Mom Surprised With Portrait Of Late Son

A mom could not hold back her tears when her family surprised her with a painting of her favorite photo with her late son. Susan Flynn, 58, from Massachusetts, immediately began to well up as she opened the box and saw that the face staring back at her from the canvas was that of Mark Van Gorder, who would have been 41 that day. Mark committed suicide in 2005, at the age of 24, and since then his family have worked with the Samaritans to raise money and awareness for charitable causes tied to suicide prevention. Their own project, Mark's HOPE – meaning, "Hold On, Pain Ends – allows others who might be in despair to reach out. The idea for the gift was thought up by Susan's five other children and their significant others. It was Susan's birthday in August, and when the portrait arrived, on August 21, the family gathered at her home in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. Susan was then presented with the gift – an emotional moment that daughter Molly Breen caught on camera.

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