Memorial Sign Erected for Angie Michelle Kirk

Family and friends gathered at the Linebaugh Public Library in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on Friday, March 22, 2019, to honor and remember the life of Angie Michelle Kirk in a ceremony to commemorate the new State Memorial Sign to be erected in her memory.  On a table, sat pictures and momentos of the beautiful 21-year-old who was killed on May 28, 2017, when she was hit head-on by a drunk underage driver who was an undocumented illegal alien.

Angie’s mother, Vicki, began the ceremony by talking about the photos and what each represented before declaring that she wanted the event to be about Angie’s “dash.”  She explained that when someone dies, their life is represented by a birth date, a dash, and then a death date.  The dash is what happened in the middle, the life they lived.  Having said that, she asked for those gathered to share thoughts and memories from Angie’s life.  Several spoke-up to talk about fond memories that brought smiles and tears to those seated around the table.  There were memories of Angie as a Girl Scout, as a niece, and as a friend, but each had in common that the girl at the center of the memory brought joy to everyone she met and that she was deeply missed by all.

Pictured (l-r) Vicki Kirk, mother of Angie Kirk; Donna Garner, friend and mother of Scotty Garner; and Kara Lonsway, MADD Victims Services Specialist with miniature replica of Angie Michelle Kirk State Memorial Sign

Then, Kara Lonsway, MADD Victims Services Specialist, introduced Donna Garner at Vicki’s request.  Vicki and Donna had been friends for years and so had their children, Angie Kirk and Scotty Garner.  Sadly, Vicki and Donna are now bonded for life, by something even deeper than friendship…grief.  Just 10 days before Angie was killed, Scotty was also killed by an impaired driver.

Together, Vicki and Donna, pulled back the cover from the miniature version of Angie’s Memorial Sign.  The sign reads, “Impaired Driving Costs Innocent Lives In Memory of Angie Michelle Kirk.”  After some time to take it in and shed some tears, the group moved to the crash site on Highway 231 South near Armstrong Valley Road in Christiana to see the actual roadside sign in place.

Click here to see the full ceremony broadcast on Facebook Live.