During her travels along the Hanlon Expressway, Stephanie Roberts usually passes the memorial marker that signifies where her friend Anna was killed during a head-on collision. It brings back memories of her friend, but it has disappeared.
Roberts thought maybe it had blown away, the iron post holding up the Sock and Buskin drama masks which represent her friend’s love of theatre.
She put the call out on Facebook to see if anybody had seen the memorial marker or had any idea where it could be.
No luck.
Anne Marie Graham died on Nov. 8, 2007 at the age of 34. A drunk driver struck her on the Hanlon as she was driving home from work in Toronto to Guelph.
“A lot of people my age, would have heard of the accident, and known that it was there all this time,” said Roberts.
She has contacted the city and the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) to see if they knew where it is, they didn’t.
“We are sorry to hear the memorial has been removed. We confirmed that our area maintenance contractor has not removed the memorial and is aware not to remove any memorial items when completing work,” said an email from MTO to GuelphToday.
“When I first saw it missing … I was just really upset about it,” said Roberts. “That was my place to go to remember her or pay my respects.”
Roberts and a friend have planted orange tulip bulbs where the marker is since Graham’s favourite colour was orange.
She said she will continue to plant tulips there and another marker will be put there eventually.
“But I really wanted to find the one that's been there for 15 years,” she said.
Roberts and Graham worked together at Pet Valu while they were in university and eventually lived together. They became close friends and would walk their dogs together.
“She also was very heavily involved in theatre in the community,” she said. Working at the Guelph Little Theatre and the River Run Centre mostly stage managing.
“She was like the glue. She brought people together,” said Roberts. “She would always plan a Christmas dinner for people who didn't have a family to go to.”
When Roberts made her post on Facebook many people commented who remembered Graham and the incident. Graham grew up in Guelph and went to school at Centennial C.V.I., close to where the crash happened.
At the time of Graham’s death she was engaged. Her then fiancé brought her and her dog Gunner’s ashes to Scotland. The ashes were scattered by a river in Scotland and a miniature version of the memorial marker was placed there.
Graham was supposed to spend her honeymoon in Scotland.
“I usually try and take the opportunity around that time to just remind people not to drink and drive,” said Roberts when the anniversary of her friend’s death comes around.
“The ripple effect is huge. You know, it's not just your own life that you're risking. You're altering the lives of friends, family, and fiancées.”
Having the marker there is a reminder to people to not drink and drive, she said.