ATHABASCA — Two families have been relieved of a heavy burden lifted off them, due to the kindness of strangers.
In April, family friend to both Lee Thunder and Kelsey Thunder’s families, started a fundraiser to purchase headstones for the cousins who were laid to rest side-by-side six years apart.
“It just felt wrong they didn’t have a headstone,” said Hillary Patterson.
Patterson approached the United Church in Athabasca to hold the funds thinking it would take months to raise the almost $4,000 quoted to get the markers, but word spread fast.
“It was amazing,” Patterson said. “Within hours all of the money was donated.”
Patterson then arranged for the families to work with the Athabasca Community Chapel to design the headstones with the help of Dale Kapitaniuk who found two matching discontinued stones to help save money.
“I remember Hillary texted me that time right away when that happened,” Kelsey’s mother Wendy Thunder said in a Dec. 9 interview. “I was like, whoa, whoa, really?”
When Kelsey died March 21, 2021, Wendy took on her three children on top of her own younger children so the financial burden of now affording a headstone was too much to think about.
“We were so worried, where am I gonna get that? How am I gonna save the money? How am I gonna do this?” Wendy said. “Because we were struggling after we got the kids and I have my own and I did a lot of praying. I thought, ‘Okay, God, where am I gonna go? What am I gonna do? But then Hillary said I thought about you guys, and I want to do this for you, for Lee and Kelsey.”
Wendy also thought it would be weeks or months before the funds were raised.
“She said, ‘I'll give you a call and see how much is raised, I'll keep in touch,’” Wendy recalled. “And then all of a sudden, an unexpected call. I was so speechless. I literally cried. I didn't know what to say.”
It was the same for Shirley Thunder, Lee’s mother.
“I'm so grateful that this was done, and I'm grateful to Hillary for starting it up,” she said in a Nov. 25 interview. “Because I wasn't able to do anything and it's still very hard for me to talk about it even though it's been seven years but I'll always be grateful to Athabasca and whoever donated.”
Lee died at just 13 years old after he was struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run accident as he was walking east on Highway 55 up the hill. A cousin was with him that night.
“It’s not easy. There’s some moments where you feel kind of used to it,” Shirley said. “But then you really, really think about it and it’s like oh, here we go again. I’m slowly rebuilding my life. I was a mess for several years but now I think we’re going to celebrate Christmas. This will be the first Christmas we’ve celebrated since before Lee passed.”
Both families are grateful for the generosity of strangers in lifting this burden from them.
“Once in a while we take her kids to go there and talk with their mom,” Wendy said. "I know they're pretty small still to understand but as they grow older, I want to make them understand.”
The headstones were briefly held up in Vancouver with other headstones due to logistical shipping problems but were placed at the Athabasca Cemetery this fall.
The remaining amount of $640 after the headstones were purchased has been donated to Wendy to help with raising Kelsey’s children.
