Welcome to the National Widowers’ Organization. If you’ve found your way here, chances are that either you or someone close to you has experienced a profound loss. We exist to meet men at that difficult crossroads, offering connection, resources and support.
We are a national resource center — a virtual toolbox of information and support built specifically for grieving men. Our sole goal is to bring men together and arm them with as much information as possible to get through a debilitating time in their lives, no matter how long it takes. Trust us, you will get through this. You are not alone.
The National Widowers’ Organization is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit led by a committed Board of Directors—men and women who understand grief personally and professionally. Their shared passion drives our mission.
The organization was founded by Sam Feldman whose wife of 53 years, Gretchen, lost her year-long battle with cancer. Finding himself reluctant to share his innermost feelings of sadness in mixed gender bereavement groups, and discovering many other widowers feel the same, he started a men-only group on Martha’s Vineyard. When he further researched, he found that there is a paucity of men’s groups focusing on bereavement and, drawing on his many years as an entrepreneur, established the National Widowers’ Organization, with a strong board of directors and some start-up funding. Dr. George Cohn, a noted psychiatrist who served on the Board of Directors for America’s first Hospice in New Haven, Connecticut, joined the board and serves as a consultant mental health professional.
By 2011 it became clear a national effort focusing on the needs of widowers was critical to help men and was the basis for starting the National Widowers’ Organization.
Mission Statement
The National Widowers’ Organization educates the public about the unique needs of men who have lost a spouse, life partner, child, parent, or sibling. We promote the development of support groups to help men manage their grief and adjust to a new life and we advocate for research into men’s specific needs in coping with loss.
Our vision is to make appropriate support groups available nationwide to all grieving men seeking support.
Leadership and Staff
Sherry R. Schachter, President & Treasurer, Director
Adam Larson, Director
AJ Coleman, MBA, CAMS, CFE, Director
Charles E. Schwartz, MD, Director
Eric Washington, Director
Frederick H. Spero, Executive Director
Joseph W. Walko, Director
Kathleen R. Gilbert, Director
Ken Levy, Director
Leslie M. Bernstein, Director
Robert J. Mack, Director
Rita Lavery & Jerry Mohr, Lavery Design Associates, Ltd. Web/Marketing Team
Supporters
We are proud to collaborate with organizations that share our mission to support grieving men.
Their dedication strengthens our outreach and impact.
