This Easter Bunny delivered more than baskets filled with toys, books and stuffed animals. He brought smiles. Inside each of the 75 containers, wrapped in plastic and tied with pink bows, were bright yellow plastic balls with a smiley face and Loopy Laura handmade smiley faces. They represent Smiles From
Sean Rovers and Kaylee Kruise met during radiation treatments for brain cancer at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in Lawrenceville. They endured many of the same experiences, from IVs and blood tests to operations and pain. It was during their time there the youngsters discovered they shared a birthday —
Ebner Elementary Garden Dedication 1:29 am
Family, Friends, and Community Members of 4 former Ebner Elementary School Students dedicated a Garden in their memory on Friday night.
Those who are being honored are Kea Barnes, who died in a fatal house fire in 2015; Devon Pfirsching, who was murdered in 2020; Civario Ciavarella, who also died in a house fire in 2020; and 5th Grader Kaylee Kruise, who lost her 2 1/2 year battle to Cancer in February.
Friday night’s events celebrated the dedication of the “Mowrie A. Ebner Memorial Garden”, which was funded by the 2019 and 2020 5th and 6th Grade Classes. Ebner Principal Melissa Douglas says this School District has encountered a lot of loss within the past few years, and it has not been easy on the Students.
amollenauer@altoonamirror.com
Kaylee Kruise poses in her dance outfit in this photo submitted by her family. Kruise passed away Friday following a two year battle with brain cancer.
The community is mourning the loss of an Altoona student taken by cancer.
Kaylee Kruise, a fifth grader at Ebner Elementary School, died Friday after a more than two-year battle with brain cancer.
According to her parents, Richard and Melissa Kruise, Kaylee “warmed everyone’s heart with her sweet smile.”
The Kruises have been touched by the community’s outreach.
“We received support from the school with dress-down days,” the Kruises said in a text message. “They had the teachers pay money to dress down, and it (went) to our family. We also received support from the Brian Morden Foundation and Fighting All Monsters,” organizations that fight childhood cancer.