Greenhalgh family touched by an outpouring of support
 No comments posted.
By JEFFREY HAGE jeff.hage@lee.net
Friday, October 13, 2006 11:09 PM CDT
On a wintry October afternoon, a beautiful bronze angel watched over Amber Linhart and Amanda Greenhalgh as the women wiped tears from their eyes.
They were at Forest Hill Cemetery in Chippewa Falls, kneeling in front of the graveside of Doug, Therese and Morgan Greenhalgh, who were killed in a school bus crash one year ago this week.
It’s been a year of tears for Amber, Amanda and their sister Natel. The three have struggled to come to terms with the tragedy that took their parents and Amanda’s daughter, Morgan, home to be with God.
It is fitting that at the cemetery, an angel has watched over their parents and Morgan since their burial Oct. 20, 2005. In fact, Amber and Amanda will be the first to say that angels come in all shapes and sizes.
They might come in the form of a community member, a member of Morgan’s Cardinal Flight basketball team, a Honda Gold Wing motorcycle rider, or a simple tune emanating from the instruments of a high school band.
The sisters will also tell you that you never know where an angel might be.
They first noticed angels among the many cards that they were receiving by mail.
“They were ‘Angels of Hope,’ ” said Amanda, explaining the network of people who had lost loved ones sending crocheted and other handmade angels to people who have suffered traumatic losses.
The experience of losing both parents and a daughter has simply been overwhelming for Amanda. A year following the accident, she is reclusive and struggles to leave the familiar confines of her parents’ home.
Amber has recently returned to work and has begun seeing the light of a brighter tomorrow.
Both find it hard to put into words how the love and support of their community helped them live through the loss of their loved ones and the numbing days that followed the tragedy.
“I learned that everybody truly cared, whether they knew us individually or not,” Amanda said. “To see everyone gather together in so many, many ways was truly amazing.”
Through their loss, the women learned about the power of prayer and the roles that faith, family and friends play in their lives. They will carry those lessons with them always.
“I consider everyone in this community a friend, even though I don’t know a lot of them personally,” Amber said.
Amber and Amanda would have never expected so many people to step up and support them in the manner it did.
From neighbors lending shoulders to lean on, community members showering the family with hot, cooked meals, or Morgan’s middle school teacher packing up the girls’ locker for her mother, Chippewa Falls’ spirit has shined, the women said.
“Everyone offered all kinds of help,” said Amber.
She always had faith in the world. People of Chippewa Falls have reaffirmed that faith.
“They proved to me that there is still good in the world,” she said.
Amber says “world” because the support for the Greenhalgh family reached far beyond the city limits.
A lot of support came from band participants from across the country, members of drum and bugle corps, or from educators who had met Doug Greenhalgh. But what was surprising to both Amanda and Amber was the support that came from people of everyday walks of life.
“Looking back, I think people were overwhelmed by the news that we had lost three family members in a matter of minutes, and that created in them a need to do something,” Amber said.
Amber received many letters from fellow mothers who had lost their children.
There were lessons learned about Doug, a man who his daughters describe as larger than life.
“We learned that he had touched more lives than I ever imaged he could,” Amber said.
“And while he was a great teacher and touched the lives of many, he was an even greater father and grandfather,” Amanda said.
“We couldn’t have asked for better parents — or a better niece,” Amber said.
But the greatest lesson learned by Amber and Amanda may have been the meaning of community and the role that human spirit plays in people’s lives.
“That spirit is strong and never-ending,” Amber said.
The sisters know that they have a stronger bond with the area than they had ever imagined they could — even when it comes to the everyday little things.
The community poured out its spirit to Amber, Amanda, and Natal. In return they encourage people to continue to enjoy each other’s company and take more time with loved ones each day, before it’s too late.
“All we can ask is that people continue to carry on the spirit,” Amber said.
Reach Jeffrey Hage at jeff.hage@lee.net.
|
Archives