A local couple has turned their pain into purpose doing something good for the community through children’s books. Those books inspired by their late daughter, Vail.
Susan and Chad Chance’s nine-year-old daughter died suddenly from a heart problem in 2016.
“The day she died, she said, ‘Momma, I want to be an author when I grow up.’ That night she passed away, but at her funeral, her teacher suggested that some of her friends should read the books at her funeral. We thought about it and since it was her dream. We wanted to make it a reality,” Susan said.
After her death, her parents decided to publish a series of children’s books inspired by the ones Vail wrote when she was just in the first grade. They have started the Friends of Vail Foundation that has provided scholarships to students in Pilot Point.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
“We have given more than $90,000 in scholarships out to kids so far. We have helped build part of the softball field at the school and we have helped do an addition in our church for the childrens’ area. These are all the things that were so important to her,” Susan said.
They are hosting a dinner event in Aubrey on Wednesday, November 16 where Vail’s mother hopes the community comes to support her late daughter, who was so passionate about being a writer.
The family will be selling the new edition of the books at the event.
