'Her legacy lives on:' How a park in Carolina Beach is keeping one girl's memory alive
As soon as the elected officials cut the ribbon on the Brandy Myers Memorial Playground at Carolina Beach Lake Park, children rushed to the swings and climbing towers and started to play.
The laughter and squeals of delight were both heartwarming and bittersweet for Caron and Danny “Chocolate” Myers of Shallotte. The playground is named in memory of their daughter Brandy who died from cancer in 1987. Brandy was 5 when she was diagnosed and just 10 when she passed away.
“Brandy was a little girl that didn’t have an opportunity to do what you guys and gals are going to have an opportunity to do,” Danny Myers told the children just before the playground opened.
The playground, which opened in April, was funded through a $1 million contribution from the N.C. General Assembly State Capital Infrastructure Fund. The couple moved to Brunswick County from the Charlotte area where Danny worked for Richard Childress Racing — best known for serving as Dale Earnhardt’s gas man — and Caron worked as a journalist for NASCAR and several television stations in the area.
The idea to fund the park came after the couple connected with Rep. Charlie Miller (R-Brunswick). Miller recalled when he arrived in Raleigh as a newly elected legislator, one of his goals was to get more park facilities for the communities he serves in New Hanover and Brunswick counties.
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One of his motivations was another young girl who was fighting cancer.
“I was in church one Sunday, and this little girl whose very near and dear to our hearts — mine and my wife’s — had leukemia,” he said.
Miller said while that young girl, Ryley Green, is now doing well, watching her fight the disease was difficult. Around the time Ryley was diagnosed, Miller received a call from Caron Myers who wanted to bring more awareness to childhood cancer.
Miller thought parks -- named in memory of Brandy and in honor of Ryley — would be the perfect way to bring awareness to childhood cancers and keep the focus on the children.
Danny and Caron Myers were thrilled with the plan and helped design the playground that now bears their daughter’s name. They wanted to ensure children of all ages and ability could enjoy the park. They said they are grateful to Miller and all those who helped make the project a reality, keeping Brandy’s memory alive.
“It means that her legacy lives on and not just in our hearts -- because it lives in our hearts every single solitary day,” Caron Myers said. “There’s not a day that goes by that we don’t think about her and think about the what could’ve beens and the what should’ve beens.”
“I just look out here right now and see how much enjoyment these children are having,” Danny Myers said. “Each time they walk through to this playground, they’re going to see Brandy’s name up there, and I think that’s wonderful.”
Miller said the park named for Ryley Green will be in Varnamtown, and an opening date has not yet been determined.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Carolina Beach, NC, playground opens, named in memory of Brandy Myers
