On Monday, the Rev. Robert Denton offered a piece of advice for handling the holiday season in the wake of a loved one’s death.
He said the angel, a symbol of Christmas, is a reminder not to be afraid. And though unearthing old ornaments may spark painful memories, look at them with commemoration, not grief.
“To open that box of ornaments is to make many, many trips across years and decades,” Denton said. “When we put them up, they are acts of will. They give us power over things that we otherwise would not have.”
The advice given by Denton, the former executive director of the Victim Assistance Program, rang especially true for the 150 people at the 22nd Angel Tree Ceremony on Monday night at the Akron-Summit County Main Library to mourn loved ones they lost to homicide.
Leanne Graham, the executive director of Victim Assistance Program, said more than 30 names of victims from Summit County are added each year. The Victim Assistance Program, which organizes the event, offers emotional, physical and financial aid to people victimized by a crime or trauma.
In past years, survivors were invited to the stage to say a word about their loved ones, and then hang an angel ornament with the victim’s name on one of the trees around the room on the first Monday in December. The trees then stay in the library the rest of the month.
However, when the list of names climbed to 1,000 this year, Graham decided to do something different. Instead of inviting people to the stage to talk, she invited dancers from McCardle’s Dance Studio in Cuyahoga Falls to perform in honor of former McCardle’s dance student and teacher Tara Clossman.
“It’s a very powerful message,” Graham said. “I know this piece is gonna reach every single person in this room.”
In August, Clossman’s ex-boyfriend Shane Varner shot and killed her and her boyfriend Michael Lovette. She was 25 years old.
Clossman, an Akron Public Schools teacher, danced at McCardle’s since she was 5. She was part of a team, which was set to compete this summer. When she died, the team members decided to scrap the routine and choreograph a new one to honor her instead.
“We didn’t want to try to take her out of it,” said 14-year-old Aly Giunto of Streetsboro. “It wouldn’t have been right without her.”
In the 20 years Clossman was there, several dancers and studio owner Colleen Contillo said she touched nearly every life she met.
“She was probably one of the most influential human beings I’ve ever met,” said 17-year-old Mya Contillo, Colleen’s daughter, of Cuyahoga Falls.
“I just want to be able to leave a mark on people the way she left a mark on me,” Giunto said. “I wanna be someone’s big sister like she was mine.”
Along with new faces still raw from tragedies were those who have been at every Angel Tree Ceremony to date.
Mike Pratt of Warren has been to all 22 ceremonies. His brother Roger “Butch” Pratt was kidnapped and murdered in 1988 at 22 years old.
“It’s just like if the clock stopped,” Pratt said of his brother’s murder.
Pratt said the holidays haven’t gotten easier, but in his years at Angel Tree, he’s met people he corresponds with every year.
“It’s nice to have something for the holidays,” Pratt said. “Whenever you feel lonely or loss of a loved one’s presence, this gives you some sort of connection.”
After a slideshow with the name and picture of each victim, loved ones hung their ornaments on one of those three trees. For those who didn’t have family members present, the Akron PeaceMakers, an organization that volunteers at the ceremony, hung the remaining ornaments.
By the end of the night, each tree was filled with white angels flashing gold smiles, reminding the family members who hung them not to be afraid.
Theresa Cottom can be reached at 330-996-3216 or tcottom@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @Theresa_Cottom .