A local war veteran, so moved by the tragic story of a Newhall girl struck by a car and killed as she skipped across the road, celebrating her 9th birthday, has offered his family crypts to the girl’s family.
Ted Kircher, 88, of Canyon Country, who served his country in the Korean War, phoned The Signal this week wanting to know how to get in touch with the family of Anakaren Galvan who died Oct. 24.
“My wife and I inherited the crypts but my wife and I decided to be cremated,” he said. “We will not be using them.
“If the family of this little girl chooses, I would be happy to transfer them to that family.”
The Signal contacted Anakaren’s aunt, Alex Tarin, and told her about Kircher’s offer.
“Yes, the family is so grateful,” Tarin told The Signal Friday. “They especially like the whole idea of being together.”
“For all this to happen is amazing,” Tarin said, noting her sister – Anakaren’s mother – remains “devastated” by her daughter’s death.
Anakaren was struck and killed by a car shortly after 7 p.m. Oct. 24 after she stepped into traffic near the intersection of Orchard Village and Wiley Canyon roads in Newhall, Sgt. Brian Hudson of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station said at the time of accident.
The crypts are expected to be reserved for the Galvan family at the Victor Valley Memorial Park in Victorville.
Chris, a spokeswoman for the memorial park, said the two crypts are designed to hold two caskets side-by-side.
“I talked to this man,” she said about Kircher. “What an amazing man. I was taken by him.”
Kircher expressed some concern about the paperwork required in transferring ownership of the crypts, however, Chris said she assured him the process would be simple.
Tarin said Anakaren’s mother is extremely grateful for this gesture and the continued outpouring of love and support she’s experienced these past two weeks.
“Everybody has been so supportive,” she said, noting the family doesn’t have a lot of money.
Friends who set up an online fundraising site to raise money for the cost of a funeral had collected $11,390 as of mid-afternoon Friday, above their goal of raising $10,000.
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