KEMMERER — Since opening her shop, Perspicacity’s Whim’s, in 2016, local business owner Kate Zimmerman has aimed to give back to the Kemmerer community that welcomed her with open arms. Now, Zimmerman and her daughter, Meghan Morales, are participating in a project close to their hearts: the Angel Gowns Project. This international nonprofit takes donated wedding dresses and transforms them into delicate burial garments for infants, called “Angel Gowns.”

For both Kate and Meghan, the cause is deeply personal. Each woman has faced the heartbreaking loss of a daughter, and through their participation in the Angel Gowns Project, they hope to help other grieving families.

Zimmerman, who moved to Kemmerer in 2011, credits the people of the town for their support throughout her journey of grief.

“People have been awesome towards me,” she said. “It’s OK for us to have different opinions, and yet there is still so much love in the community.”

She mentioned that locals have donated three wedding dresses so far, and four gowns are currently ready to be shipped, once funding allows.

The project has been therapeutic for Zimmerman, who lost a daughter to cystic fibrosis.

“At that time, I didn’t have the means to give much,” she said, reflecting on her earlier days of grief. “But now I am able to help others through the program. It was awesome to give back because so much had been given to me.”

Meghan’s own journey with loss came more recently. In February 2022, she and her husband, Memo Morales, faced the unimaginable heartbreak of losing their daughter, Luna, at full term. Luna had been diagnosed with Trisomy 18, also known as Edwards syndrome, a chromosomal disorder often resulting in miscarriage or stillbirth. Despite knowing their baby’s prognosis early in the pregnancy, Meghan and Memo decided to carry her to full term.

“We decided to let the baby decide,” Meghan said.

Luna was stillborn on Valentine’s Day in 2022, a day that Meghan now refers to with both sorrow and love.

“My little heartbreaker is what I call her,” she said.

A year later, on the anniversary of Luna’s birth, Meghan and Memo married.

“It’s kind of cliché to get married on Valentine’s Day, but that’s the day she decided to come, so on the year anniversary we got married.”

For Meghan, the loss of Luna has brought her and Memo closer together. Despite the language barrier — Memo speaks English as a second language — the couple has relied on counseling and their bond to navigate the grief.

“We are the lucky ones,” Meghan said, referring to their resilience as a couple.

In addition to their personal healing, Meghan Morales and Zimmerman are channeling their grief into the Angel Gowns Project. Meghan, now living in Iowa and working as a firefighter and EMT, plans to start an Angel Gowns chapter there.

“I support my mom’s involvement and want to expand the project,” she said, adding that she’s found comfort in an online community of mothers who have also lost babies to Trisomy 18.

Zimmerman came up with the name for her shop, Perspicacity’s Whim’s, as a tribute to her own mother, who often used the word “perspicacity.”

“It was a thing between us,” she said with a laugh.

The word, meaning insight or clarity of vision, represents the intuitive choices Zimmerman feels have guided her through her life, including her decision to participate in the Angel Gowns Project.

The gowns bring comfort not only to families in the U.S. but also internationally, with a significant impact in places like Guatemala. The Angel Gowns Project website shares the story of a Guatemalan woman named Glenna who had lost three children and had nothing to bury them in. Glenna expressed her gratitude, saying, “Thank you to the people who are donating and who are really concerned about bringing a bit of peace and a bit of a solution to the challenges that we women face here in Guatemala.”

For Zimmerman and Morales, the Angel Gowns Project is more than just a charitable effort — it’s a way to connect with others who have experienced the deep pain of loss, while offering hope to those in need.

“It was a good thing for me, too,” Zimmerman shared, reflecting on how the project has also aided in her own healing process. Through their personal tragedies, both women have found a meaningful way to give back, helping families around the world during their darkest moments.

For those interested in supporting the Angel Gowns Project or donating a wedding dress, more information is available at Perspicacity’s Whim’s. Monetary donations can be dropped off at the store, contributing to the $100 required for each dress to be sent off.    

Zimmerman emphasized that their goal is simply to make a difference and praised how the Kemmerer community has united to make that happen.