KDAT Remembers Mt. Vernon’s Marsha Light

I will never forget the story of Mt. Vernon's Marsha Light. She loved Christmas and we cherished the role KDAT was given the opportunity to play in her last one.

Two years ago, Marsha was battling cancer. We heard about her story via a Facebook message from one of her many friends, and now ours, Kelli Chapman. The city was set to put together a lights parade of sorts for her, by decorating their homes early, two months prior to Christmas to ensure she got the proper celebration. Sunday, October 7, 2018, was the date set. We weren't ready to switch over to continuous Christmas music just yet, but we knew we could do something special and be the soundtrack to this town's special tribute to Marsha.

Here is a glimpse of what that day looked like in Mt. Vernon. A caroling walk, homemade Christmas tree cookies from a local bakery, and fake snow. We did play 2 hours of Christmas music as the town lit up and so did Marsha's spirit. It was the least we could do. Unfortunately, as we learned just weeks later, Marsha passed away from her battle with cancer. She was a pillar of the community there, heavily involved for years with the high school wrestling team, in particular.

The year 2020 has been incredibly difficult for all of us, between a pandemic, lockdowns, and recovering from the derecho. Let's not even talk about politics. Because of this, the holidays will also be quite different. We may not be able to get together this year as we normally would, for the sake of keeping each other safe. Some will have lost loved ones, whether it be to cancer or other illnesses, including a new virus we have become maybe more familiar with than we'd like to be.

When it all starts to seem like too much, we remember the moments of hope and love we could bring to people who need it, like Marsha Light and her neighbors and friends in Mt. Vernon.