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What to Do After Your Spouse Dies

A practical guide with 20 essential checklists and contact tools to help manage legal, financial, and household responsibilities while regaining emotional clarity and confidence.

Meet Jane. Retired Teacher, Author & Widow

THE NEXT CHAPTER OF YOUR REMARKABLE STORY STARTS HERE. FROM ASHES TO BEAUTY. FROM MOURNING TO JOY.

My name is Jane, and Grace After Loss was born out of love—deep, enduring love for my husband, Joe, and the faith we shared. Joe and I met in 1992 on the first day of school at Futures Academy in Buffalo, NY. I was a young speech-language pathologist, and he was a music teacher wearing a shirt that read, “They shall mount up with wings like eagles.” I knew instantly he was a believer, and I introduced myself that day. Years later, we crossed paths again during early morning prayer at a church on Buffalo’s East Side, and what began as friendship quickly turned into something much deeper. While serving on a mission trip to Mexico, we realized God had joined our hearts. We started dating in April, were engaged by July, and married in October of 1999. Our life together was full of faith, creativity, and purpose. Joe believed in me before I believed in myself—especially in my calling as a writer. He spoke life over every idea and always found a way to equip and encourage me.

Joe’s diagnosis of stage 4 pancreatic cancer came the afternoon of our 25th wedding anniversary. Even in the face of something so heavy, our home remained full of God’s peace. We clung to Him together, and I saw Joe’s faith remain unshaken. He comforted me, made me laugh, and even shared glimpses of heaven in his final days. He passed without pain, surrounded by deep peace. In the months that followed, I began listening to other women walk through loss, especially those who had also lost someone to pancreatic cancer. As I began my own healing, I remembered the words of Scripture: “…the God of all comfort… comforts us… so that we may be able to comfort those…” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4). I felt that call so clearly. Writing devotionals and gathering helpful tools wasn’t just something I did for others—it was part of how God was restoring me. Grace After Loss began to take shape from that place of restoration.

Grace After Loss is my offering of hope to other women navigating life after loss. I don’t believe sorrow has to steal your joy. I don’t believe death has the final word. But I do believe God still has purpose, beauty, and goodness ahead—even in the midst of grief. This space was created to walk alongside women who feel the ache of change and the weight of questions. Whether you’re overwhelmed by paperwork, struggling with your identity, or searching for God in the quiet, I pray this becomes a place of peace and truth for you. You are not forgotten. You are not too much. And you are not alone. There is still grace. There is still goodness. And there is still a way forward—hand in hand with the One who holds us through it all.