Death is not an ending; it's a beginning. When our loved ones leave us, they go to a place that's better than this one.

Those messages can bring comfort and joy.

The death of her son, Jack Nicholson, has provided Donna Nicholson Stief with a platform, and those are just two of the meaningful messages that she delivers through it.

"Bad things happen to everyone, even people who live their lives as good as they can," said Stief. "God's Son died too, He was good and God knows about grief. God reminded me that He is the giver of life, on Earth and after life. Jack is alive right now. He's more alive than we are. He's good; he's OK. I wish it never would have happened. But because it did, it gives me incredible hope. I can't imagine not having that living hope that's grounded in truth."

In the wake of her son's passing eight years ago, Stief regularly speaks on the topic of grief - the meaning, the process, the hope - at banquets and other live engagements, at churches and on podcasts. She possesses the ability to tailor her messages about grief to suit each specific audience.

"I remember the day that Jack was killed," said Stief, a resident of Rothsville. "It was just a thought that flickered in my mind, 'This cannot go to waste. This has got to mean something in this world.' That felt tragic to me. At that time, I didn't know what it meant. But through my journey I learned it was to help people in their journeys. We were meant to help each other. I want to share with anyone who wants to listen."

That day, Oct. 26, 2018, was a school day at Warwick High School, a Friday, and it started out like any other day.

Classes had just been dismissed, and Jack, a junior, was in the back seat of a car driven by a friend. The car was the last in a long line of cars stopped at a traffic light outside of the high school building.

"The police were in pursuit of a reckless driver, and she drove into a school zone," said Stief. "Their car was hit with full impact at 80 miles an hour; it was a direct hit. The car Jack was in was just annihilated. Jack died on the operating table.

"I was at work when the high school principal called me," continued Stief. "She said I needed to get to LGH (Lancaster General Hospital); it was significant. I was fully expecting Jack to be in the E.R. (emergency room) and he was in the O.R. (operating room). I met my husband in the quiet room. I didn't find out that Jack had died until (the surgeon) came into the room. He said Jack didn't make it, but I still didn't think he died until later that night."

Jack was a freckled-faced kid who loved sports. After trying football, lacrosse and wrestling, he eventually gravitated toward boxing, where he became a Golden Gloves competitor.

"Jack could make a grown man belly laugh," said Stief. "He was very comical, and he was very animated. When he told a story he made you feel like you were there.

"He had the most random nicknames for me," added Stief. "He was hilarious, and I loved the nicknames."

There is nothing like the bond that exists between a mother and her son.

"I always want to be authentic," said Stief. "I did not lose Jack and become some super speaker. I learned these things over eight years. I wouldn't be able to speak on this in year one or year two. I don't have it all figured out. I'm trying to navigate this road the best I can with God at my side. God knows all things. Our days are numbered. But I know He's good. We trust things all the time that we don't understand."