Community Corner

Friends Remember Katie Wyatt 1 Year After Her Death

Friends gathered at the Fenton Gazebo to honor teenager that died of cancer last June.

Katie Wyatt might be gone, but her friends will never let her be forgotten.

Many of Katie's friends, dressed in pink and blue (her favorite colors) Katie T-shirts, gathered at the Fenton Gazebo Thursday and visited her grave one year after the Fenton teenager

"I have memories and flashbacks of things I've done with Katie," said friend Julia Johnson, 15, who organized the event. "There are times when I asked her to watch out for me because I need her."

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The friends put up pink and blue streamers and wrote messages on balloons that were placed near her grave. They also made friendship bracelets for each other and left one for Katie.

Taylor James, 15, of Fenton, said it was the first time she has visited Katie's grave site since her funeral, but not the first time she has sensed her friend's presence.

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"I was sitting by the campfire with friends and we looked up to the sky and it was pink and blue for a minute and we looked back up and it was gone." she said.

A year ago Thursday, more than 100 people, most of them classmates, gathered at the Fenton Gazebo and to honor Katie.

"It does not feel like it's been a year," Julia said. "You have to live your life. Katie only had 14 years. Everyone should learn from it. Life is precious."

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