St. George woman donates wind phone to help individuals 'talk' to loved ones lost

ST. GEORGE — When Shaelynn Del Toro's uncle died unexpectedly in August of 2025, she was left without what many who lose loved ones long for: The chance to say good-bye.

Almost exactly a year after his death — with permission from the city of St. George — Del Toro, 23, installed a wind phone as a tangible way for others like her to be able to have those conversations with loved ones lost.

"The idea of the wind phone is, when there's someone you want to talk to (who) is no longer here, it gives you a chance to be able to pick up the phone and dial whatever number that resembles that person," she said. "You can say whatever you want to, whether it's goodbye or recent events that you want to talk about. It's almost as if you were talking to them in person."

Wind phones originated in 2010, when Itaru Sasaki, a garden designer from Japan, learned that his cousin had terminal cancer with three months to live. After his cousin's death, Sasaki set up an old telephone booth in his garden to stay connected by "talking" to him on the phone.

The phone Del Toro set up is also in a phone-booth style, with a corded phone. It is located at the Tonaquint Nature Center, just down from Rainbow Bridge, which is dedicated to pets who have passed on.

Del Toro said that when she reached out to city officials, she received an overwhelmingly positive response.

"(The city) reached out almost immediately ... and said, 'First of all, I'm sorry for your loss. Second of all, I want to make this happen.'" Del Toro recalled. "I told him how special it was and how much it meant to me to be able to build it."

Ben Neumann, the city's assistant director of Parks and Community Services, helped make the wind phone happen. He said he wanted not only to make it happen, but also to find a spot where people could take time in a peaceful area to talk to their loved ones.

"When she first approached me, she wanted to do it in a park, and I didn't think that that was the right setting," he said. "So I thought about it, and she was like, 'Well, maybe by a cemetery.' But then we got looking and there was a bench that was already there (in the Nature Center), and it's kind of by the pet memorial bridge, which I thought was kind of cool.

"It's such a quiet like where you don't necessarily have to pick up the phone and talk to it; you can just sit there and talk and let your words go in the wind," he added.

The bench was installed on Aug. 15, which was one year after her uncle passed. Del Toro said that she has visited the phone many times, adding that she hopes that others will find peace there, too.

"It's just in honor of everyone who has passed, no matter what way or if you got to say goodbye or not," she said. "But for me, it definitely resembles not being able to say goodbye."

A family friend built the box that the phone sits in, and Del Toro hand-painted it. She said that while creating the wind phone, she had a few key details, including one very important message for those who may be struggling.

"The butterflies, to me, represent those who have passed and the rainbow, too," she said. "And then I wanted to include a QR code and 988 for anyone is having any thoughts of (suicide). I really needed that to be on there."

The wind phone was donated to the city, which will also maintain it.

"I hope many people come and use it," Del Toro said. "No matter what your beliefs are; no matter how your loved one has passed. ... Everyone is welcome. Everyone."