Memorial honours 'dear little sister'

DIDSBURY - On Sunday more than 20 family, friends and dignitaries attended the unveiling of a temporary memorial for a Didsbury girl killed in a hit-and-run accident 50 years ago.

Kathleen Zazulak, 7, was struck and killed as she rode her bicycle at the intersection of 20^th Avenue and 16^th Street on Aug. 26, 1968 as she was delivering birthday invitations to friends.

The driver of the vehicle involved in the collision left the scene and has not been identified.

Now, five decades later, a bicycle painted white with a small sign bearing Kathleen’s name, and time and date of the incident has been placed at the scene of the collision, under the Ghost Bike Program.

The bike will remain in place for several weeks in an effort to promote bicycle safety and to remember Kathleen’s tragic story.

Her brothers Bob and Ron Zazulak spearheaded the memorial effort.

Extended family members and others attended a brief ceremony at the site on Sunday. During the ceremony, Ron Zazulak thanked everyone for attending and remembering his lost sister.

“Our family sincerely thank each and every one of you for joining us here today,” he said in part. “We love you all and appreciate that you cared enough for us to come and be with you in our time of remembrance for our dear little sister Kathleen.

“Fifty years ago today we lost our little Kathleen. At this very spot she left us and went to be with her Father in Heaven. In heaven if time really does not exist, only a moment ago, Kathleen went to a place of great love and kindness and caring. She held His hand, saw and felt heaven all around her and now waits for us.”

The Ghost Bike Program promotes bicycle safety in the memory of persons killed in bike accidents. The Didsbury bike itself was donated by a supporter in Arizona, Ron explained.

Didsbury mayor Rhonda Hunter attended Sunday’s ceremony. A nine-year-old girl at the time of the crash, Hunter says the death shocked the entire community.

“We all knew everybody in the small town,” said Hunter. “We all knew the family. I remember my mom and dad talking about it and the impact on the community. The community certainly knew about it and it was big news in Didsbury.”

Hunter called the initiative to promote bicycle safety in Kathleen’s memory a great and worthwhile effort.

“It’s heartening for the family to do that in the memory of Kathleen,” she said. “Their generous spirit is helping other kids to be bike safe. It’s great that the family has shared this with us in the community.”

Hunter said she hopes anyone with information about the identity of the driver will come forward.

Beulah Floen, Kathleen’s aunt, called the girl a fun-loving child who was greatly missed by the community.

During the ceremony she recited the poem A Child of Mine by Edgar Guest, which included the line, “I will lend you, for a little time, a child of mine, he said. For you to love while he lives, and mourn for when he’s dead.”

The tragedy of Kathleen’s death lived on with many family members, she said.

“There was such a hole left in our lives,” she said. “When you lose a child it is such a loss in the heart.”

She called on motorists to always be cautious and aware of young cyclists.

“These kids are getting killed all the time,” she said. “How can we stop this?”

Don Zazulak, another of Kathleen’s brothers, called the memorial a fitting effort and tribute to his sister.

“I think it is a wonderful idea,” he said. “It has always been a memory and memories fade, but this brings it back. You do see a lot of tragedy in life and you wish it never happens.”

He called Kathleen’s death a loss for the entire family.

“It was a real tragedy for our parents,” he said. “They never got over it. She was the youngest in the family so I guess we always paid attention to her and she wanted our attention.”

“As it says on her tombstone, ‘She was the sunshine of her household,' and she really was.”

Ed and Mia Tuason own the property where the memorial now stands. A former schoolteacher, Mia said promoting and ensuring bicycle safety is in everyone’s best interest.

“Kids are so excited and full of enthusiasm that they sometimes forget, so it’s up to drivers to be safe,” said Tuason.

At the time of Kathleen’s death, RCMP called on the public to help identify the driver, who may have been operating a large blue truck with rear dual wheels and an unpainted wooden box. Anyone with information about the driver’s identity should contact police or this newspaper.