BALDWINSVILLE — A group of young friends in Lysander has raised money to install a colorful bench at Palmer Elementary in memory of the Annal sisters, who died in a car accident in 2020.
While the greater Baldwinsville community mourned the deaths of 11-year-old Maryella and 9-year-old Elizabeth, the LaBarge family felt the loss very acutely. Abbey and Laura LaBarge were best friends with the Annal sisters, who had a similar age gap as the LaBarge girls. Abbey is now 13 and Laura is 11. Their older sister, Adele, 15, helped plan a memorial for Maryella and Elizabeth.
“Every day, things pop into their mind about missing them. Just the other day Abbey was upset because she wanted to go for a bike ride, and she said, ‘Maryella was my person to go for a bike ride with,’” Lynn LaBarge told the Messenger. “They’ll heal a little bit at a time, but it’s just something they’ll never forget.”
“I miss having someone to talk to and having someone to hang out with. I loved how she was always there for me and how she was just so easy to get along with,” Abbey said of Maryella. “Elizabeth was the most funny kid ever. She was always smiling,” she added.
In June 2021, the Annals’ neighbors decided to hold a bike parade to welcome summer and honor Maryella and Elizabeth. Kids decorated their bicycles with the girls’ favorite colors: purple for Maryella and teal for Elizabeth.
Abbey and two other close friends, Izzy Flood and Amelia Roux, wanted to raise money for a memorial bench for the Annal sisters, and the bike parade was the perfect opportunity for a bake sale. One of Maryella’s birthday parties featured a bake-off, so it was another way for Abbey to honor her best friend.
“They baked and baked and baked,” Lynn LaBarge said. “They worked their hearts out.”
The girls enlisted the help of neighbors to bake and package items as well.
“We made a lot of cookies and brownies. We made a lot of things that were teal and purple — Rice Krispies treats, cupcakes, Oreo bars,” Abbey recalled.
The total amount raised took Abbey, Izzy, Amelia and their families by surprise: $4,655.
“We were shocked because we didn’t even know if we were going to make $100,” Abbey said. “A lot of people were donating [as well], so that was nice.”
The bake sale raised more than the girls needed for the bench, so the leftover money will go to Annal’s Angels, the nonprofit Tom and Maureen Annal founded in memory of their daughters. The foundation is dedicated to fostering literacy and a love of reading, and the bake sale donations will go toward a project in the children’s area in the Baldwinsville Public Library.
As for the bench, Amelia, Izzy and Abbey chose a design with alternating teal and purple slats. It is engraved with the girls’ names and favorite animals: a koala for Elizabeth and a sloth for Maryella. The bench also bears a quote from “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio: “If you have a choice between being right and being kind, choose kind.”
“Maryella loved reading that book,” Abbey said.
Izzy, Amelia and Abbey assembled the bench themselves and will install it at Palmer on May 31.
While the girls are looking ahead to the Annal’s Angels Memorial 5K Run/Walk on Sept. 3, the summer will be bittersweet.
“Our family is moving away this summer,” Lynn LaBarge said. “My daughters are already saying, ‘We’re coming back [for the 5K] no matter what every year.’”
