The table is set for tea and the guests, a friendly stuffed white bear and a lovely little doll, seem ready
to take a sip out of a dainty cup and nibble on one of the pastel frosted cupcakes decorated with an adorable princess ring
or a beautiful butterfly.
They’re just waiting for that special little girl to start the party.
Though her tricycle stands ready to whisk its owner to this magical place in the window of Cakes for Occasions,
little Shiyanne Thornell will never see this tribute to her memory. She will never know that she is the impetus for a
fundraiser to help recreate her favorite spot at Endicott Park, the children’s playground her mom and dad hope to see
Shiyanne’s name somehow permanently connected to.
Everyone who buys one of the little “Cakes for Caring” at Cakes for Occasions during the entire
month of March will be helping to make that dream come true for the Thornells. One dollar of the $2.50 cost of a delicious
little cake will be contributed to the special playground fund thanks to bakery owner, Kelly Delaney.
For Delaney, it’s a personal cause. She has known the Thornells for many years, she says.
“Yours was one of the first wedding cakes I made when I moved here to this shop,” she says to
the Thornells about the bakery’s Maple Street location.
For Joy Thornell, a tea party theme is the perfect choice to honor her late daughter’s memory and launch
the current delicious fundraiser.
“Shiyanne loved tea parties,” this mom recalls with mixed emotions. “Her three older brothers
used to come to her parties.”
So, it was only natural then, for Thornell to throw annual tea parties at Endicott Park as a fundraiser in
Shiyanne’s honor for other little girls to enjoy.
“This will be the fourth year I’ll be doing it on Endicott Park Day,” Joy Thornell says,
noting the date will be June 20. “It’s just a small step but it’s dear to my heart.”
For the Thornells, the birth of a little girl after four boys was pretty special and even her brothers thought
so. But in 2005, the family constellation changed unexpectedly with the death of the five-year old from what was suspected
to be the Triple E (Eastern Equine Encephalitis) virus.
The family was devastated. In trying to pick up the shattered pieces of their family’s life, Joy and
Don Thornell decided they had to do something at Endicott Park, the place Shiyanne loved best.
“This whole thing came about when we were planting a tree at Endicott Park,” Don Thornell says.
After much research and with input from park rangers David and Joan Townley, a redbud tree, with its heart-shaped leaves and
purplish-pink flowers that appear each spring, seemed the most appropriate. The Thornells also planted one at their home.
David Townley also happened to mention the children’s playground was badly in need of a major makeover
and they were looking for donations to help toward the rebuild. The more than 165,000 visitors a year to the park have taken
their toll on the popular attraction, according to the Thornells.
The cost to dig out the existing framework of the deteriorating playground and build a new structure will
run into several hundred thousand dollars, and additional contributions have been coming in since the Thornells came aboard.
The town had committed to $75,000; Kiwanis donated $10,000; a fundraising auction the Thornells ran raised close to $50,000,
and Riverside School is raising money through its Helping Hands fundraising this year; but more is needed.
Since plans for this project began, costs have risen astronomically, Park Ranger Joan Townley says. “We
have to have a good foundation to build on,” she says, adding the hope is to start the project sometime this year.
“But hope doesn’t pay the bills,” she adds. “I also don’t think that we’re
looking at an end to this fundraising.”
The reason, she says, is so they can include some pretty interesting additions to the playground in the park
that attracts visitors from Danvers and many other communities.
“We’re excited about some of the structures they will put in,” Joy Thornell says.
“There will be climbing boulders with fiber glass and concrete steps going up,” says Don Thornell
noting kids love to climb rocks.
“They’re hoping to put some really unique things in you don’t see in the area,” Joy
Thornell says. “Kids will be interested in coming to Endicott Park.”
“To me, this is a love-hate thing,” Don Thornell adds, reflectively. “I love the fact that
people have given so much in keeping Shiyanne’s memory alive, but I hate the fact that we’re doing this.”
