MILWAUKEE — Hazel Jones lost her baby halfway through pregnancy. She has since made it her mission to help others going through a similar experience.

What You Need To Know

  • Hazel Jones created Mattie’s Memory to make sure other families who lose babies get the help they need

  • In the 11 years since losing Mattie, Jones said she’s made more than 10,000 memory bags for others

  • Oct. 15 is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. To honor that day, and groups like Mattie’s Memory, Milwaukee’s Hoan Bridge will be illuminated in pink and blue

  • In the last 11 years, 25,000 burial gowns were donated to hospitals with labor and delivery rooms 

A tiny hospital identification bracelet and a blue newborn knit hat are all Jones has left of her son Mattie, who was stillborn at 21 weeks. It happened 11 years ago, but the grief is still very real.

“It’s not just moms and dads who experience that hurt, it’s the whole family,” said Jones. “It’s the close friends.”

One of the most challenging reminders for Jones is the fact that she had nothing to bury Mattie in except a hospital-issued blanket.

“It’s a part of us that carries with us because there is always someone missing,” said Jones. “There’s always that empty seat at the dining room table. There’s that child that we don’t see that goes to their first day of school and graduation. I will never get to see Matthew walk across the stage.”

Jones created Mattie’s Memory to make sure other families going through what she did, get something for the baby they lost. She makes memory bags to be given out in the hospital.

The bags often contain a journal, tissues, a stuffed animal and other meaningful mementos. Jones also includes a small blanket, infant hat and burial gown that she makes herself.

“We are there for everybody,” she said. “Anybody who comes to us and says, ‘I need some help.’”

The care packages also contain information on organizations that offer counseling, support and help with funerals and burials.

“There are so many things that I wish I would have known or wish that somebody had said to me,” said Jones.

In the 11 years since losing Mattie, Jones said she’s made more than 10,000 memory bags for others. Additionally, 25,000 burial gowns have been donated to hospitals with labor and delivery rooms. She relies on community donations of money and supplies to do this work.

She said she's thankful for the help to complete this labor of love.

“With everything that I went through, I know the support that’s needed,” said Jones. “And it makes me feel less alone knowing that I am helping families as well. It brings me a little bit of peace that Mattie’s death wasn’t for nothing.”

Oct. 15 is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. To honor that day, and groups like Mattie’s Memory, Milwaukee’s Hoan Bridge will be illuminated in pink and blue.

For more information or to donate to Mattie’s Memory, click here.

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