An Aroostook County family has turned the theft of a bronze moose from their loved one’s grave into an opportunity to give the gift of love to children stricken with cancer, through Denise’s Moose, a fundraiser to purchase stuffed moose for youth being treated at Barbara Bush’s Children’s Hospital in Portland.
On Sept. 7 the family of Denise (Grenier) Hill (of Chapman) reported the theft of a 30-pound bronze moose statue that was glued atop her headstone at the Fairmount Cemetery in Presque Isle.
“Family discovered someone had gone to the cemetery and stole a bronze moose statue that sat upon my mother’s gravestone. It had been there for 16 years. It wasn’t just a statue to us. It was one of the last gestures and signs of love that we as a family could show to my mom, as she loved moose,” noted daughter Kelly Langley, in a Facebook post following the incident.
Though the Presque Isle Police Department was notified and has been investigating, the moose has yet to be recovered. Rather than replace the statue, Langley said she and her family decided — since her mother died of cancer — to turn the loss into a tribute to her mother, through the donation of stuffed moose to children being treated for cancer at a southern Maine hospital.
“After talking to some family, we thought that this disgusting act of vandalism cannot define us, nor my mother. We have had so many people offer donations to purchase another bronze moose statue. But, as a family, we decided that is not the best solution. We just aren’t sure that a second statue would be safe. We will not allow another theft to occur,” said Langley, noting the family feels “putting another statue at her grave site would be setting us up for yet another heartbreak.”
That’s how the family decided to turn the loss around, by giving to others.
“We are looking to raise funds to purchase several hundred adorable stuffed moose to deliver to the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital (in Portland). If we can put a smile on one child’s face or even provide some level of comfort with a stuffed moose from Denise’s Moose, it would mean the world to us,” she said, in a post on the Denise’s Moose page on youcaring.com.
The family hopes, through Denise’s Moose, to comfort children one stuffed animal at a time.
“Denise was as beautiful as a person can be. Her strength with her battle with cancer was beyond belief. The willpower it took her to get through some pretty tough days and still be able to smile that pretty smile and even tease you will forever be something that I will always look up to,” said her sister, Diane Aniolowski.
Aniolowski recalled her sister’s great love of moose.
“Some of my best memories are of our camping trips chasing moose — never to catch them but just to get as close as we could to admire them. The moose clothing, cups, statues, stuffed animals, pins, even French meat pies with the crust shaped into a moose. Moose helped Denise feel better, took the harshness away, even if it was for a short time,” said Aniolowski.
“For us, the symbol of that moose was what she saw: strength, beauty — they were tough, tender, but most of all symbolized love,” she continued.
Aniolowski asked family and friends to do what they could to make this project a success.
“Please help us to raise what we can to make children smile — to help them forget their sickness for even a moment and wish Denise a happy 60th birthday. I know she’ll be smiling,” Aniolowski said.
Darlene Leach, another of Denise’s sisters, works at Ben’s Trading Post and helped arrange the purchase of the stuffed toys.
“We felt this was a fitting tribute to my sister — sharing her love of moose, while benefiting kids at the Barbara Bush Center in Portland. This is a small gesture but we hope it will bring big smiles to kids with cancer,” said Leach.
The goal of Denise’s Moose was to raise $2,600. Thanks to the generosity of donors, the total is now up to $3,250, with organizers hoping to raise even more, to make this Christmas a bit brighter for children being treated for cancer.
On Nov. 13, Langley had posted, “We are beyond grateful at the amount of donations we have received so far, $2,900. Three hundred moose have been ordered through Thomas Distributors to be delivered. Thank you so much to everyone who has donated and to those who have shared our page.”
Langley said they’re hoping to continue fund-raising efforts in order to get at least 500 moose.
“It’s the time of year in which we all need to reflect upon the things in life we are grateful for. I personally have so many reasons to be grateful. My children are both healthy and have never known what it is like to be ill or to suffer a diagnosis (of some illness). Sadly, the kids at Barbara Bush’s Children’s Hospital are not that lucky. Won’t you help us to comfort them at this time of year? Any donation is appreciated,” noted Langley, on the Denise’s Moose page on Facebook.
Anyone wishing to make a donation can do so by visit www.youcaring.com and look for the Denise’s Moose link.
