Annie: A legacy of grace and faith

Annie Montgomery, a 2-year-old who died in March, will be remembered for her joy for life, her never-quit personality and her love for her daddy and Jesus.

Her mother, EA Montgomery, said she remembers the day she and her husband, John, brought Annie home from the hospital on March 5, 2019. This was EA’s second childbirth, but Annie was delivered at almost 42 weeks.

“From the minute she was born, she seemed way bigger in body and spirit than a newborn baby,” she said. “She came out so healthy, strong, big and perfect.”

From early on, Annie smiled all the time and brought so many people joy, EA said.

“She was such a happy baby, and I always said, ‘This is too good to be true. At some point, she’s going to put me through the ringer.’”

Annie loved the water and was enrolled in an infant safety rescue class in March 2020. She completed three lessons before the world shut down for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Water safety has always been one of her family’s top priorities, EA said, adding that accidents can happen even when parents and children are nearby.

In March 2021, just over one week after Annie’s second birthday, Annie drowned in the swimming pool at her house in Homewood. EA pulled Annie out of the pool and started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

EA’s friend Hope Cox, who is an anesthesiologist, was swimming with the Montgomerys that day, and Cox intubated Annie poolside once the emergency medical technicians arrived. This action gave the Montgomerys an extra 48 hours with Annie, EA said. Also, through CaringBridge, EA’s closest friend, Hannah Morris, was able to keep everyone informed in real time and recruit all of the support and prayer they needed.

“I feel like in our country, for like two years now, all we’ve done is fight and argue, and there’s been so much divisiveness and so much anger and judgment,” she said. “For 48 hours, so many people across the country and the world were praying for one thing. Everyone was on the same page. Everyone was able to think outside of themselves. And that gift came only because I had two brilliant friends, and our community had a really great response team.”

“For 48 hours, we were given the opportunity to be with our baby, to surrender to suffering, to receive and give grace.”

Annie died March 15 in the arms of her parents. EA said she had an “epic moment” on the way to the funeral home.

“I was sitting at the stoplight on Highway 31, and the cars were just flying by,” she said. “I had this crazy out-of-body moment, and was like: None of these cars know me. No one knows I’m going to a funeral for my 2-year-old baby. And I also thought, I don’t know what the people in the cars next to me are going through. ... We just don’t know what people are going through, ever. It’s so important to extend grace.”

Annie’s legacy is one of grace and faith, EA said. Annie loved going to church and school at Our Lady of Sorrows in Homewood.

“That baby loved Jesus, and everyone knew it,” she said. “She would run down the aisle at church, pointing to the crucifix and the stained glass, screaming, ‘Jesus!’ She wanted to kiss the statue of Mary and baby Jesus in front of the church every time I picked her up from school.”

EA also said Annie’s legacy is trusting that which cannot be fully understood.

“We are people of faith, so I don’t think we could have done anything to change the trajectory of the life Christ had planned for her,” she said. “I believe we have a narrative that is written.”

In Annie’s final moments in Children’s Hospital, EA said she repeated the same phrases.

“I love you. It is an honor to be your mother. And although I do not understand the ‘why,’ I am here for it.”