On a snowy, icy day in November 2014, the Waconia community was shaken by a devastating car accident that claimed the lives of 34-year-old Misty Petschl and her six-year-old daughter, Jazmine.
In the years since, friends and family have found meaningful ways to honor the memory of Misty and “Jazzy,” as she was affectionately known—including Heather Anton, a teacher at Waconia Public Schools and Southview Elementary School.
Anton was Jazzy’s first-grade teacher back in 2014 and described her as having a “smiley and spunky personality” and someone who loved the color purple and rainbows.
“I became really close with that class and many of the families because of everything we went through together,” Anton said. “We decided that spring that we wanted to do something for Jazzy’s classmates to remember Jazzy and Misty as the first grade year came to a close.”
From that desire to do something meaningful, Anton started a tradition of inviting families in her class to volunteer at Feed My Starving Children, the nonprofit organization that has volunteers pack meals that are then sent around the world to feed children in need.
“It was just such a good experience because you’re doing something to help other kids and other people, and we were also doing it in Jazzy and Misty’s memory,” Anton said. “Then it just became something we continued to do every year.”
Each year since the 2014-15 school year, Anton has invited her former and current students and their families to take part in the Feed My Starving Children event. With Waconia being the tight-knit community that it is, the event grew year after year. This past Saturday morning, around 100 volunteers gathered to honor Jazzy and Misty Petschl. The room buzzed with energy as volunteers of all ages, many in purple shirts, worked side by side to scoop, seal, and pack meals with care. By morning’s end, more than 32,000 meals for children around the world had been prepared.
For Jeff Petschl, Jazzy’s father and Misty’s husband, amidst his grief after the accident, he said he developed a fear that his loved ones would be forgotten. The annual Feed My Starving Children event helped to put that fear aside.
“Heather made a decision to take the love she had for our little girl and turn it into something bigger than any of us,” he said. “And year after year, for twelve years now, she has shown up, organized, rallied people together, and refused to let that love fade. Twelve years is not a small thing. That is 12 years of dedication, 12 years of showing up, and 12 years of choosing Jazzy and we are forever grateful. There are no words big enough for what that has meant to our family.”
Jazzy would be a senior at Waconia High School this year, and the classmates she shared that first-grade classroom with are now preparing to graduate and begin the next chapter of their lives. With that milestone in mind, Anton felt this spring offered a meaningful moment to bring the Feed My Starving Children tradition to a close.
“Even though this has been an amazing thing, it felt like this was a good time to have some closure,” Anton said. “Some families might continue to go on their own, but as Jazzy’s teacher and with her classmates graduating, this felt like the right time to bring this chapter to a close—while still carrying her memory forward in all the ways it’s touched our lives. Thank you so much to all the families that have been part of this special tradition over the last 12 years.”
While the tradition may be coming to a close, Petschl said the impact Anton has made will never fade for their family.
“Heather is an amazing person,” Petschl said. “She really is just genuine and a wonderful soul and she’s been a really good friend to us. I can’t say enough good things about her and how her love for those girls just brought everyone together.”
After 12 years, the impact of that simple decision to turn grief into action continues to ripple far beyond a single classroom. Petschl also shared a message for the students and families who have been part of the event over the years.
“To each of you who gave your time today — you didn't have to be here. You chose to be. You chose to pack meals for children on the other side of the world who will never know your name, but whose lives will be touched by your hands. Jazzy had the biggest heart of any six year old I have ever known. She would have absolutely loved knowing that her memory brought all of you into the same room to feed kids who were hungry. I truly believe she does know,” he said. “Twelve years. Thousands and thousands of meals. All because one little girl named Jazzy was loved. Thank you for keeping her memory alive in the most beautiful way possible. Thank you for being here. And thank you for being exactly the kind of people that remind the rest of us that goodness is real.”
