Massillon woman plans wedding ceremony to fulfill her mom’s last request

With help from friends, family, co-workers, a hospice team and others, a wedding ceremony — with all the trimmings — was pulled together in just a matter of days to fulfill a mother’s wish.Anita Ledger’s last wish was to watch her only daughter get married.

With help from friends, family, co-workers, a hospice team and others, a wedding ceremony — with all the trimmings — was pulled together in just a matter of days.

The event had to be at Hanover House, the nursing and rehabilitation center where the 62-year-old woman battling renal disease had been admitted earlier this month after her health declined rapidly.

Her daughter, Jennifer, and David Cantwell, both of Massillon, had been a couple for 16 years and had two sons together. Originally, they were planning to tie the knot in 2016. They were finally getting the money together, and they were going to do it up big.

Laid-back and easygoing, Ledger spoiled her grandsons and was never pushy about her daughter’s getting married. This spring, she began helping her 34-year-old daughter with preparations for the big day. They talked about dress shopping, decorations and what kind of food to have at the reception.

Ledger had battled diabetes for years and had been on dialysis for about two years. When she suddenly became very ill, the wedding was scheduled for Sunday. And when her health declined further, it was moved up to Thursday afternoon.

Jennifer happens to be a receptionist at Hanover House, so the center and Tridia Hospice pulled together for a small but lovely ceremony in the center’s chapel on the warm and sunny afternoon.

Ledger died Wednesday night — fewer than 17 hours before the wedding.

At 3:30 p.m. Thursday, with her hair nicely curled and wearing a beautiful white gown trimmed with red satin, Jennifer put on a brave face for her sons and her guests, and she walked down the aisle with her dad, Kenneth Ledger Jr., by her side.

When the Rev. Jennifer Toth talked about a memorial on the wedding altar for Anita Ledger noting the mother of the bride was smiling down on everyone, and asked for a moment of silence, the bride quietly cried.

But looking into the eyes of her future husband, she allowed a couple of giggles to escape her lips during the proceedings.

She was able to smile through her tears.

DIFFICULT DECISION

“I was torn but I figured what other way to have her closer than still do it in the place her soul had left her body,” Jennifer Cantwell said before the wedding about her decision to go through with the ceremony.

David Cantwell said he had left the decision entirely up to her and would support his future wife either way.

With support from long-time close friends, co-workers and family members, Jennifer said she knew her mother would want her to proceed with their plans.

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