City of Casa Grande

The Garden of Sunshine Memorial Garden is a youth led project, led by the Casa Grande Youth Commission.

The name was chosen after a  young man, Zack “Sunshine” Eide, along with his sister  Katie, who were killed in a tragic crash during a massive dust storm in 2009. 

The Commission and the Eide family would like to create a garden that is reflective of  personal memories as well as a celebration of life.  The memorial wall is open to any family who has lost a child between the ages of 0-18 years  who has a Casa Grande connection.

The City of Casa Grande Community Services Department supports the project and is assisting the Youth Commission with the location at  the Carr-McNatt Park (by the Aquatics Center) on McMurray Avenue. 

The Commission is working hard to obtain sponsorships and donations to fund this project as a community project—not city funded.

Artists: To help with the artwork of plaques that will be placed on the memorial wall.
Landscapers: To help with design of garden.
Welders: To make the wrought iron wall for memorial plaques.
Electricians: To help with the lighting needs of the project.
Work Crews: To help with the creation of the garden (moving rock, planting flowers, building arbor, laying stones, etc.)
Work-Day Sponsors: Provide lunch, drinks and snacks to volunteers.
Sponsorship of plaques: This would cover the cost for families who would like to include their son or daughter’s name on the wall.
Donations are being accepted to help with the cost of this project.
Donations can be made to:
Casa Grande Youth Commission
c/o Garden of Sunshine Project

Preliminary work has been done through several meetings and planning sessions over the past six months. Some of that work resulted in:

• Naming of the project
• Location of the garden and working with city staff on necessary guidelines
• General idea for the design of garden
• Individual memorial plaque design
• Start-up funding by Youth Commission and several donations