43
Rock-solid love: Family finds strength, comfort after tragedy
Photo
Mary Ann Dieter holds out Love Rocks made at the Paisley House in Youngstown recently. The concept of the rocks came from a personal tragedy that Dieter’s family experienced.
The story of Anna Dieter- Eckerdt and Abigail Robinson originates in Oregon but has roots in the Mahoning Valley and stretches to places far beyond.
The two girls — stepsisters — died in October after being hit by a car while playing in leaves near their Forest Grove, Ore., home.
Anna, 6, and Abigail, 11, are the daughters of Susan Dieter-Robinson, formerly of Canfield, and Tom Robinson. In their grief, the parents found tremendous support in both communities and are spreading their message of love and thanks one rock at a time.
The “Love Rocks” movement began in Oregon and has spread across the U.S. and to countries including Australia and Israel. Dieter-Robinson decorates rocks and gives them out or leaves them around town for others to find.
The Forest Grove community followed suit and in a recent phone interview with The Vindicator, Dieter-Robinson said, “In our town you can find them anywhere.”
Residents of Paisley House, 1408 Mahoning Ave., Youngstown, recently spent an afternoon making rocks with Mary Ann Dieter, Dieter-Robinson’s mother.
Dieter, a board member at the assisted-living facility, and Robin Romito, activity director, said the rocks will be used as table d cor and given out during an upcoming family picnic.
“I always feel happiness, joy and healing when I’m doing rocks,” Dieter said. She had what she called a “God wink” moment — a coincidence of sorts — during the activity when the song “You Are My Sunshine” came on in the background. She and Anna used to sing it to each other.
Paisley resident Jean Long enjoyed the craft, which includes securing fabric hearts to the rocks using Mod Podge, an adhesive. “I made some for my dinner companions the other day,” she said. “It’s just fun.”
Lisa Ross, special-education aide at Hilltop Elementary School in Canfield, has been friends with Dieter-Robinson since childhood. She recently made Love Rocks with students and staff to give to others.
She said she was inspired after finding three Love Rocks on her porch. “By making Love Rocks we are able to honor Anna and Abigail’s lives and keep the memory of something they loved to do alive by bringing joy and love to others,” she said.
The girls were playing in leaves that spilled over the curb Oct. 20 while Tom Robinson snapped pictures. He stepped in the house for a moment when the accident happened.
Cinthya Garcia-Cisneros, 18 at the time, drove through the pile and testified she felt a bump but kept going. When police caught up to her, she said she hadn’t realized she’d hit anyone until later.
She was found guilty of two felony counts of hit-and-run and received three years’ probation. The girls’ families requested no jail time for Garcia-Cisneros, but her boyfriend was sentenced to 13 months in prison for tampering with evidence. Police said he didn’t report the accident and had the car washed after learning about the girls.
Dieter-Robinson said she believes the accident was just that but wishes Garcia-Cisneros would have come back to the scene after realizing what she’d done.
Failing to stop or return prevented Dieter-Robinson from saying goodbye or holding Anna because it was deemed a crime scene. Anna died at the site, Abigail the next day.
Dieter-Robinson said she’s forgiven Garcia-Cisneros and has visited with her since the accident. “It’s not necessarily about her, it’s about me,” she said, explaining she can’t live a life full of hatred. “In some capacity, my heart aches for her, too.”
Dieter-Robinson, a special-education teacher, said she doesn’t view her life as “horrible” and that faith helps her through “this temporary separation” from the girls.
“I live one foot here and one foot in heaven,” she said, explaining she has no fear of leaving this world. “My faith is so strong and I’m desperate to see them but I know there are things here I have to do.”
“I only talk about when my girls went to heaven,” she said and explained she doesn’t like to sensationalize it by focusing on the tragedy of it. “It takes away from the fact that my daughters were amazing human beings and they were here.”
She said her bond with Anna was “tremendous” and described her as quiet and reserved in public but hilarious and “constantly in motion.” She called Abigail “a beautiful soul” who taught her a lot in their time together.
The family, which includes two older children, continues to spread the love, most recently organizing an effort to make and deliver hundreds of Love Rocks to Troutdale, Ore., less than 50 miles from their home. A 14-year-old boy was shot at school there June 10.
They also are using money raised by the community in honor of the girls to build a new play structure in a nearby park.
In moving forward, Dieter-Robinson said she chooses not to focus on the tragic aspects of her loss. “We’re not OK and we’ll never be OK,” she said. “But we can get out of bed — we can celebrate them.”
For more information, go to www.facebook.com/lovedrenched