I am an avid genealogist. The past is very important to me. I spend a lot of time in cemeteries photographing tombstones to upload on the website FindAGrave.
I enjoy recognizing long dead people by putting memorials to them online. However, every once and a while something grabs me about a specific grave. It could be the name, or the dates or a ceramic photo. In those cases, I feel compelled to dig a little deeper. That's what this series of blogs is about: The tales behind those graves. Some of my subjects will be heroes. Some will be villains. Some will be victims. And some will linger in between, like most of us. However, don't be surprised if the tales are inherently tragic. These are grave tales. They all end in death.
If you go to the grave of Sunshine Marie Royston Hillegas* in Holly Hills Memorial Gardens, you will find it decorated with loving mementoes. I expect it will remain so for years to come because, according to all reports, the young lady lived up to her first name. I must confess I did not come across Sunshine's grave by chance. My friend Brenda Snier Cook, Sunshine's grandaunt, told me about the young woman's tragic fate. She thought she would be a worthy grave tale. After I researched Sunshine, I couldn't agree more. Here is her story.
The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 14 September 2008, Sunday:
BRIDE-TO-BE DIES WHEN TRACTOR-TRAILER HITS LIMOUSINE
By James Drew | james.drew@baltsun.com
Sunshine Royston chose Sept 20, the day of her late father's birthday, as the day of her wedding.
She was a year old when Chet Royston died in a motorcycle accident in Baltimore. Now the relatives who had helped arrange her wedding are preparing for her funeral.
Royston and six of her friends had arranged to use a stretch limousine for her bachelorette party, which included time at the Power Plant in the Inner Harbor, said her maternal grandfather, Fred Thiess.
About 4:30 a.m. yesterday, a tractor-trailer collided with the limousine in the 4000 block of E. Monument St., killing Royston.
"Now she is going to be buried around the day of her father's birthday," said her stepfather, Jeff Bull, who struggled with grief as he recalled the 28-year-old that he and his wife, Victoria, had raised.
Police said the limo was traveling east in the right lane on Monument street at Haven Street. The driver of the 2004 Freightliner tractor-trailer was heading west on Monument Street and as the truck turned left to head south on Haven, it "turned into the left side of the limo," said Agent Donny Moses, a Baltimore police spokesman.
The limousine was knocked on its right side, and came to rest at the southwest corner of Haven and East Monument, police said.
Royston suffered head injuries and was pronounced dead at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Moses said. Theiss said the other girls were treated at area hospitals. Police did not report any other major injuries.
"Preliminarily, it looks like the tractor-trailer was at fault for not yielding the right of way," said Moses, who said the accident remains under investigation. Police didn't release the driver's name.
Royston had lived for about two years in Dallastown, Pa., with Joe Hillengas [sic], the man she planned to marry Saturday. They had met while growing up in Dundalk and lived in Dallastown to be close to Hillengas' mother. Hillengas commuted to his job at a sheet-metal company in Baltimore, friends said.
One of Royston's friends had arranged for the limousine for the bachelorette party, said Royston's stepfather.
"They thought they did the right thing by not going out drinking and driving and guess what? You do the right thing and it still doesn't pay off." Bull said.
Through tears yesterday, Bull recalled the "too short life" of his stepdaughter, who graduated from Patapsco High School.
"She was a great girl, a loving mother. She did what she could do for anybody. She was one of the best daughters anyone could have," he said.
In addition to the two children she had with Joe Hillengas, Royston had a 5-year-old son from a previous relationship, Bull said.
What a tragic tale! Sunshine was just about to begin a new life, and thoughtfully chose a powerful and symbolic date to start it: The birthday of her late father Chet who died when she was only one year old. (Chet died when his motorcycle struck a utility pole while traveling south on the 6400 block of Walther Avenue in northeast Baltimore City on October 17, 1981.) Sunshine and her friends took all prudent precautions for the bachelorette party, but sometimes destiny cannot be avoided. The grief of those she left behind is plain to see. I am certain Sunshine is remembered daily.
The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 16 September 2008, Tuesday:
The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 19 October 2008, Sunday:
I wish I could find out more about the accident, and whether the unnamed tractor-trailer driver was found guilty of any crime. Unfortunately, I could find no further reference to the accident in the newspapers. I am sure there had to be a settlement, but I am equally sure no about of money could compensate Sunshine's family for her loss.
Remember, there is a story behind every grave. You never know what you're missing when you walk past one...
Postscript:
I recently received this message from Vicki Thiess-Bull, Sunshine's mother on Facebook:
Hello, my name is Vicki Bull my daughter is Sunshine Royston. I just saw your blog about the gravesites and just wanted to reach out. I think thank you, it was a little hard to go back and read but at the same time made me feel honored and proud and some kind of strange sad way I did send you a friend request and I see we do have some mutual friends. I just wanted to reach out and say thank you! If you ever want to talk more about Sunshine I am always honored and willing to talk about my beautiful daughter.
Thanks, Vicki. I always love hearing from family members. I am grateful that you feel I am honoring your daughter's memory. She seemed like a lovely woman. I know she is missed.
Please check out
Sunshine's Angels. The nonprofit is dedicated to helping children stricken with grief and/or trauma. They raise money through fundraising events to help children receive the therapy they need. Looks like a lot of fun events.
*The tombstone reads Sunshine Marie Royston-Hillegas, but the newspaper stories all give her name as Sunshine Marie Royston. I am not making any determination whatsoever as to which name is most appropriate. That is a matter for her family. I simply use whatever name is supplied in the sources in context.
Grave Tales:
My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble. Chapel Street is the tale of a young man battling a demonic entity that has driven members of his family to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting.
Learn more about the book, click
Here.
Listen to me read some chapters here:
Read about the true haunting that inspired the novel here:
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 1, An IntroductionThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 2, The HouseThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 3, This Is UsThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 4, ArrivalThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 5, MethodologyThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 6, Clara's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 7, Clara's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 8, My Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 9, My Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 10, My Tale, Pt. 3The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 11, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 12, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 13, John's Tale, Pt. 1 The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 14, John's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 15, Come Inside!The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 16, Marion's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 17, Marion's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 18, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 19, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 20, Lisa's TaleThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 21, Recap, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 22, Recap, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 23, Recap, Pt. 3
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