Children’s Memorial Garden
"A parent's worst fear is losing a child, and should you lose a child, the biggest fear becomes that the child will be forgotten." Donna Morgan, 2007.
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Donna Morgan lost her only daughter Diana, when she was just 19 years old. At the time of her death Diana had been enrolled in Marist College in Poughkeepsie N.Y. She graduated from Hoosac Valley High School and had dreams which included fashion design. Donna made it her project when she retired from teaching to create this tranquil place in memory of her daughter and all of the angels that came before her and would come after her.
The garden would include The Christmas Box Angel Statue, which cost $14,000. The Christmas Box Angel statue was introduced to the world in the book The Christmas Box, a worldwide bestseller and hit television movie by author Richard Paul Evans. In the book, a woman mourns the loss of her child at the base of an angel monument. Though the story is mostly fiction, the angel monument once existed but is speculated to have been destroyed. The new angel statue was commissioned by Richard Paul Evans, in response to reports that grieving parents were seeking out the angel as a place to grieve and heal.
The monument was dedicated on December 6, 1994 -corresponding with the date of the child’s death in The Christmas Box.
Coincidentally, Dec.ember 6th is celebrated in many parts of the world as Children’s Day. There is also an annual candlelight vigil at Southview Cemetery held on this date.
Donna Morgan wanted the garden to be accessible to all families who wanted to memorialize their loved one, so she continues plans to raise extra funds for families who couldn’t afford a paver. Currently there are empty pavers available, and burial at Southview Cemetery isn’t required to purchase a paver.
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Angel of Hope Statue.
“The planned park would host an Angel of Hope statue and provide a quiet place for people to meditate, pray, grieve, or remember,” Donna Morgan. | Source: Photo by Erin Strek.
Angel of Hope Statue.
“On Sunday, people walked the three pathways leading to the bronze angel at the park's hub, searching for the word "hope" enfolded in its wing.” | Source: Photo by Erin Strek.
Beckie Williams.
"To me, if a 90-year-old mother loses a 70-year-old son, that is her child," Morgan said. "Age does not diminish a parent's pain at losing a child. And if a child is stillborn or lost to a miscarriage, that child is loved by the parents. This garden will be open to them." | Source: Photo by Erin Strek.
Diana Maria Morgan.
“Landscape artist Martha LaValley has agreed to donate her services for design of a city-based park and Charles H. McCann Technical High School administrators have pledged that students enrolled in specific curriculums, such as carpentry, will volunteer with the project as well,” Donna Morgan.
Jocelyn Elizabeth Leclair.
“Parents and siblings, friends and residents, gathered Sunday afternoon at Southview Cemetery to dedicate the acre plot, the culmination of the dream of Donna Morgan.” Morgan, who had lost her own daughter a dozen years ago, had spearheaded a campaign over the past two years that had brought groups, individuals and businesses together to create a place to remember their lost children.” | Source: Photo by Erin Strek.
Tree with Bench.
“The story and the statue were fictional but after people began traveling to Salt Lake City, Utah [the novel's site for the fictional statue] in search of the storybook angel, Evans arranged for an actual Angel of Hope to be created and developed a park around the statue.” | Source: Photo by Erin Strek.