Our first exposure to this tragedy was when our daughter Bailey came home and told us that her friend Sam's aunt had disappeared. We were, of course, very sad for Sam, and we offered up our prayers for her aunt's safe return. We later heard the horrible news that she had been brutally murdered by her supposed boyfriend and we were again shocked and saddened. The story only really hit home for us when a week or so later, Christi stopped by Sam's house to pick up Harper and was introduced to Laura, Sam's grandmother. It was then that she realized that we had known her for some time, as both she and her daughter Tanya had worked at our local Circle K stores. It was then that we really put the face to the name and Tanya's loss became a little more personal for us. We decided to attend her memorial service and we later worked at a car wash to raise funds for her children who are 7 and 8 and have had their lives turned upside-down. Tanya was a single mom who worked hard to make a good life for her kids and herself and now the children could use your help. To that end, a fund has been set up by the Riverside Sheriff's office and Circle K to help her kids and if you are so inclined, donations can be made to the Tanya Petro children memorial fund at any Wells Fargo bank. More information about that can be found here. Her kids can also use any prayers you can send their way too. On behalf of the family, we thank you.
