Thurmont’s new Gold Star memorial honors families who carry the loss

A new monument at Thurmont Memorial Park offers a place to recognize the families whose lives have been changed by the death of a loved one in military service.

The Gold Star Families Memorial Monument was dedicated Sept. 27, with 21 Gold Star families attending, committee chair Julie El-Taher told The Frederick News-Post.

For El-Taher, the project grew from a deeply personal loss. Her son, Navy Airman Apprentice Patrick G. Stellitano, died at age 21 in a motorcycle crash in Florida in February 2020 while serving in the Navy. He maintained helicopters and had spent most of his life in Thurmont.

The start of the COVID-19 pandemic soon afterward made an already painful period more isolating, El-Taher told the newspaper. Years later, a grief seminar introduced her to the Woody Williams Foundation’s work helping communities establish monuments honoring Gold Star families.

Bringing one to Thurmont became a way to support other families while remembering her son.

Community members raised more than $62,000 to purchase the monument. The Thurmont Lions Club held the donated funds and organized fundraisers, while local businesses contributed materials and services for the installation, according to the News-Post.

Committee member Susan Favorite described the project as a continuation of the club’s military-related community work and a personal way to support her friend.

The monument features the cut-out silhouette of a saluting service member. It lists no individual names, reflecting its purpose of honoring Gold Star families collectively.

Mayor John Kinnaird told the newspaper that the memorial’s focus on families distinguishes it from monuments centered on those who served or died. For the people behind the project, that recognition gives an often private grief a lasting place in the community.