Students at Westwood Elementary School in Woodstock can now visit the Amy Roeder Memorial Garden, in remembrance of the school volunteer, classroom aide and mother of three who died in a crash a year ago Monday.

Roeder was killed Oct. 27, 2024, in a crash near Woodstock, less than 2 miles from the school, that also injured one of her children.

Another car collided with hers, and its occupants – Alex Gonzalez, 18, and Miguel Martinez-Santiago, 17, both of Harvard – also were killed. Authorities said at the time that the teens’ car was driving recklessly and speeding.

After Roeder’s death, some of her colleagues, including Hayley Welch, a teacher, and Maelyn Thornton, an elementary interventionist at the school, spoke with other staff members and parents about how best to honor Roeder’s memory.

“We agreed that a garden felt right because she loved flowers, and we wanted to have a space that all could enjoy,” Welch said.

Thornton said Westwood staff and former PTO members collaborated on the design for the space and started raising funds for the garden.

“The response was overwhelming,” Thornton said in a news release from Woodstock School District 200. “The community generously funded the picnic tables through the DonorsChoose platform, creating a functional outdoor classroom for our teachers and students.”

Once the funding was secured, staff members planted flowers and shrubs, painted a cement path and made a rock garden featuring rocks painted by students, Welch said. The garden also has a memorial plaque on a stone and a bench.

The garden has been open since the spring and has been popular with students and staff, according to the release. Colleagues remembered Roeder’s love of reading, and her memorial garden played host to the Everyone Reads Celebration.

A new tradition began when a special student won the first Amy Roeder Everyone Reads Award, Thornton said.

“Amy Roeder was an amazing part of the Westwood family. Colleagues cherished collaborating with her, sharing laughter over lunch and relying on her dedicated support in the classroom. Above all, Amy’s greatest legacy is the countless students she inspired to fall in love with reading,” Thornton said in the release.

Westwood Principal Ryan Hart said Roeder’s “kindness, smile and laugh were always so contagious. She was always willing to step in to lend a hand and to offer support when things needed to get done – through PTO or as a Westwood educator.”

Welch recalled that Roeder “always supported anyone who needed it.”

“I’ll always value the friendship we built over the years working so closely together,” Welch said. “The garden is a special way to remember how beautiful she was.”