Funds for Willowfield Lavender Farm

Update (10/07/19): Kieran O'Connor peacefully passed away on September 30, 2019. He was in his home and surrounded by his family members. Click here  to read the full obituary. This GoFundMe campaign will close on Sunday, October 20, which would have been Kieran's 77th birthday. 


Willowfield Lavender Farm, owned and operated by my grandparents, Kieran and Elizabeth O'Connor, has been a beloved destination in Indiana for the past 19 years. The couple ventured out to do something different by bringing the beautiful Mediterranean plant to the Midwest, and they never could have imagined the joy their business would bring to them and to the community. But everything changed in October of 2018 when Kieran was diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Me and my grandparents at an intimate gathering, July 2019
Photo: Reagan Stovenour

At 76 years old, Kieran has always been the main groundskeeper of the farm, a modest yet charming property that includes their home, a gift shop, and several acres of lavender fields. Unfortunately, the decline of his physical condition has resulted in the gradual decline of the grounds and the business. The couple also had to cease hosting weddings, once a major source of income for the farm. Kieran needs privacy in the home due to his illness, and it is increasingly difficult for Elizabeth to coordinate events on her own. She has managed thus far to keep the shop open but continues to juggle the positions of businesswoman and caretaker, relying heavily on the help of friends and family.

Kieran's diagnosis has broken the hearts of many. He has lived a life of service, first as a firefighter on the Indianapolis Fire Department for 35 years, and then as a lavender farmer. Kieran has always been a kind, patient man, who genuinely welcomed anyone who came to his door with open arms, saying "So, tell me a story!" If he wasn’t working in the field, he was giving tours to gardening clubs or retirement groups, teaching them about lavender and inviting guests into their handcrafted home built of recycled materials. He would often sing The Irish Blessing to guests upon their departure, a tradition which started in his Irish Catholic home - a tradition rooted in peace and love.

Elizabeth watering lavender, Summer of 2002
Photo: Jill Short

Kieran and Elizabeth created the farm together to be a sanctuary, a safe place for people to come and rest – to get away for a while and experience first hand the beauty and calming benefits of lavender. (Click here if you’d like to see a few testimonials.) They believe deeply in the power of nature and have spent many years cultivating their land (once an old corn field) in an effort to create a unique, natural setting while cultivating an environment of beauty, peace and renewal to all who visit there. They enjoy conversing with visitors, learning about their lives, and sharing stories of their own. Their life's work and passions are inextricably linked to the lavender farm, and Elizabeth wants nothing more than to keep the farm and make it to their 20th season (and beyond), a goal the pair always had in mind.

Their home, built of recycled materials, July 2019
Photo: Reagan Stovenour

Shop front portrait, July 2019
Photo: Reagan Stovenour

Because so many have expressed a desire to help and the hope that Willowfield will continue on, I have created this GoFundMe page. There’s no doubt the farm has become a special place to the community as well as many visitors. It can continue to do so if its doors remain open and in the hands of its original owners. Any funds raised in this campaign will go directly to Elizabeth and Kieran in hopes that Elizabeth will be able to keep Willowfield operating for years to come.

Some specific costs are:
- Development of both existing fields and new lavender field planting (already underway)
- Farm employees (groundskeeper, event staff)
- Startup costs for third party lavender tea bottling (many have expressed an interest in this new product idea)
- Heating and cooling installation in the shop for the potential to remain open year-round
- New roof on the shop barn
- 20th Anniversary Community Celebration Event

New development underway in one of the fields, August 2019
Photo: Elizabeth O'Connor

We also understand that not everyone may be in a position to give financially. We’ve come up with an additional way to provide comfort in this time of need. I recently wrote a poem for my grandfather titled "A Day in the Recliner."

If everyone who loved you
Could switch with you for a day
And sit in the recliner
While you enjoyed our able bodies
We would do it wholeheartedly.

We would make a schedule
"I’ll switch with him on the day I take a train to NYC.
I think he’d like to be on the train."
"I’ll switch with him when I go fishing.
He loves to be on the water."
"I’ll switch with him when I run my errands,
so, he can have some normalcy."

There are enough people that love you
That would be willing to give you their days
That this could go on for years
So that we could give you a gift
Equal to the one you’ve given us.

The poem prompted Elizabeth to start a book of the same title, where those who are inspired can write about what day they would switch with Kieran. The sentiment has given the couple a great amount of comfort and joy. If you would like to contribute ‘a day to Kieran’, we encourage you to do so. Please send your "Day" to:

Willowfield Lavender Farm
6176 E Smokey View Road
Mooresville, IN 46158

Or feel free to send an email through this page.

Thank You from Kieran O'Connor 

*For more information/updates, please visit http://www.willowfieldlavender.com/ or check out their Facebook page.

Portrait of Kieran O'Connor
Photo: Nicole Boliaux