When a child dies, there are no easy answers. There is grief, there is shock and there is a family suddenly facing a future they never imagined. For families in Logan County, there is also Logan County Angels.

The organization was created to help ease one of the practical burdens that comes with the unimaginable loss of a child: funeral expenses. Logan County Angels provides financial assistance for funerals to families who have lost a student between the ages of 4 and 18 who was enrolled in a Logan County school at the time of their passing.

The organization’s roots actually began with one young girl and a wish. Russ Hogue, founder of Logan County Angels, had a student named Kylie Eaton who was battling cancer. Kylie’s wish was to go to Disney World. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, her Make-A-Wish experience sent her to the beach instead.

Kylie still had her heart set on Disney and Hogue decided to do something about it. He organized a fundraiser and the community responded, raising approximately $14,000 so Kylie could take the trip she had dreamed about. She got her Disney World wish. But a later conversation with Kylie’s father planted another idea in Hogue’s mind. Her father expressed concern about the cost of a funeral.

For Hogue, the question was immediate: What happens when a family loses a child and, in addition to grieving, has to worry about how they will pay for the funeral? Hogue understood that kind of worry personally. He lost his own father when he was 13 and watched his mother navigate the grief and financial concerns that followed.

“How does a family grieve properly when they don’t even know how to pay for the funeral?” Hogue asked…. READ MORE….