Fairmont Community and Support Group for Widows

Our Mission for Widows

We serve to empower widows to lean into life, build resilience and make a positive difference in society.

Modern Widows Club is designed to create a safe and private environment for widows to lean into life together through the journey.

We are the club no one wants to be in because you only get in by virtue of experiencing a great loss. Yet what I hope you find once you’re here is that you’re surrounded by a community of really amazing women that you can lean on and learn from. We’re widows helping widows to live- to go upward and onward. Sometimes we cry and sometimes we laugh. We talk about how to tackle challenges without our partners’ help and cheer each other on. We often share food as we do this, because who doesn’t like to eat?

When a woman loses her loved one she tends to feel very alone. Regardless of her age or circumstances, she will benefit from other women in her life who understand the unique challenges she is now faced with. She needs women who will build her up and encourage her in this new life she walks. We are stronger together. No woman is an island. We need each other.

Meet Our Community Advocate

Tonya M.

My name is Tonya and I live in Fairmont, MN with my daughter, Brynlee. My husband, Ryan, died in a car accident on October 10, 2015. At the time, my daughter was 15 months old. I was introduced to Modern Widows Club a little over a year after becoming a widow, where I was lucky enough to meet the founder of Modern Widows Club, who happened to be in Minnesota at the time. When I became a widow, I wanted to find other widows that understood what I was going through and realized that there is not much out there, especially in southern Minnesota. For a few years, I have wanted to start something and finally decided the time was right to start a group where I can help women around this area as they go through their journey. I believe that everyone has a different story, and we can all be there to help each other and give encouragement, support and friendship to each other.

I am a co-owner/funeral director at a funeral home. I see many people who have lost loved ones and what a need there is to have something like this. Over the past few years, I started dating again; coincidentally, his name is Ryan also.

In my free time, I enjoy shopping, reading, jigsaw puzzles, being on the lake and most of all spending time with Brynlee and my family and friends.