LEWISTON — Friends of a local woman who died in a Lisbon Street car crash Thursday held a candlelight memorial in her honor and placed a cross at the scene Saturday night.

Amy Ferguson, 39, a Denny’s waitress, mother and grandmother, was killed Thursday afternoon when her car collided with an SUV in front of the South Lewiston Baptist Church.

Kathy Cormier, a longtime friend and former co-worker, described Ferguson as a kind, caring and giving person who rarely said anything negative about other people.

“It’s just not something she’s capable of,” Cormier said.

Ferguson, she said, was a loyal worker who could always be counted on to volunteer for shifts, but away from work her life revolved around her daughter and young grandchildren.

“She was the rock of that family,” Cormier said.

Ferguson’s sudden death, she said, stunned her family and friends. 

“We’re just still trying to get our minds around it,” she said.

People have created a makeshift memorial at the site of the crash, with teddy bears and other items. Knowing how close the two women were, friends began asking Cormier whether there would be a formal memorial for Ferguson at the site. Unable to reach Ferguson’s daughter — “I take it she’s taking things very, very hard — still not accepting phone calls or anything.” — Cormier eventually agreed to pull one together.

Managers at the Travel Inn, where Ferguson had been staying while she looked for a new home, built a cross for the site. Police agreed to place a cruiser at the site to alert traffic on the busy road. Cormier put the word out on Facebook that a candlelight vigil would be held at 8 p.m. Saturday. 

She planned to keep it short, with the placing of the cross and the saying of a prayer. She was concerned about safety on the busy road and Saturday’s looming ice storm. 

“Amy wouldn’t have wanted a big thing herself,” Cormier said. “She always appreciated any little gesture, and that’s what this is. But I think a lot of people need to know that someone is doing it, even if they can’t be there. All this is about those of us who are left behind.”

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