When Naomi Anderson became a widow in 1996, there wasn’t much out there to help widows – let alone a young widow. She and her husband Dan were sitting on their deck and talking about the future now that their kids were out of high school. They were talking about their upcoming 25th wedding anniversary and wanting to plan something fun. At the time, their children were 18, 20 and 22. In the blink of an eye, Dan suffered a heart attack at the age of 47.

Naomi was introduced to Widow Might in June of 2013 by a board member. Within about nine months, several women she knew, that were about her age, lost their husbands. She remembers waking in the middle of the night talking with God and saying this is something I need to get involved with. Naomi and many of her widow friends say “this isn’t the club we want to be a part of but it’s where we are and it’s a journey that God is leading us through”.

Naomi’s family is now grown. Her oldest son Mathew and his wife Niccoli have two sons and live in Phoenix, Arizona. Her second son Timothy served in the US Army and is home in Minnesota. Her daughter Sarah is married and has two daughters and a bonus son. Naomi is amazed by how God is working in the lives of widows. She enjoys sitting with new widows over coffee, listening to their stories, and walking with them as they heal and grow.