GAINESVILLE — A softball field is now dedicated to a 10-year-old girl who died in a freak accident.
On Saturday, the family and friends of Lydia Grace gathered at Catharpin Park near Gainesville to rename field number four in honor of the late child. During a storm in August, a tree fell on Lydia’s grandmother’s house in Fauquier County, landing in the child’s bedroom, killing her.
Lydia had grown up in the Catharpin in Prince William County and only recently moved with her family to Fauquier County. She was a very promising young softball player who played primarily for the Virginia Stars softball team, said Mark Allen, a spokesman for Gainesville District Supervisor Peter Candland.
Lydia’s mother is a school bus driver in Prince William. Late last year, Lydia, Stephanie McLain, a Catharpin resident talked to Candland about finding a way to commemorate Lydia’s life at one of the area parks.
After working with the Prince William County Parks and Recreation Commission, and a vote in favor of the renaming by the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, Field #4 at Catharpin Park, located at 4805 Sudley Road in Catharpin, is now called Lydia Grace Field.
The ceremony took place on Saturday at 12:30, and was attended by friends and family, and many from Lydia’s former elementary school, including the school’s “Gravely Groovers” choral group, who sang the national anthem.
The ceremony included a few dedicatory remarks by Candland, her former softball coach, and Lydia’s mother Bethany James. Then they revealed a sign, located behind the home plate backstop, noting the field’s new name.
