Daughter keeps her mother’s legacy alive through firework tent
By Stephanie Maniche
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WICHITA, Kansas (KAKE) — You may have seen the fireworks stand on the corner of 13th and Mt. Carmel. Running it is Krystal Irvin. Her mom, Vanessa, ran a stand for over a decade.
“We were at a church and the youth pastor left it and they had already actually had the firework stand set up and the proceeds were going to the church’s youth camp,” said Irvin
She said the fireworks stand was her mother’s happy place until tragedy happened.
“She was murdered last July,” said Irvin as she took a minute to suppress her emotion.
Irvin said she lost her mother to a fatal shooting at the hands of her father.
A few months before she lost her brother.
This is the first year Irvin is handling the stand alone.
Following in the footsteps of her mom, Irvin plans to give 5 percent of the proceeds to Riverside Christian Church. She said when her mom ran it, she would give a percentage to different charities.
Many people who knew Vanessa described her as giving and caring.
“Dedicated herself to working with homeless, working with youth, working with children that had special needs,” added close family friend Hendrik Smidderks.
Irvin said there are days that she sits in the tent and cries. Even though her mom is gone, Irvin credits her mother for the strength she has now.
“She was my other half, she was my partner, so losing her has been really hard in navigating this world.”
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