As the sun went down last Thursday night, around a hundred people gathered in Battle Grove Cemetery to remember Sadie Drew Gaunce and Clayton Arnold.
Sadie Drew, the sweet first grader whose passing touched so many here in Harrison County, was the daughter of Clint and Hillary Gaunce.
She was only seven when she lost a brief but tough battle against cancer last winter. The little girl’s illness moved the Cynthiana community to circle the wagons around her family, hosting fundraisers, donning gold-embossed t-shirts saying “I wear gold for Sadie,” and holding the family up any way they could.
The service also honored the memory of Clayton Arnold, a Harrison County youth whose long struggle with illness affected so many here. As with Sadie, Cynthiana circled round the Arnolds. It’s something we do very well and something we’ve had to do too many times in recent years.
Clayton, the 19-year-old son of Rick and Jackie Arnold passed away Sept. 4, 2021, which happens to be Sadie’s birthday.
Clayton’s and Sadie’s resting places are just yards apart.
On the one-year anniversary of her passing, friends circled round the Gaunces once more, ringing her grave and remembering.
Connersville Christian Church pastor Warren French spoke briefly, using as his text the familiar verses of Ecclesiastes 3: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die ....”
Speaking of Sadie, French said, “Really it is the anniversary of her new life” with her savior in Heaven.
Candles were passed around the circle and lit. The many children present gathered in the space between Sadie’s and Clayton’s graves and sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” providing a fitting end to a moving remembrance celebration for two lives cut far too short.
Both young people have foundations established in their names if you would like to donate:
The Sadie Strong Foundation, 4398 Oddville Sunrise Rd, Cynthiana KY 41031
The Clayton Arnold Foundation, 989 KY Highway 356, Cynthiana, KY 41031
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