Women from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated their wedding dresses to sew 180 burial gowns for families whose babies die at birth.
Every year, in the US, over 626,000 babies are born through stillbirth or miscarriage (1 out of 8 babies). Others are born living for just a brief time. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes referred to as Mormons) in Katy have teamed up with an organization called Angel Gowns by Diane to sew tiny burial outfits for babies born in these tragic circumstances. Women gathered wedding dresses and spent hundreds of hours cutting out the tiny clothing, and together made 140 new burial gowns and 40 tiny wraps for grieving Katy families.
For two of the women, the project was a very personal one. Daisy Paige and Abby Keesler had been recipients of beautiful burial gowns when they each lost their babies at birth. Daisy and Seth Paige lost their daughter, Isabel Rose, at 25 weeks. It was a great comfort to the couple to receive a beautiful, handmade burial gown for their little girl. Says Daisy, “After my baby passed away I wanted to do whatever I could to support other families going through this devastating experience. I donated my own wedding dress and a few extra ones from friends and family. Having the opportunity not just to donate dresses but to actually make something beautiful out of them was a privilege and a blessing. Something that helped my mama heart continue healing.”
Abby and Wesley Keesler lost their son, Oliver David at 33 weeks, in utero. A talented seamstress, Abby received seven bridal gowns from The Emmanuel Episcopal Church where Angel Gowns by Diane meets each month to help them meet the goal of producing 70 burial outfits. But this was not enough for what Abby had in mind. “This was a way to give back and serve in the same way that I had been served and share my talents in the process,” said Abby.
Abby gathered as many dresses as she could and prepared kits for a sewing day, inviting women from her Mormon congregation to join her. Although just cutting out the tiny patterns takes many hours, the initial goal was quickly met but the work did not stop. Still more dresses were donated and the work continued. One of the women involved in the project, Barbara Salt, spoke for many when she donated her mother’s wedding dress: “I have been holding on to my mother’s wedding dress for all these years, I couldn’t part with it until this opportunity came to donate it to this great cause. What joy fills my heart to see her dress bless a grieving family.”
Having lost two granddaughters, this is a subject close to the heart of Diane Dionne, founder of Angel Gowns by Diane. Watching her daughter suffer the unimaginable loss of two precious babies was devastating. Says Diane, “Very often these are the smallest of our babies, way too tiny for traditional baby clothing. As my daughter and I discovered through the horrible experience of trying to find something, there was nothing. We almost ended up using doll clothes. It was a devastating disappointment and the fact that it took hours to find in the midst of such grieving just seemed so wrong.
Diane has now made it her mission to help as many parents as possible during one of life’s most distressing times. Volunteers meet each month at The Emmanuel Episcopal Church to turn dresses used on the happiest of days into burial gowns to try and provide some comfort on the worst of days.
Angel Gowns by Diane is always in need of special occasion wear as donations for the angel baby gowns. The organization would love more volunteers and has many options for people to get involved, even for those who cannot sew. Go to angelgownsbydiane.org for more information.
There are around 3,000 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Katy area. Often noted for their yellow “Helping Hands” shirts around the community, Church members actively seek for ways to follow Jesus Christ by serving those around them.