More Family Photos

By JAN HOLLINGSWORTH
The Tampa Tribune

PLANT CITY - In the final days of Carrie Ann Meadows’ life, the little girl with the inoperable brain tumor could no longer speak. Yet her ability to galvanize a community ultimately spoke for her.

This is the story of a princess-in-waiting, a purple dress and the random acts of kindness that serve as both epilogue and legacy.

Before she passed, as Carrie Ann spoke of angels in attendance, a hospice nurse told family members her 5-year-old body was failing and that she likely would not last the weekend.

As the hours became days and the days weeks, her family came to believe she was waiting for something. They wondered if it might be the dress.

“She was such a girlie-girl,” her mother, Kathy, said. “She loved to dress up and put on make up. She wanted to be a princess.”

Kathy Meadows had promised her youngest daughter a princess dress “to wear when she went to go play with the angels.”

Plant City, of course, has more than its share of princess dresses and Carrie Ann’s maternal grandmother, Pam Earles, knew she could find one at Berry Patch Kids on Collins Street.

Earles found several in Carrie Ann’s favorite color – pink – and took photos of them to show the rest of the family.

Carrie Ann rejected all of them with a vigorous shake of her head.

Was it the color? Yes, she nodded.

Did she want blue? Yellow? Green? Each suggestion was met with another vigorous shake of her silky blonde hair. Then, the color purple brought immediate assent.

First thing the next morning, Earles and Kathy Meadows went to Berry Patch Kids to find the promised purple dress. It was a Monday; the store was closed. They would have to wait another day.

Carrie Ann, it seemed, also would wait. It was almost more than the family could bear.

“I didn’t want her to suffer,” her mother said.

People who had never met Carrie Ann or her family learned of the little girl’s plight and the quest for a purple princess dress.

No one was able to reach DeeDee Coile, owner of Berry Patch Kids. But Ed Verner, her landlord, offered to help access the prize that lay behind a thin pane of glass – so near and yet so unattainable.

“My little girl’s only 9 years old and I remember thinking when I went home that night, “How on earth would I get through that,” said Verner, who placed the matter in the hands of Philip Balliet, property manager for Verner’s company, City Properties.

Balliet has known Coile for the better part of a decade. He knew she would understand.

Balliet unlocked the door at Berry Patch Kids and invited Earles and Kathy Meadows to pick out a dress for Carrie Ann.

They found a purple one fit for a princess. Carrie Ann’s illness had taken a toll on family finances, but that was not to be a consideration on this day. They splurged on a matching pair of socks and a glittering tiara.

They wept when Balliet refused payment.

“I could tell they were really surprised,” he said. “It was a very touching situation that they were in and I think everybody stops and thinks, “What if it was me? You realize the small things we deal with day to day are very nominal compared to what they were going through.”

The next day, Balliet went to Berry Patch Kids and told Coile’s sister what he had done. He gave her the tags to the items, which came to about $100, and asked them to send him an invoice.

“I kind of took it in my own hands to go into the shop like that, but they were certainly understanding about the situation,” he said.

So was Verner, his boss, who said he’d be happy to pay the bill when it comes.

But it won’t come, said Coile. “They’ve been great landlords. I’m happy to take care of this,” she said.

Carrie Ann nodded her approval when her mother showed her the dress, shortly before she passed away on June 20.

Nearly 200 people came to her funeral. Many more sent flowers.

“Some came from people we didn’t even know,” Meadows said. “And she looked absolutely gorgeous in her purple dress.”

Reporter Jan Hollingsworth can be reached at (813 )865-4436 or jhollingsworth@tampatrib.com.

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