Memorials
Angel of Hope Memorial Garden
Each year on December 6 at 7 p.m., a Candlelight Memorial Service is held at the Angel of Hope. All are welcome to attend in memory of your beloved child/children.
The Christmas Box Angel Statue or the Angel for Hope as it is sometimes referred to was introduced to the world in the book The Christmas Box, a worldwide bestseller and hit television movie by author Richard Paul Evans. In the book, a woman mourns the loss of a child at the base of an angel monument. Though the story is mostly fiction, the angel monument once existed but was lost in the 1984 Salt Lake City flood. A new bronze statue was commissioned by the author in response to reports that grieving parents were seeking out an angel as a place to grieve and heal. The first angel monument was dedicated in Salt Lake City, Utah, on December 6, 1994. Since this time, 100 other angel monuments have been dedicated across the country with more being built.
There are over 100 Angel of Hope gardens throughout the country. Washington is the third community in Missouri with an Angel of Hope Memorial Garden. Plans to erect an angel monument in Washington started in June 2012. A group of bereaved parents shared a vision of a quiet place where families could go to remember their children and heal. With this vision in mind, the group decided to create a memorial garden with the Angel of Hope as its centerpiece.
Washington’s angel statue is the only one of its kind located in Franklin County. The bronze angel, with its child face and outstretched wings of hope, measures 4’3” tall and has a wingspan of 5’2”. If you look closely, you can find the word “HOPE” written on the angel’s right wing.
The Angel of Hope Memorial Garden is located on a quiet hill in Bernie E. Hillermann Park. The garden is surrounded by tall shade trees and flowers. The four foot tall bronze statue of a little girl angel with arms reaching outward provide a quiet place in the park for reflection. Memorial bricks make up the ‘Path of Lost Dreams’ which help families and other visitors remember and pay tribute to those children, regardless of age, whose parents and families must go on without them. The Angel of Hope Memorial Garden serves an important need in the surrounding communities now and in the future.
For donation or memorial brick information, please call (636) 390-1080 or Contact Parks & Rec Dept.
Memorial Bench & Tree Program
The Memorial Program offers participants a unique way to honor a loved one by donating a bench or tree to beautify your community. Using the GIS maps a person can zoom in on the map and/or click and drag the map to find the location of their memorial bench or tree. By clicking a colored pinpoint on the ArcGIS map, you can find information about each memorial bench and/or tree including memorial location, wording and pictures (if available).
If you are interested in learning more about the program or purchasing a bench or tree, you can submit an application to the Parks Department. For questions, please call 636.390.1080 or Email Parks