- May 4, 2024
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The mother whose proposal to erect an angel statue as a children’s monument at Veterans Park in Flagler Beach was denied by the City Commission in May has found a new place for the angel.
In an email to the Palm Coast Observer, Donna Lunsford said she has worked out an agreement at Craig Flagler Palms Funeral Home, Memorial Gardens and Crematory.
Craig Flagler Palms “has graciously donated land and is paying for and donating the base that the Angel of Hope will be placed on,” Lunsford wrote. “The base will have children's names inscribed on it.”
“It’s part of our commitment to give back to the community,” said Allen Whetsell, general manager for Craig Flagler Palms. “I think it gives people a place to go as a community to begin the healing process when they’ve lost a child. It gives them a symbol of hope, which an angel is.”
Lunsford is pursuing the angel statue in memory of her son, Jonathan. The idea comes from the book, “The Christmas Box,” by Richard Paul Evans, which has inspired 125 angel statues around the world, including one in Newtown, Connecticut, to remember the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting of Dec. 14, 2012.
“This angel is a symbol of hope for the most devastating loss someone will ever experience,” Lunsford wrote. “It's the only way to get through it, to find hope and to connect with others that know the uniqueness of your pain.”
The City Commission was in agreement in May that the angel shouldn’t be used in a public park. Commissioner Jane Mealy said at the time: “Not everybody believes in angels. It promotes a religious symbol that marks a religion that not everyone believes in. Especially if it’s going to be a city project, I really have trouble with it.”
But Lunsford said she was never discouraged in her goal. In fact, she said she was contacted by other grieving mothers who read the story in the Observer.
Allen Whetsell, general manager of Craig Flagler Palms, said the funeral home grounds are an appropriate place for the statue.
“No one ever gets over a child dying,” he said, adding: “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 has established a foundation to raise $18,000 to pay for the Angel of Hope statue. To donate, visit any BB&T bank and contribute to the Jonathan A. Merlino Memorial Foundation. Any money raised in excess of $18,000 will be used to benefit bereaved parents. Checks made out to the foundation can also be mailed to Donna Lunsford, P.O. Box 351574, Palm Coast, FL 32135.
“I never give up when it comes to helping those who have lost a child find hope,” Lunsford wrote. “I do that in memory of my son, Jonathan."
