Nile teacher initiates projects for deceased infants

Niles High School teacher Tami Williams has lost three grandchildren in little more than a year.

Her grandson, Taylor, died at 22 weeks old. Her twin grandkids, Ariahnna and Alyas, passed on at 19 weeks.

A fairly simple thing helped Williams cope with the loss — a University of Michigan Mickey Mouse blanket.

Williams wrapped it around Taylor and held her hand to his heart until he passed away.

“That was the only thing that made us feel good — that he had his own blanket to be wrapped up in,” she said. “You have to have something to hold onto.”

In January, Williams, with the encouragement of her students, decided to help extend that comfort to others.

She began collecting blankets and tiny hats that will be given to families at Lakeland Hospital in Niles who have lost their babies.

A letter outlining her plan was distributed through school email in January. The response was overwhelming.

Students like sophomore Katie Bell knitted hats for the cause while others had relatives handcraft blankets. Ring Lardner’s National Honor Society students donated three bags full of handmade blankets.

Other community members contributed as well.

Williams currently has five large storage bins in her classroom filled with hats and blankets.

“I couldn’t believe how it took off,” she said.

One of her students, junior Ryan Hinegardner, promised to keep the project going in the unlikely event that Williams could not continue it. Hinegardner’s aunt lost a child.

“It is a great idea. I’ve never lost a child and I don’t know how that feels, but I can imagine it isn’t easy to go through,” Hinegardner said. “It’s such a great thing she’s doing and I want to continue it.”

Williams didn’t stop there.

She has been working with Lakeland Hospital to improve the way it handles situations where families lose a child during birth or soon after.

Also, she and several students went before the Niles City Council asking for a plot of land at Silverbrook Cemetery where babies could be memorialized.

Her plan is to create a space where plates could be mounted containing the names of all the babies who passed away. The plates could be placed inside a gazebo surrounded by benches. If everything moves forward, she hopes to hold memorials there each year.

“The parents will come and we will have a service for them,” she said.

Joe Ray, Niles public works director, said Williams would have to put together an official request that would be considered by the council.

Williams hopes her efforts will help others heal.

“I’ve always wanted to show my kids that when something isn’t right you can change things in your community and make it better,” she said. “My thing is that you can change the world by starting in your own backyard.”

Williams and several students will present the hats and blankets to the Lakeland Hospital birth unit June 13.