Sykesville Angel of Hope Garden to Open in May

It's been years of hard work for Cindy Hughes to get to this point. All of the phone calls, fundraising events and construction coordination have paid off. She will now finally have a place to remember her son, Josh, who died in a car crash near Nov. 7, 2003. 

The Angel of Hope Statue and Memorial Garden, a project headed by Hughes and her J.O.S.H. Foundation, will open following a dedication ceremony on Saturday, May 19 at 2 p.m. 

"This has been a long-awaited day for us and we are very excited that this wonderful memorial garden, which will be a place of reflection and remembrance for all who have lost a child, will now be ready to share with the community," Hughes said. 

The garden, which is located across the parking lot from the , will feature tiles with the names of children who left earth too soon.

"You never think it’s going to happen to you," Hughes said. "It's the worst loss imaginable. There aren’t any words to describe it. It’s something you live with every day."

The idea behind the Angel of Hope comes from the popular book by Richard Paul Evans, which follows a woman mourning the loss of her child, titled The Christmas Box.

To date, there are more than 100 Angel of Hope statues honoring young children across the United States and Canada, according to the author’s website, with the original statue standing in a cemetery in Salt Lake City, UT. 

The garden in Sykesville is the first of its kind in Maryland. 

"After talking to people who organize Angel of Hope gardens in other states, I realized that it gives people who have lost loved ones some purpose and meaning for their life, keeping the memory of their children alive."

If you or someone you know is interested in purchasing a tile for the memorial garden, visit the foundation's website here or e-mail Cindy Hughes at ca_hughes@comcast.net.