Service of Gratitude

What is the service of gratitude?

Faculty, staff, and students of the University of Minnesota’s Academic Health Center host a service of gratitude to recognize and honor the individuals who have gifted their remains to the University for the advancement of medical science. The service will be held in May. Invitations are sent out to each primary contact person we have on record and generally delivered six weeks prior to the service. Donors are honored through music, poetry and dance pieces, selected and performed by the health science students. The service recognizes all donors who have made a gift of their remains and is not intended to honor one specific donor or be a vehicle for the return of the donor’s cremated remains. 

Who may attend the service of gratitude?

Anyone may attend the service of gratitude. For service information, please see the service information below or call 612-625-1111.

When is the next Anatomy Bequest Program Service of Gratitude?

The next Service of Gratitude will be held 2:00 pm Saturday, May 18, 2024 at Northrop.

Past services archives

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2022 Service of Gratitude

2021 Service of Gratitude

2020 Service of Gratitude

An Unwarranted Gift Poem by Brynna Goraczkowski

Gift

Invitation

Reflection by Zelda Blair

Video

 

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Artwork by Prasanna Vankina

As a former dancer/artist, the anatomy lab helped me appreciate how our bodies are so varied and yet so connected – allowing us all to create and share in many forms!

Prasanna Vankina
Medical Student, Class of 2024

2019 Service of Gratitude

The 2019 service was held Monday, November 11th at Northrop at the University of Minnesota.

Invitation

Program

Video

2018 Service of Gratitude

The 2018 service was held Monday, November 12th at Northrop at the University of Minnesota.

A Different Dissection Poem by Kristine Tester

Invitation

Program

Video

2017 Service of Gratitude

The 2017 service was held Wednesday, November 8th at Northrop at the University of Minnesota.

Invitation

Program

Reflection speech by Hayley Sharma

Spoken word tribute by Health Science Students

Video

2016 Service of Gratitude

The 2016 service was held on Wednesday, November 9th at Northrop at the University of Minnesota. The video is unavailable.

Invitation

Program

Donor Picture Tribute (Last name A-L)

Donor Picture Tribute (Last name M-Z)

The 2016 Service of Gratitude program recording is not available. We apologize for the inconvenience.

2015 Service of Gratitude

2014 Service of Gratitude

The 2014 service was held on Tuesday, November 11th at Northrop at the University of Minnesota.

Invitation

Program

Video

2013 Service of Gratitude

The 2013 service was held on Tuesday, November 19th at the Minneapolis Convention center.

Invitation

Program

Donor Picture Tribute (Last name A-K)

Donor Picture Tribute (Last name L-Z)

Video

2012 Service of Gratitude

The 2012 service was held on Monday, November 12th at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Invitation

Program

Donor Picture Tribute (Last name A-K)

Donor Picture Tribute (Last name L-Z)

Video