Aubrey Whittington knows exactly what she wants to do with the donations that have been coming into the Leflore County Humane Society shelter in her late daughter’s memory.
The former longtime president of the Humane Society wants to create a garden and walking park at the shelter to not only memorialize her daughter, Lacey Whittington Nash, but also honor Nash’s only child, Bella.
“It will have trees and flowers and a walkway. It will be a beautiful place to be at peace with the animals and find joy,” Whittington said.
The addition to the shelter on Cypress Avenue, she said, would be a fitting tribute to Nash’s and Bella’s love of animals and the devotion they shared with Whittington in caring for dogs and cats that have been lost, abused or abandoned.
“They throughout my 50 years at the shelter have fostered hundreds, if not thousands, of animals at my home,” Whittington said.
Nash died Aug. 31 at her home near Chicago from an epileptic seizure. She was 43. She had dealt with epilepsy since the age of 15, including spending 10 days in an induced coma earlier this year, her mother said.
A couple of days before she died, Nash sent a text message to her mother, reassuring her that whatever happened, their faith would sustain them.
“Lacey was a devoutly religious person,” said Whittington, struggling to hold back tears. “I think she had tried to prepare me for her leaving. She wrote to me and told me not to be afraid, and I need to trust in Jesus.”
Her mother recalled, “It made me afraid just to hear her say that.”
Nash’s husband, Charlie, died a decade ago. Their daughter, Bella, is a freshman at Colorado College, an exclusive liberal arts school in Colorado Springs, to which she earned a four-year academic scholarship.
On Saturday, the family held a private service for Nash on her parents’ Leflore County farm. Her ashes were spread at several stations, marked by crystals and crosses, as well as into the Tallahatchie River, which borders the farm. A reproduction of a country church steeple, made out of wood and tin by one of Nash’s brothers, was placed near the riverbank.
Whittington said some ashes were preserved to spread later in a butterfly garden that will be created on the farm as another memorial to Nash.
The amount of donations to the shelter was not available Monday, but Whittington said she will contribute however much more is needed to bring the garden and walking park to fruition.
“I will continue donating my money and time to develop this park to be a place of beauty and calmness.”
She hopes that those who come to experience it will be comforted and better understand the person her daughter was.
“I am blessed to have had Lacey for 43 years. She was an angel,” Whittington said.
“I have no regrets except it just wasn’t long enough.”
Memorials may be sent to the Leflore County Humane Society Shelter, 1810 Cypress Ave., Greenwood, MS 38930.
- Contact Tim Kalich at 662-581-7243 or tkalich@gwcommonwealth-.com.
