concert for him in his room. 

LeRoy attended Macy’s middle school graduation

Having LeRoy at home and involved in family life changed Emily and Josh’s perspective on hospice. “People are so afraid of hospice, and I really wish that stigma would go away,” Josh says. “It’s almost refreshing for the family and for the person to be able to have control. Agrace allowed him to die his way and be himself up until the very end.” 

Emily says the experience helped her children become “more compassionate, understanding and supportive of others because they experienced the reality of end-of-life care.”  

Who Lights Up Your Life? 

When you donate to Agrace, you can also honor someone special. Share their name with your gift, and we’ll include it in Agrace’s seasonal Light Up a Life display. 

Your gift helps Agrace provide hospice care that respects patients’ wishes and gives families guidance along the way. 

Thanks to Fred and Ann Rouse, your donation will be matched dollar for dollar through December 31, up to $100,000.