Cindy and Alan Woods and Donna Palmer, all of High Ridge, will take part in the 10th annual Walking for Our Children event, remembering the children they have lost. The event, to be held Saturday, Sept. 11, is open to the public.
Attendees will be asked to gather at 9:30 a.m. in the lower parking lot at Northwest High School, 6005 Cedar Hill Road, in Cedar Hill. The walk starts at 10 a.m. and proceeds along Hwy. 30 and ends at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, 6300 Hwy. 30.
The Woods will walk in memory of the two children they lost – Alan Woods Jr., a 1991 Northwest High School graduate who died May 23, 2002, at age 28 following a car accident, and Mary Beth Woods, who was a cheerleader at Northwest High and died Dec. 8, 1995, at age 15, from cancer. “Mary Beth was very outgoing,” her father said.
Palmer also lost two children, Julie Ann Palmer, who died in 2002 at age 13 after getting an infection from back surgery, and Tracey Lee Palmer, a 2005 Northwest High graduate who died January 27, 2021, by suicide at age 34.
“Julie knew no strangers,” Donna said. “She had red curly hair. She smiled all the time, which was a blessing.”
All three parents have been part of a parent support group run by Chapel Hill Mortuary for more than 10 years and helped start the Walking for Our Children event.
“I’m so proud of it,” Palmer said. “I’m so proud of the people in our community acknowledging our children, even if it’s just for one day.”
Alan said he enjoys the walk every year. “When our children were still around, we did everything under the sun for them,” he said. “This is just another way of doing something for them, keeping them in our memory.”
Palmer said the support group has been helpful.
“(People) always look at parents who are grieving and think they must be weak or whatever, but they don’t understand we’re warriors,” she said. “It takes a village to raise a child; it also takes a village to raise parents after they lose a child.”
A group of “rat rods,” custom vehicles with old, rusty or beat-up bodies, will lead the walk for a second consecutive year. The event includes a balloon release.
Vicky James, chief operating officer for Chapel Hill Mortuary said no pre-registration is required to take part in the walk. For more information, go to stlfuneral.com.