Sarah Hartrum-Decareaux

Not everyone finds comfort in the idea that their deceased loved ones are in heaven.

But for Waterloo native Sarah Hartrum-Decareaux, who now resides in Millstadt with her children Elise, Kate and Finn, it’s part of how she overcomes her grief — that, and a book she published in December called “From Here to Heaven.”

“I believe their story just began,” Hartrum-Decareaux said of her deceased husband and two sons. “My ultimate hope is that reunion one day in heaven.”

Hartrum-Decareaux will be at First Baptist Church of Waterloo’s Beacon at 718 N. Market Street on Monday, April 25, at 7 p.m., where she will share her story through testimony.

In addition to Monday’s event, she will do a book signing May 7 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Morrison-Talbott Library, 215 Park Street, Waterloo.

Sarah Hartrum-Decareaux’s late husband David Decareaux and sons Grant, left, and Dominic died tragically during a hiking trip in 2013. (submitted photo)

“What I hope to see is to get God’s message of (his) provision out to the community,” Hartrum-Decareaux said. “I hope the message would be that if we can trust him, that he can bring good out of messy places.”

She also wishes to highlight to the community her late husband and boys’ legacies; emphasize that her deceased loved ones’ stories have “just begun;” help people who are grieving understand how to use her story as a guide; and thank the community for their support.

The book details how she met her late husband, Dave Decareaux, their lives together, the family they created and how she coped with the loss of her husband and two of her children.

Hartrum-Decareaux experienced a sudden devastating loss in January 2013. On the same day, her husband and her sons, Dominic and Grant, died during a Reynolds County, Mo., hiking trip at Ozark Trail…>>>

Read this story in the April 20 issue of the Republic-Times. If you don’t already receive the paper, you can subscribe by calling 939-3814 or clicking here. Or you can pick up a copy at the R-T office at 205 W. Mill Street in Waterloo or at any of these other locations.