Angel of Hope Memorial Constructed at Woodbine Cemetery Will Honor Powell Boys

But Jesus said,

Suffer little children,

and forbid them not,

to come unto me:

for such is the Kingdom of Heaven.

- Matthews 19:14

Be ye therefore

followers of God,

as dear children.

- Ephesians 5:1

These are the words that will honor the memory of Charlie and Braden Powell on a new Angel of Hope memorial, currently being constructed at Woodbine Cemetery.

The Puyallup City Council accepted a $45,000 donation at Tuesday’s meeting for the memorial, raised through donations to Tacoma Pierce-County Crime Stoppers after the tragic deaths of the Powell boys in February.

The memorial statue is inspired by the bestselling book and television movie The Christmas Box, written by Paul Evans. The story is about a woman who mourns the loss of her child and finds comfort in an angel statue at a cemetery. While the story is fiction, the angel memorial from the novel is thought to have existed but was destroyed.

Evans commissioned a new angel statue to be built in Michigan Memorial Park after he heard parents were seeking out the angel as a place to grieve and heal. The Puyallup statue will be similar to the Michigan one and others across the United States and will feature a granite base and solar lighting.

The Powell boys are buried at Woodbine; the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department bought surrounding plots to ensure their father, Josh, wasn’t buried beside them.

Crews broke ground on the memorial this week and will be completed in time for a special candlelight vigil, scheduled for Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. in the cemetery. Planners hope that the vigil will become an annual event, to honor all children who have died.