Kirsten and Jason Clawson were married in 2022 after both losing their spouses to cancer. They now have a new blended family filled with love and memories.
When the couple got married, Kirsten became the stepmom to Jason’s two boys, Boston, 17, and Cooper, 11. Their blended family grew a bit bigger with the arrival of Maisie, a daughter, in December of 2022.
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Both of Their Former Spouses Passed Away From Cancer
Back in 2019, Jason’s wife, Valerie, 38, passed away from colon cancer. In 2020, Kirsten’s husband Cody, 43, passed from acute myeloid. Both of their spouses had genes that made them resistant to chemotherapy. They fought their cancers for the same amount of time, and both ran out of treatment options after nine months.
Kirsten and Jason met in a Facebook group for young widows in their area. Then, they connected again through a dating app. “When I saw his profile I knew exactly who he was, so I felt very comfortable moving forward with communicating with him,” Kirsten told PEOPLE. “It was absolute magic the first time we spoke (and every day since).”
God was leading the two of them together. After their separate losses, they found one another and created a beautiful life. Their relationship has room for mourning their previous spouses, who were so special to each of them, and they also have the space for remembering special memories from the past.
They Recognize The Loss
“We recognize the loss. We don’t ignore it or pretend it didn’t happen. We don’t get jealous of each other’s grief or love for their late spouse,” Kirsten says of their marriage. “We ask each other what they need, especially around difficult anniversaries, and then we provide it.”
You can find photos of both Cody and Valerie around their home. They tell stories about them, visit the graves as a family, celebrate their birthdays, and remember the anniversaries of their deaths. Making for a healing home for Jason’s two boys.
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Jason is a therapist, and that has been helpful to Kirsten. He has given her great advice on processing her grief. However, that doesn’t mean that grief is easier for him. “Many people think that because Jason is a therapist, grief was easier for him, which is absolutely not the case. He struggled like anyone else,” she says.
In addition to losing their spouses, Kirsten and Jason Clawson have also gone through other types of loss. A year before Jason’s wife died, he lost a son to anencephaly. Seven months after Kirsten lost her husband, they lost his brother to the same cancer. Grief has been part of their lives, but they can grieve together.
The Family Keeps Up Important Traditions
The family keeps up important traditions that honor those they have lost. For Cody’s birthday, the family raises money to buy and donate shoes to students and families in need at various schools and shelters. Since Cody was a teacher and a soccer coach and he loved shoes, it was a fantastic way they could honor him.
After Valerie died, Cody and his boys started gifting “sunshine baskets,” which are packages “full of bright and fun yellow items to cheer people up.” Kirsten says. They give them to people in the community who have experienced loss or had lives impacted by cancer. This has spread beyond where they live to other parts of the country. What an amazing way to give back to the community!
The couple has started a social media account, “Light After Grief,” where they share tips, quotes, and a sprinkle of hope for those who need it. Kirsten also has a TikTok account, “Kirstenclawson,” where she shares updates about her family and the grief process. Her most popular video is one of Valerie’s mother with Maisie with the caption, “She may have lost her daughter, but she didn't lose our family, blood or not 🩷”
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Maisie is the Glue of the Family
This is why they call Maisie the glue of their family, as she “glued our two worlds together,” Kirsten says. Turning two in December, the toddler is quite the miracle of their story. When Kirsten was 30, she was told she was unlikely to ever conceive children on her own. But she did.
It can be easy to lose faith when tragedy hits, as it has in Kirsten and Jason Clawson’s lives. But they have turned their grief into helping others, sharing memories, and loving each other through it. Many prayers and blessings to this family
WATCH: Kirsten and Jason Clawson’s Amazing Story
@kirstenclawson Our story...with an unexpected twist. #godisgood #miracleshappen ♬ I Get to Love You – Acoustic – Mysha Didi
“But they that wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:31
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h/t: People
Featured Image Credit: TikTok/kirstenclawson