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Car Wash Raises Nearly $500 To Replace Baby's Headstone

CARROLLTON TWP. (WWJ/AP) - A woman has helped to raise almost $500 to replace a headstone that was taken from the Michigan grave of a baby who died in 1986.

Kim Rowan, of Saginaw County's Carrollton Township, said she learned of the theft at the grave of 4-month-old Savanna Lee Williams in Gladwin County's Butman Township and took action. The car wash was Saturday at a Saginaw Township convenience store.

Rowan told The Saginaw News that as a mother of seven and a philanthropist, she felt it necessary to help. Before a new headstone is purchased, Rowan said she and her three youngest children will be placing a temporary wooden cross at Savanna's grave.

"You can't control people that do things that make no sense, but we can try to fix things," Rowan said.

"That was my intention, to try to remedy the situation. I'm not sure they'll ever figure out who did this," she said of the missing stone.

Savanna's mother Amy Nuckles said she was surprised by Rowan's generosity.

"She's just an angel to me," Nuckles said. "What she's doing is special and hopefully she and I can become friends."

Nuckles went to the grave June 23 and discovered that the headstone that her brother hand-carved was missing. Decorative angels she had placed over the years also were missing. After the discovery, she said cemetery workers dug at the site to ensure the casket was untouched.

"I screamed, I cried and then I started making calls because I was upset," Nuckles said. "That's a resting place where people should be laid to rest and that's got to be a cruel person who did it. If it was an accident or something, why wouldn't they notify somebody?"

Additional contributions for the headstone are being accepted by a memorial fund for Savanna Lee Williams at any Fifth Third Bank.

Savanna Lee Williams died of sudden infant death syndrome in 1986.

TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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