NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A family was reunited with a small memorial on Thursday after it was blown away during last month's deadly tornadoes.
The tribute was placed on a tree in Lockeland Springs Park, a small park at 18th and Woodland Streets in East Nashville. The park was near the middle of the tornado's path. The storm toppled dozens of trees in the park.
"I went over to the exact place where he hung it on a tree and it was nowhere to be found," Greg Ryan. The memorial was for Ryan's niece, Delaney Farrell, who died from an overdose in 2017. The small ornament was hung in February when Farrell's mother, Bridget Farrell, was in town visiting Ryan.
"She was absolutely beautiful, she had a voice that matched, and she was just a kind person and unfortunately she got hooked up with these drugs," Bridget Farrell said.
Both Farrell and Ryan assumed the memorial was lost in the storm.
"I felt sad because of that, because it truly was a special place," Bridget Farrell said.
But last week, Bridget got a text message from a man who lives near the park. It read, in part, "I found this treasure the morning after buried among some fallen trees," with a picture of the memorial attached.
"My sister Facebook messaged me and said, 'You're never going to believe this,'" Ryan said.
"I had tears of joy in my eyes and I just could not believe that it survived and was completely in tact," Bridget Farrell said. "This proves to me that she is still with us in spirit."
They have plans to hang the memorial again.
