Amber Stanley was driving to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with her two children on May 7 when their car struck an alligator on Interstate 95, careened into a tree and ignited. No one survived.
The story made national news but it was a small group of close friends and relatives who gathered Friday in Palm Coast to quietly celebrate the lives of a mother and two young children who were killed in an auto accident on May 7.
According to media reports, Amber Stanley was driving to visit family friends in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina early that morning with her young children, Jack, 4, and Autumn, 2, when their car struck an alligator on Interstate 95 in Orangeburg County. The car careened off the highway, struck a tree and ignited, killing all three.
On Friday, family members and friends gathered on Palm Coast for a memorial service and celebration of life.
Amber’s favorite color was "clear," her mother, Amy Smith, a Palm Coast Realtor, said when asked if purple glitter on a nearby friend’s beard represented a color Amber loved.
“She wanted to be different. When she was a child, purple and green were her favorite colors,” Smith said of her 24-year-old daughter, who would have turned 25 on Sunday — Mother’s Day.
Radiating a strength few could summon under such solumn circumstances, Smith graciously greeted all those who left the memorial service at Parkview Baptist Church in Palm Coast, where Pastor Greg Peters delivered remarks alongside family members and joined in the celebration of life afterwards at European Village in Palm Coast on Friday afternoon.
“It was a real privilege to host their memorial service,” said Peters. “We do our best to find our hope, in the midst of deep suffering, in the Lord. Knowing that they are in Heaven with the Lord brings comfort during this most difficult time.”
Marking the celebration, family members surrounded Smith and Amber’s husband, Josh Stanley, who moved through the motions as they released white balloons filled with glitter into the sky.
“I’m Amber’s husband and the kiddos' dad,” said a solemn Josh Stanley. “It still doesn’t feel real, but I appreciate all of the support from everybody.”
Smith, who moved to Palm Coast in 2014, said she's been overwhelmed by the support from the Flagler community and expressed her gratitude as she talked about her loved ones.
“We’re releasing the balloons to Heaven because Amber loved glitter and bubbles and the last thing she would want us to do is cry,” said Smith, quoting Amber’s motto: “'Love all and take no crap,' in a nut shell, is her. Autumn was the tiny dancer — she loved to dance and sing. Jack just loved everything, he was so sensitive. He was a lover.”
Audrey Ellis, who traveled from Shiloh Park, Tennessee for the service, said she felt comforted by those who had joined them to honor the lives of her granddaughter and great-grandchildren.
“Today’s celebration is 'forever young,'” said Ellis. “It’s so hard to deal with all of the loss and the sadness, and Amber would've wanted some celebration of her life. We feel so thankful for all of the people to come out and help us celebrate their life, because we’ve shed so many tears and so many broken hearts that it’s nice to think about the good things in their life.
“She had the most open, loving personality. Very accepting of everyone," Ellis said. "She believed 'live and let live,' and we love Josh very much.”
As a special tribute to the family, who lived in Callahan near the Georgia border, Smith said staff members at the Jacksonville Zoo, which the family visited often, sent word that a bench will be constructed and placed near the tiger cage in their memory.