Lisa and Her Angel Pals
For those unfamiliar with the "history" involved in all these
"Lisa" Links, I'll use this page to try and explain. This may take
awhile so be patient....
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lisa was a member of the Westmar High School Class of 2003. Westmar is a very small school in rural Western Maryland. There were 125+/- students in her senior class. In a strange twist of fate, four members of the class died within a twelve month period (very unusual for such a small class). This class endured more heartache and tragedy in a one year period than I have in my entire life. As much as I hurt for myself, my heart goes out to them as well.
January 19, 2000
Eddie Rogers, 15, died when a CSX train, loaded with tons of coal, raced out of control and derailed, crashing into his home. The rest of Eddie's family was upstairs sleeping and made it out okay. Eddie, however, was asleep on the couch downstairs, and didn't survive.
Lisa's Page In Memory Of Eddie
Eddie's Virtual Condolence Link
March 18, 2000
Another classmate, Jeff Wilson, 15, chose to end his life, stunning everyone in the school. Very sad.
Jeff's Virtual Condolence Link
September 20, 2000
The next death for this class was the death of my daughter Lisa, also 15. It was shortly before 7:00 pm when Lisa got home from soccer practice. Lisa brought her friend Jessica (Dub) home with her to eat lasagna and goof off for awhile. They decided to walk to a mutual friend, Lacey's, house for a minute. At about 7:20, as they were returning home, Lisa was struck by a truck that had veered off onto the shoulder of the road. Unfortunately her 130 lb body was no match for an F150 pickup truck. She died instantly.
Lisa's Homepage
Brittany's Page In Memory Of Lisa
Lisa's Virtual Condolence Page
January 17, 2001
In a very odd twist of fate (Lisa created a webpage in memory of Eddie and she died, then Brittany made a webpage in memory of Lisa and SHE died!) Brittany Paton, also 15, a fourth member of the Westmar Class of 2003, died in a car wreck on her way to school. This made the fourth death in the class in less than a year!
Stephanie's Page In Memory Of Brittany
Brittany's Virtual Condolence Page
January 17, 2003
Another odd twist of fate - Ashley Willis, once again 15, a student at Westmar High (but not the class of 2003), died as a result of a fourwheeler accident. She and Brittany share the SAME DEATH DATE. They both died January 17.
Ashley's Virtual Condolence Page
Virtual Condolences
So, what is Virtual Condolences and how does it fit into all this?
March 19,1999, a beautiful girl named Heather Kornegay died from a sudden asthma attack. Her parents, Brian and Nancy, were understandably heartbroken. Heather came to Brian in a dream and told him to make a website and call it Virtual Condolences. He made it in her memory and it continues to flourish as a site of comfort for many (Thanks Brian!) Brian is a career firefighter in Ukia, California. He initially intended the site as a condolence site for firefighters, etc who died in service to their community.
Heather's Homepage
Virtual Condolences
Here is where Western Maryland comes in the picture. Clear on the other side of the USA from California, in a tiny town in rural Maryland, a CSX train derailed, killing a young boy sleeping "safely" in his home. Eddie's tragedy made national headline news. Eddie's stepfather and sister were local firemen here in Bloomington. Brian read of the tragedy, and that Eddie was from a family of firefighters, so he made a link on his site and notified our local newspaper of it's existence.
I was helping Lisa make a webpage in memory of Eddie (it was great therapy for her, as they were very close friends...as a matter of fact they are buried side by side in Bloomington Cemetary) She contacted Brian via email and asked permission to put a link to Virtual Condolences on Eddie's page. He agreed and reciprocated by adding an "Eddie" link to his site.
When Lisa died, someone contacted Brian to let him know. He emailed me right away. He said he thought it was some kind of sick joke, but checked our local paper on the internet and found it was true. He and I have been conversing ever since and have become good friends. When Brittany died, he also became friends with Fred, Britt's dad.
Okay, now here's another strange fact: Brian and Nancy live in California and we live in Maryland, with a whole country between us, right? What are the odds that we would ever get to meet? Well, it turns out that Nancy's grandmother lives in Bayard WV (another hole-in-the-wall town like Bloomington) which is only about 30 minutes from us! Last summer (2003) Brian and Nancy came to Bayard to visit her grandmother, as she is getting "up there" in years. So they made a sidetrip and we got to meet. We took them around to all the different grave sites (Lisa, Eddie, Britt, Jeff, Ashley) and took them to meet Fred and Jean, Britt's parents. What a nice visit!
MORE PICS
Danny and I by Lisa's Headstone
Danny and Lois (Lisa's parents), Nancy and Brian (Heather's parents), Jean and Fred (Britt's parents)
My "Lisa" tattoo on my ankle (so now, unless I lose my leg, Lisa will be with me forever)
The angel in the middle of Lisa's flower garden.
Danny and I built it at the spot where Lisa died, right below our house.
Lisa and Eddie's First Christmas (they are buried side by side). G&S Coal,
who own the building right beside the cemetary, graciously allows us to hook
into their electricity each Christmas.
Lisa's First Birthday in Heaven
Back to "Lisa" Links
Back to MAIN PAGE