Mar 12, 2026
In this episode of Always Andy’s Mom, Marcy speaks with Jean and Shelly about the loss of their daughter, Chantal, and the grief journey that followed after losing a child to cancer.
Jean remembers the exact moment everything changed: 8:15, the time Chantal died. That moment became the dividing line between the life they once knew and the life that followed.
Together they share the long and difficult experience of Chantal’s cancer diagnosis, the exhausting treatments that followed, and the heartbreak of losing a child. They also talk about how grief continued to unfold in the years afterward and how healing slowly takes shape over time.
Jean reflects on something many parents feel deeply after the death of a child — the instinct to fix things and protect the people they love. His book, Dads Can’t Fix Everything, grew out of that realization and explores the helplessness many fathers feel when faced with a loss that cannot be repaired.
Music has always been an important part of Jean and Shelly’s lives together. After Chantal’s death, that part of their world felt quiet for a time, but eventually music began to return, offering another way to carry love and memory forward.
Shelly also shares a moment that surprised her. Around the five-year mark in her grief journey, she realized that life felt recognizable again. It wasn’t the life they once had, and grief was still present, but she began to feel like herself again.
In this conversation they
discuss:
• losing a child to cancer
• how grief evolves over time
• the different ways parents process loss
• music and writing as ways of expressing grief
• and the ways families continue honoring the child who died
Nearly two decades later, Chantal is still remembered in simple but meaningful ways. Each year friends and family gather on her birthday for pizza and Caesars — her favorite — raising a glass and remembering the girl who continues to shape their lives.
This episode is a powerful reflection on grief, love, and learning to live with what cannot be fixed.