How We Began

The Sommer Group was founded by Heidi Sommer McAlister in the fall of 2003. The practice was originally dedicated to her own mother, who passed away in 2002.

In our practice, mothers, fathers, and their children are honored for the individuals that they are. Together we celebrate life stories, with all the pain and triumph that collectively make us human beings.

“I am not able to recall at what age this practice of mine began. I can only tell you what I felt… Alone, holding my breath, cold shivers, pulling material close to my face so my own breath would stay with me. I would just breathe a deep breath in my heart center (which is located in the middle of my chest). The sensation would begin tickling but laughable, almost like an excitement that gives energy, but not a reactive type, a strength within. This has been with me all of my life; every day, all of the time, its presence is with me. Often I have felt those who have been here before—thousands of years ago and yesterday—are with me, care for and guide me. Has this been a little baby girl’s wish? Has this been a grown woman’s way of coping with life’s disappointments and unpleasantries? I don’t know. I don’t care to offer excuses or reason. I have been praying all of my life. I pray to the sky, seeing many loved ones passed there. I pray in awe of the vastness of the sky; airplanes still leave me thinking, ‘How do they stay up there?’ I pray how wonderful, the birth of a human being. I pray. I cry with sheer joy of observing others who are happy. I cry when they are sad. I pray.”

— Kathleen ‘Kate’ Sommer
(February 15, 1944 – September 20, 2002)

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Kathleen ‘Kate’ Sommer was an unconditionally loving mother and an all-accepting person whose mystical spirit touched all who knew her. Kate’s positive and forward-moving energetic spirit continues to thrive in the hearts of her children, grandchildren, and countless others.