Ep 19: He Lost His Job & His Wife. Singing for Hospice Families Helped Him Rebuild His Life
What happens when life knocks you down and you choose service instead of fear?
Host Daryn Kagan sits down with hospice singer Kevin Dunn, a man whose life changed forever after losing his job, hearing a calling to serve, and spending over 23 years singing for patients at a hospice in West Georgia. What started as a moment of uncertainty became a lifelong mission of compassion, faith, and human connection.
Kevin shares how volunteering in hospice taught him that end-of-life care is not just about dying, but about dignity, peace, healing, and presence. He opens up about singing acapella at patients’ bedsides, the emotional moments families experience during final goodbyes, and how music creates comfort when words fall short.
The conversation takes a deeply personal turn when Kevin reveals how his own wife Deborah eventually entered the same hospice where he volunteered for years. Through grief, love, legacy, and resilience, Kevin continued to serve even after her passing, honoring her memory through service and a scholarship program in her name.
This episode explores how service helps you get out of a life slump, how volunteering transforms mental health, and why helping others can restore hope, purpose, and joy. If you’re searching for inspiration, personal growth, spiritual encouragement, or meaningful stories about hospice care and human connection, this one will hit different.
In This Episode You Will Learn
✅ How volunteering can pull you out of emotional burnout and life slumps
✅ Why hospice care is about comfort, dignity, and connection, not just death
✅ How music heals patients and families during end-of-life care
✅ What it means to live a life of service and faith
✅ How grief can deepen purpose instead of ending it
✅ Why modeling compassion impacts future generations
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TimeStamps
- 00:00 He Lost His Job and His Wife. Singing for Hospice Families Helped Him Rebuild His Life
- 05:50 Losing a job and hearing a life-changing calling
- 07:36 The moment Kevin heard the word “hospice”
- 09:06 Starting hospice volunteer training and committing to service
- 10:51 Why Kevin shifted to pure acapella singing
- 13:52 Deborah’s cancer journey and the road to hospice care
- 16:15 Singing to Deborah and the power of hearing at end of life
- 17:28 Returning to hospice after grief and honoring Deborah’s legacy
- 19:57 A powerful bedside moment during “Amazing Grace”
- 31:18 Service as the secret to escaping a slump
Key Takeaways
💎 Service creates healing for both the giver and the receiver
💎 Hospice care focuses on peace, dignity, and comfort
💎 Music creates emotional connection when words cannot
💎 Grief can transform into legacy and purpose
💎 Helping others breaks the cycle of personal burnout
💎 Small acts of compassion ripple across generations
Guest Bio
Kevin Dunn is a hospice volunteer and singer who has dedicated more than two decades to bringing comfort, peace, and hope to patients and families through music. After losing his job, Kevin followed a calling to serve in hospice care, where he sings weekly at patients’ bedsides. His story blends faith, resilience, grief, love, and the transformational power of service.
Resources & Mentions
- Website: dunn4uministries.org
- Instagram: kevinr.dunn
- Facebook Music page: https://www.facebook.com/KevinRDunnMusic/
- Twitter: @dunnfouryou
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- Sign up for our newsletter: https://darynkagan.substack.com/
