- Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 July 2015 14:38
The late Grace May Vestrat loved to host parties and had a gift for making everyone feel welcomed and appreciated. Her family, to cope with their loss, recently held an event in her memory and raised $981.55 for Monongahela Valley Hospital’s Charles L. and Rose Sweeney Melenyzer Pavilion and Regional Cancer Center.
Dawn Wilson presents a check to Melissa Marion of Mon Valley Hospital |
In May, Dawn Wilson, who organized the “Not-So-Silent-Sabika-Auction and More” party at Mon Valley Country Club, said that her mom was a larger-than-life personality whose death “left an enormous hole in our lives and in her church.”
“We lost mom last October to lymphoma. It was found late and we lost her quickly,” Mrs. Wilson said. “After the holidays, I asked myself, ‘How do we go on from here?’” She said the party was the perfect tribute to her mom and they planned it near what would have been her birthday with help from her father, Reese Vestrat, sisters Kim Weygandt and Shelly Briggs, and brother and sister-in-law, Dave and Valerie Vestrat. They all live in Monongahela except for Mrs. Briggs, who lives in New Stanton.
“The people who attended were generous and supportive and happy to be there. It meant a lot to us,” Mrs. Wilson said. “We hope to host other events in her memory.”
Photo: - Dawn Wilson, of Monongahela, (left) and her family held a fundraiser in her mother’s memory and donated the proceeds to Monongahela Valley Hospital’s Charles L. and Rose Sweeney Melenyzer Pavilion and Regional Cancer Center. She presented the check recently to Melissa Marion, MVH’s Director of Fund Development