- April 24, 2024
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As 15 lighted Chinese lanterns floated high into the night sky Sunday evening, parents stood along State road A1A in front of the BeachHouse Beanery. They watched, keeping track of the one they sent up, many calling the lantern by the name of the child. The lantern send-off was the close of the National Children’s Memorial Day ceremony being hosted by Beanery owners Carol and Jeff Fisher and Parents in Mourning founder Donna Lunsford.
National Children’s Memorial Day is held the second Sunday in December for families to remember children who have died. All around the country, families light candles in memory of their child at 7 p.m. in their time zone.
For the Fishers, the timing of the event is poignant, falling the day before the two-year anniversary of the death of their daughter, Julie.
“The weird thing is, we first heard about this event Dec. 8 of 2012, which was a week before our daughter died,” Carol Fisher said. “Capt. Nick was playing for it, and I thought, ‘That’s so cool that they have this event for parents like that.’ Little did I know that a week later I would be a parent in mourning.”
Last year, the Fishers attended the event, held at the Flagler Beach Pier, and this year, Carol Fisher said they were honored to host the memorial.
“What a bereaved parent wants most is that our children are not forgotten and that’s how this event originated,” said Lunsford, whose son, Jonathan, was killed by a drunk driver in 2000. “What gets us through is that they are not forgotten. It’s music to our ears to hear their name.”
Angel of Hope
Lunsford said that for her, the key to coping with her loss is helping other bereaved parents. One way she has done this is by working to bring an Angel of Hope statue to Flagler County. The idea for the statue stems from the book “The Christmas Box,” by Richard Paul Evans, which tells the story of a mother who goes to the base of an angel and finds hope after the death of her daughter.
n July, Craig Flagler Palms Funeral Home, Memorial Gardens and Crematory agreed to donate land, giving Lunsford hope for the statue.
“No one ever gets over a child dying,” Allen Whetsell, general manager of Craig Flagler Palms told the Palm Cost Observer in July. “They’ve all had a tragedy, whether it be from illness or accident or however they’ve passed away. But this gives them the opportunity to gather and have hope for the future so their lives can continue.”
Lunsford said she initiated the movement for the statue because the key to getting through the death of a child is connecting with someone who has experienced the same kind of loss.
“It’s a different type of grief,” she said.
Lunsford has established a foundation to raise the $17,000 still needed to pay for the Angel of Hope statue. To donate, visit any BB&T bank and contribute to the Jonathan A. Merlino Memorial Foundation. Checks made out to the foundation can also be mailed to Donna Lunsford, P.O. Box 351574, Palm Coast, FL 32135.
In memory of Dalton Coxwell
To remember Dalton Coxwell on the one-year anniversary of his death, his family is holding a fundraiser for the Angel of Hope statue. The barbecue bonfire will be held 2:30-6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18, at Princess Place Preserve.
