(DEL NORTE, Colo.) — A tight-knit community in Southern Colorado is coming together to support a family whose nine-month-old daughter recently and suddenly passed away.

The Pubins family speaks to FOX21 News via Zoom. From left to right; David, Taylor, Amanda, and Robert.

Taylor and Amanda Pubins began their new life together after first meeting in Colorado Springs. They were both college sophomores at the time; she was a nursing student at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs and he was attending the U.S. Air Force Academy. Their journey together started after meeting through college nights at New Life Church.

“Shortly after that, we went on a couple of dates and shortly after that we were engaged and shortly after that we got married,” laughed Amanda, “all in Colorado Springs.”

As a military family, they moved a couple of times with their two sons, David and Robert, including to Denver and Los Angeles, before Amanda and Taylor decided it was time to move closer to home. Amanda grew up in Del Norte and the two quickly settled on moving to the small town west of Alamosa.

On April 21, 2024, their little girl was born.

“Anna came into the world quickly,” Amanda said, “and it was within 30 minutes, she was born at home and my mom, Maria, actually helped to deliver her.”

Her older brothers doted on Anna and watched over her closely. Taylor remembers the special connection he shared with his little girl.

“I was loving being a girl dad, I love my two boys but I was really excited about being a girl dad finally,” Taylor said, “and we just seemed to have a certain language where we could make each other laugh and that is what we had for nine beautiful months.”

On Feb. 12, 2025, Anna was called home.

“Anna became quickly ill within a day and we quickly sought care as we best saw fit for her,” Amanda said, “and it was within hours of being at the hospital that she went to go and be with the Lord.”

From that day forward, the Del Norte community wrapped their arms around the family and never let go. On the day of Anna’s celebration of life service, held on Feb. 16 at Gateway Church, Amanda recalled the town’s kindness.

“The entire community stopped everything,” she said. “We had a police escort in town so that we could get through to the other town safely without delay.”

Amanda remembered another special gift that week; a lighted star on D Mountain. She said growing up, she would look outside her window on Christmas to see the star; this time though, she was looking out through her baby girl’s nursery.

“I looked up and it was snowing that night and the star on the top of the mountain was lit up and I do feel like the community did that for us,” she said. “It did bring a lot of joy and peace and comfort.”

Soon after, a GoFundMe was created by Sarah White, a close friend of the family and Mayor Pro tem of Del Norte. The community had come together and sought ways to support the young family, with Taylor suggesting the idea of installing a toddler-safe playground and memorial bench in Del Norte Town Park in Anna’s memory.

“We created the GoFundMe because so many kind-hearted people wanted to help but weren’t sure how,” explained White. “This provided a meaningful way for them to show their support. Having the opportunity to help organize this effort for friends I’ve known and loved for most of my life is truly the least I can do.”

Amanda said the park holds a special place in her heart, as she grew up nearby and has many memories of walking along the Rio Grande River. “It will be wonderful having a bench there, where people can come and read Anna’s name and read a piece of scripture and be encouraged, and where people can come and just let their babies and kids be kids.”

White shared a similar sentiment. “The park where we all grew up playing is a special place, one where we can remember sweet Anna, and I’m honored that, through our collective efforts, it will continue to be a space where future generations can make their own memories.”

As for Taylor, he knew how much this would mean to his little girl. “For me, the idea came from just the thought of how beautiful Anna was,” he said, “and it just reminded me how beautiful this community is and how beautiful the body of Christ is and it was important to me that, that beauty was captured somehow in the community.”

“On behalf of the Town of Del Norte, it is heartwarming to see how our community has rallied around this cause, and we are happy to be a part of making this special project a reality,” said Mayor Shelly Burnett.

While days without Anna are taken one step at a time, the family knows they will see her again. “Anna knew nothing but love her entire life,” Amanda said. “We firmly believe God is going to redeem all this time we feel like we are missing with Anna.”

For other families going through an unimaginable tragedy, Amanda had this message for healing.

If you are in the midst of tragic loss, grief, despair, or a situation that just feels impossible, don’t walk, but run to your local church and I guarantee you there are going to be people there who want to love you, serve you, and walk alongside you through this seemingly impossible time. Paul says in Romans 8:18 “Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.” Because of what Jesus did on the cross, we are never forgotten and we are never forsaken. Lean on that truth as you just work to take the next step. 

Amanda Pubins

The family said they find comfort in knowing that Anna is now with her great-grandmother, Georgia Morales, who passed away just months before, on Nov. 1, 2024. “And I feel like my grandma just kind of prepared the way for all of us, this was God’s way of preparing all of us for loss and grief and the fact that my sweet Anna is now laid next to my grandma at the Veterans Home in Monte Vista.”

If you’d like to donate to the GoFundMe, click on the link above. At last check, and in just four days, it has raised over $17,200.