Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sister Keeps Memory Alive At Graduation

In a gymnasium interspersed with roses and revelry, somber faces and silly string, Tonya Niles walked in her sister’s stead.

As she walked across the stage to accept Christina Rose Finney’s diploma, the 232 graduates, their friends and families came to their feet, applauding and cheering Finney’s memory.

Finney, a popular student known for her winning smile, died last week in a car accident that shocked Post Falls.

Niles wore a new flower print dress, just hemmed that afternoon, but chose not to don her sister’s cap and gown.

“I don’t want to take the place of her. I just want to do this for her,” Niles said earlier Tuesday. “I know Christina would have done it for me. She deserves to get her diploma.”

In the audience were the Finney family, and the family of Danielle Muncey, the fellow Post Falls student who accidentally drove through a stop sign into Finney’s pickup.

Finney was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle. She died the instant her truck rolled over her.

Danielle Muncey could face charges ranging from failing to stop at a stop sign to misdemeanor manslaughter, according to the Idaho State Police.

The 16-year-old Muncey, devastated, cried for nearly two days straight, “blaming herself,” said her mother Luciele Muncey before the ceremony.

Too upset to study, Muncey has not returned to school. Neither has her older sister, Camille, a fellow classmate of Finney’s. Camille was one of three passengers in her sister’s car, and suffered minor injuries.

So far, Danielle Muncey has not accepted the many offers of counseling for her grief, but has benefitted from the outreach of her friends, her mother said.

Soon she’ll be hearing from the Finneys, too.

Niles said she would do anything for her younger sister, and that includes forgiving Danielle Muncey.

“I hope she realizes that everybody makes mistakes. That could have been any one of us,” Niles said, her eyes tired from crying.

Her mother agreed.

“She (Christina) wouldn’t want us to have hard feelings, and we don’t,” said Beverly Finney. “We plan to talk to them. We need to get ourselves together first.”

Both the Munceys and the Finneys have received hundreds of letters of support from the students of Post Falls High.

“It’s just amazing,” Beverly Finney said.

“They talk about their memories of her, and they’re thanking us for sharing her with them.”

More than 700 people attended a funeral service Monday, too many to fit in the Christ the King Lutheran Church in Coeur d’Alene.

Students said the service helped them cope with their grief.

As the funeral procession made its way to the cemetery, Niles looked out her rear window to see dozens of cars snaking off in the distance.

When they reached the grave site, the relentless gray rain suddenly ceased, Niles said.

The rain resumed and drenched graduates and their families as they walked from cars parked blocks away to the high school gymnasium Tuesday evening.

Christina Finney was remembered during the graduation ceremony in several ways.

Students wore tiny pink and blue ribbons for her; the valedictorian spoke of Finney’s determination as an athlete; the audience observed a moment of silence in her honor; and her sister was the first of the class of 233 to cross the stage.

And there were the roses.

Roses filled huge vases at the steps, symbolizing the unity of the class of 1995.

Though the idea originated before Finney’s death, it took on new meaning after the tragedy.

The roses were handed to graduates as they left the stage.

“They also mean that Christina is still with us,” said Destiny Cissell, who carried her rose delicately.

“It means it (the accident) didn’t break us apart,” said Zack Nichols, another graduate.

That unity was vividly demonstrated when Danielle’s older sister, Camille, walked the stage to receive her diploma.

When her name was announced, her classmates sent up a loud cheer and saluted her with a wave of red roses.

Staff writer Winda Benedetti contributed to this report.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo