Community Comes Together After Moorestown Memorial Vandalized

MOORESTOWN, NJ — A memorial that was dedicated to a Moorestown resident who died last year at the age of nine due to a brain tumor was vandalized over the weekend, according to officials.

Two rose bushes that were planted at a memorial dedicated to Annalise Shultz at Strawbridge Lake Park were ripped up over the weekend in what Moorestown Police Chief Lee Lieber called a “despicable act.” Police are investigating the incident.

“It’s really disturbing that someone would do this to a memorial dedicated to a little girl who lost her life to cancer,” Mayor Nicole Gillespie said.

However, the community has rallied around the family, Gillespie said.

“So many residents have stepped up and offered to help fix it,” Gillespie said. “It’s heartbreaking, but I’m really impressed with the way the community has come together.”

“We ask residents to be respectful of township property, and we remind you that vandalism is a crime, which will result in legal repercussions for offenders. The Department of Parks and Recreation has been contacted by residents regarding donating and repairing the memorial site, and we have plans to restore the memorial’s greenery at some upcoming point,” the department said in a Facebook post.

It also shared some of the story behind the memorial.

In June 2019, the Schultz family learned Annalise had an inoperable brain tumor, according to the Parks and Recreation Department. Annalise loved pandas, and she loved going to school.

She didn’t want to miss out on her first day of fourth grade. However, by then she was too sick to attend school in-person, so the Upper Elementary School brought her in so she wouldn’t miss her first day.

“She passed in February 2020 at the age of nine,” the Parks and Recreation Department said in its Facebook post. “The family donated Annalise’s brain tissue to science, and the family continue to give back in Annalise’s honor.”

Her parents, Chad and Jen Schultz, came to the township and told them Annalise really loved Strawbridge Lake Park, Gillespie said. The installation of the memorial at the park took place in the spring. It includes statues of pandas in honor of her love of pandas.

The township dedicated the memorial in her honor at the township’s Mission Voice 5K in September. A picture of the memorial before it was vandalized can be found below.

Chad Schultz also launched the Amazing Annalise website, which celebrates and remembers her life. The site links to the Children’s Hospital Of Philadelphia’s Division of Neurosurgery and Pediatric Brain Tumor Research.

Additionally, the Schultzes have raised more than $15,000 through their participation in the CHOP Parkway Run.