Parsell Funeral Home in Lewes has placed 26 angels on its front lawn as a memorial to the victims at Sandy Hook Elementary. (Photo: WBOC)LEWES, Del.- One funeral home in eastern Sussex County is paying tribute to the victims lost in Newtown, Conn., while also doing its part to help the grieving families through the difficult time. Parsell Funeral Home in Lewes has placed 26 angels on its front lawn as a memorial to the victims who were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
"Holiday season is always a difficult time. It's going to be their first holiday season to go through. We wanted to create a tribute that everybody could see that would raise awareness to keeps those families in their thoughts and their prayers," said Andrew Parsell of the Parsell Funeral Home.
And the memorial also has special meaning to the staff in Lewes. One employee, Debra Queitsch, knew one of the children that died in the shooting, 7-year-old Josephine Gay. Queitsch said she had met the girl a few times because she is neighbors with Gay's grandmother. With the tragedy hitting so close to home, Queitsch felt the angels were a fitting tribute.
"There are a lot of people in our community who have wanted to do something for Kathy and for Joey, and her sisters and her mother, Michelle and her father, Bob," Queitsch said. "This is something that people, in our community especially, can come to and pay their tributes and feel like they are doing something from their heart."
Along with the angel display, the Parsell Funeral Home also made a donation to the Connecticut Funeral Director's Association. That organization will help pay for the funeral costs and grief counseling for the families.
"We wanted to make sure that they didn't have to worry about those type of issues and could just worry about being with their families, grieving, and making their first step forward through this holiday season," Parsell said.
The funeral home plans to leave the display of angels up until New Years Day.
