Like a plant in garden, Danida shared her beauty with those who admired her. She flowered not like a yellow rose with soft petals glistening in the sun, but rather with lessons in empathy, kindness, manners, inclusion, and humility. The longer she thrived, the more her family grew around her. While she remained rooted in her community she spread her seeds far and wide because she knew this was the greatest chance for prosperity. Although she is no longer able to sustain life and grow, she can perpetually rest knowing she provided what she knew was needed to ensure a lasting life for her family.

 

There is so much more that should be said, but in the end, what she did was make our world brighter. She tried to ensure that her lifelong battle with mental illness was not perceived as a dark cloud over her family, instead she continued to thank God everyday where she saw his glory and in that, taught us all to appreciate what gifts we are given.

We would like to honor Danida with a tree planted and memorial bench at Lincoln Memorial Gardens in Springfield, IL. Danida loved to share all of the wonders of the outdoors with us, we spent so much time at the gardens as children we felt like it was our own backyard.