Kayla Ingram’s small Honda was finished just in time Saturday morning — specially painted pink, so that she and her date, Adam Ramey, would be able to motor to the Saks prom in an appropriate style to remember Kayla's late mother. (Anniston Star photo by Bill Wilson)
She planned to ride in it to her Saks High School prom that evening, decked out in a solid pink dress. Likewise her date, Adam Ramey, would ride in it wearing a pink tie and vest with his suit. All the pink would likely draw plenty of attention.
And Ingram welcomed it. Not for herself, but for her mother’s memory.
Ingram’s mother, Debbie Conner, 50, died of breast cancer Feb. 2. And whether by working with cancer programs or by riding in a pink car, Ingram will do whatever she can to honor her mother and bring more awareness to the disease that took her life.
“My mother, she was amazing … she was strong,” the 16-year-old Ingram said. “No matter what pain she was in, she’d do something else to make someone smile. I think she’d be very proud of me.”
Before the prom Saturday, Ingram, Ramey and several friends and relatives gathered at Oxford Lake to take prom pictures with the pink car. Ingram said her older sister’s husband, John Vaughn, came up with the idea to paint the car pink, complete with a large ribbon on the hood, in honor of Conner. The pink ribbon is the international symbol for breast cancer awareness and it, along with the color pink in general, are used by various cancer awareness groups and events, such as Relay for Life.
Vaughn was already repairing Ingram’s car after she had damaged it in a wreck when he decided on the new paint job.
“And I was debating on wearing pink before it all happened,” Ingram said of the wreck. “But when I saw the car finished, I knew wearing pink was definitely happening.”
Ramey said he was not sure he could pull off wearing pink at first.
“But now I’m kind of digging it,” he said.
Ramey said though he’s known Ingram for three years through school, he did not know her mother well until more recently.
“I learned a lot about her and I can tell she was a wonderful woman,” Ramey said.
Beverly Mundy of White Plains agreed that Conner was someone special.
“She was incredible — she was the best friend I’ve ever had,” Mundy said.
Ingram has many fond memories of her mother, but nothing sticks out quite like the hugs she’d give.
“She’d give the best hugs, the kind that would make world go ’round,” Ingram said.
After the prom, Ingram plans to continue using her pink car to promote breast cancer awareness. She already has appearances of the vehicle lined up for area health fairs and for a Relay for Life event in Saks.
“Any way I can use it to help with awareness, I will,” Ingram said.
Staff writer Patrick McCreless: 256-235-3561. On Twitter @PMcCreless_Star
