Family seeks donations for child’s headstone
A Starkville family is seeking financial help to purchase a headstone for the grave of one of its children.
The family of 8-year-old Wyatt Rodgers, who died in a car accident on April 29 set up a Gofundme page Friday to raise money for a marker for his grave in Memorial Garden Park Cemetery on Oktoc Road. Wyatt’s 5-year-old younger brother, Max Rodgers and mother, Holly Rodgers both sustained serious injuries in the Highway 25 crash, with Max requiring extensive hospitalization.
However, both have since been released from the hospital, with Max starting kindergarten at Sudduth Elementary School this year.
“So after paying for all the aftermath of our accident, we are struggling to figure out how we’re gonna get a headstone for our sweet Wyatt’s gravesite,” read the description on the Gofundme page. “A lot of people have asked about helping us and we’ve said that if we find a need, we would let them know. This is our need.”
As of approximately 5 p.m. on Saturday, the Gofundme page had garnered $285 of a $1,800 goal. The page can be accessed at www.gofundme.com/f/yyah5f-wyatt039s-gravemarker, or by searching “Wyatt’s grave marker” on www. gofundme.com.
Wyatt’s father Jamie Rodgers said the family was running out of time to purchase a headstone for the grave, and that Memorial Garden Park required all headstones to come from the same manufacturer.
“We can only buy it from their people,” Rodgers said. “They maintain some kind of list for the whole place. We had some offers from some people who could get us markers pretty cheap, but it does me no good.”
Rodgers said he decided to reach out to the community after exhausting other options.
“It would be great to get some help with this before I run out of time,” Rodgers said.
He said he had not set up any other places to donate, but was on Venmo and Paypal.
Another Gofundme page set up in the immediate aftermath of the accident garnered more than $37,000, and several local musicians participated in virtual benefit shows for the family.