NORWALK — Walking through a cemetery, each headstone tells a story, but it was a grave without a headstone that left a woman from Norwalk with a calling.
Baby Land at Woodlawn Cemetery is where angels come to rest, and it is also where Taylor Hall goes to visit her aunt, who died as a baby.
“My aunt's name is Bonnie. It was her birthday last month, so I came here to place a cross on her stone,” Hall said.
Many of the children who are buried in Baby Land have headstones decorated with pictures, kind words, flowers or gifts that are sometimes left by Hall.
“No baby deserves not to have something, and there’s babies here who passed away in the 1930’s. And they may not have any family who is still alive, so when I have available funds, I go to the dollar store and get them something small,” said Hall.
During her last visit to the cemetery in April, Hall was finishing up her visit with her aunt but felt compelled to stay a little longer.
“I believe my God told me to turn around that somebody needs you, and then I saw little Brian over there who didn’t have a stone,” said Hall.
Hall sat with Brian a few minutes before she decided she wanted to contact the baby’s family. She wanted to make sure a child she’s never met is not forgotten.
“I posted on the talk of Norwalk, and I reached asking if anyone knew whose baby this was? I told them I would really like to donate my time and buy him a stone, because no baby deserves to be without one,” said Hall.
It only took one day for her to get hold of Brian’s Mom, who was grateful to hear from her.
“She was speechless, and she told me she was in tears. I told her from one mom to another I know this is hard, but I want to help you grieve and help your son get a stone so he could have something beautiful on him,” said Hall.
Brian Neal was born Feb. 22, 2014, and passed away two-and-a-half months later. His mom said the death was accidental. And for 11 years, he’s had the same marker on his grave.
“It hurts a little bit because all you see is the marker from the funeral home when they were deceased. A lot of times we’ll bring them back up and clean them and make them look as good as possible for families,” said Woodlawn Cemetery Superintendent, Kevin Goodsight.
But with the blessing from Brian’s family, Hall purchased him a headstone that will eventually replace his marker.
"I originally chose a teddy bear, but I like the baby with the wings because he looks like he’s at peace, and I want her to know her baby is at peace,” said Hall.
Along with his name, the headstone says, “so small, so sweet and so soon.”
“I am really excited for them and hope I am here when they replace the marker with the headstone, it would be an honor to see his family’s reaction,” said Hall.
To Hall’s surprise, other families then reached out to her asking for help purchasing a headstone for their child.
“We've got so many people out there that don't have headstone and when it’s a child it never feels good, but it’s a really good feeling for us when we hear that someone is donating or helping families,” said Goodsight.
In Baby Land, there are a few graves without headstones, and Hall wants to change that. Earlier this month, she started a fundraiser called Brian’s Little Wings.
“I want to be their light because losing a loved one is already hard and the expense shouldn't be harder on you,” said Hall.
Hall has already received a few donations from the community and will be ordering a headstone for a second angel at Baby Land.
To donate to Hall’s fundraiser and help families buy a headstone, you can click here.
