Pink hug for Petersen family; community reaches out to family of 3-year-old backed over by truck
IVINS – In the face of tragedy, an Ivins neighborhood is reaching out in love and support to a family who lost their 3-year-old daughter in an accident Wednesday.
Neighbors have inserted pink light bulbs and hung pink ribbons to show support for the Petersen family, Ivins, Utah, Oct. 16, 2014 | Photo courtesy of James Thayn, St. George News
“When one in the neighborhood hurts, we all hurt for them and want to be there for them,” Tonya Horlacher, a neighbor, said.
Wednesday morning, 3-year-old Natalie Petersen died after her father, not seeing her on her small tricycle, backed over her in a large truck. Responders were not able to revive the little girl at the scene.
In an outpouring of love and support for the Petersen family, neighbors and friends have decked out the neighborhood in pink, in memory of the little princess who was taken too soon and in a display of love and support for the family.
“Their house is covered in pink bows,” Horlacher said. “Our neighborhood is absolutely amazing. We are all so close and love each other so much. We are a neighborhood family.”
Families throughout the Petersens’ neighborhood have placed pink ribbons and lights on their homes and in their yards to show support and sympathy. Hurst Ace Hardware in St. George donated more than 600 pink light bulbs to the effort, neighbor Ryan Morford said. Thursday night, neighbors gathered at Morford’s home, where the pink bulbs were distributed. The neighbors then returned to their own homes to replace their exterior light bulbs with pink lights in support of the Petersen family.
Neighbors have inserted pink light bulbs and hung pink ribbons to show support for the Petersen family, Ivins, Utah, Oct. 17, 2014 | Photo courtesy of Tonya Horlacher, St. George News
“They need prayers and hugs,” Horlacher said, “so the pink bows and lights are our way of sending hugs to them.”
Others in the broader St. George community are also invited to hang pink ribbons and lights to show support and sympathy for the Petersen family, if they wish to.
“I know others wanted to help in some way and this might be a way for others to show love and respect for the family,” Morford said in an email to St. George News.
Funeral services for Natalie Petersen will take place this weekend.A donation account has been set up to help the family with funeral expenses, and anyone wishing to contribute may do so here. A $2,000 goal has been set to aid the family with burial costs.
Natalie Elizabeth Petersen
(November 11, 2011—October 15, 2014)
Natalie Elizabeth “Nada” Petersen at the tender age of 2, excited for her 3rd birthday on November 11, 2014, passed away in a bad accident on Wednesday, October 15, 2014. Natalie was a little performer and for her birthday she picked 11-11-11. She was born in St. George, Utah, to Chad and Jennifer Haleua Petersen.
Natalie lived in Ivins, but she would say we lived in her kingdom where she ruled with laughter and play. She loved her curly hair and the color purple. Everyone loved her kingdom. Her favorite places to wander were her home, her cabin in Idaho and her grandparents’ home in Hawaii. In her life she allowed three sisters and one brother to co-rule, and love abounded. Recently she was the co-star in her cousin’s wedding, a flower girl, who winked at her audience especially her “Grandpa Pete.” She touched so many lives and though the Heavens received an angel we are without a queen. Natalie we will miss your laughs, smiles, and your carefree attitude. Dance in Heaven say “Yah and clap.”
Natalie is survived by her parents, Chad and Jen Petersen of Ivins; her brothers and sisters, Emma, Taylor (Cabriotti), Chase, and Savanah; grandparents, Gary and Linda Petersen of Ivins, Utah, and Tali and Allison Haleua of Heber, Utah; great-grandparents; and many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.
She is preceded in death by her cousin, Jessica Petersen, and three great-grandparents.
Funeral Services
- Funeral services will be Saturday, Oct. 18, at 11 a.m. in the Ivins Stake Center, 260 East 1060 South, Ivins, Utah.
- There will be a viewing Saturday, Oct. 18 from 9-10:30 a.m., prior to services at the stake center.
- Interment will take place in the Tonaquint Cemetery, St. George, Utah.
Arrangements are made under the direction of Spilsbury Mortuary, telephone 435-673-2454. Friends and family are invited to sign Natalie’s guestbook at the Spilsbury Mortuary website.
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