WAUSAU, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – An area woman is looking to bring closure to families who have lost a child too soon.
Kathy Southworth knows the pain of losing a child, having lost a grandson herself.
While watching her daughter go through the grieving process, she noticed certain resources weren’t available. “We realized there wasn’t anything at all in Central Wisconsin for these people,” Southworth told WAOW-TV.
That’s why she’s working to raise money to build an “Angel of Hope Memorial Garden” in Wausau. There are nearly 150 of these gardens across the country, and Southworth hopes this one will be unique to the community. “It’ll have some raised flowerbeds and some landscaping and of course the floor will be bricks that people can donate,” she said.
The plan is to build the garden at Restlawn Memorial Park, and designs have already been drawn up. The only thing left is to raise the $60,000 needed to fund the project.
Southworth hopes to begin construction sometime in the spring or summer. Once it’s done, she hopes it can be a place of comfort for families. “A place to go to just find hope and remember their child, find comfort in just a peaceful setting,” she said.
The fundraiser is being hosted through the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin.
