One year after the heartbreaking loss of their daughter, Lana Fellows, her parents, Rob and Megan Fellows, are asking the community to help honor her life through continued awareness, safe driving, and support for a scholarship created in her name.
Lana, a 2024 St. Cloud High School graduate and student at the College of William & Mary, passed away on November 24, 2024, following a tragic crash in St. Cloud. She was just 18 years old. Her parents say the past year has been the most difficult of their lives — but the love shown by the St. Cloud community has carried them through.
A Community’s Support in a Time of Devastating Loss
In a heartfelt message shared with Positively Osceola, the Fellows family expressed their profound gratitude:
“We want to begin by expressing our deepest gratitude to the St. Cloud community for the overwhelming love and support you’ve shown our family since our daughter, Lana Fellows, passed away… In a time when our world has been shattered, so many of you have held us up.”
They shared special thanks to Shana Burns at St. Cloud High School, Heather Stover at Antigravity Orlando, and Nicole at Hersey’s Florist, each of whom has helped keep Lana’s memory alive through meaningful acts of care and remembrance.
“To our friends and family who showed up and stayed — thank you,” they added. “Your check-ins, your presence, your willingness to sit with us in our grief have been tiny lights in an otherwise dark season. We could not do this without you.”
Lana Fellows was widely loved, deeply gifted, and already making her mark on the world.
A budding marketing and entrepreneurship student at William & Mary University, she had returned home for Thanksgiving break, excited to reconnect with her parents and share plans for her upcoming study-abroad semester.
Before college, she was a standout student at St. Cloud High School, where she captained the Golden Girls dance team during her junior and senior years. She was also a highly accomplished professional aerialist, performing for six years and earning numerous awards. Her passion for art, movement, creativity, and leadership left an impression on everyone who knew her.
Above all else, her parents say, Lana lived by a simple but powerful message:
“Create the world you love and always be kind.”
The Crash That Forever Changed a Family
The Fellows family also shared more about the night that took Lana’s life.
While driving home with her boyfriend — who, they emphasized, has been cleared of any wrongdoing — the pair traveled a route unfamiliar to him. In the dark, he missed a stop sign entering Nolte Road from Old Hickory Tree Road. Their vehicle was then struck on Lana’s side by another driver traveling more than 65 mph in a 45 mph zone.
Her boyfriend survived. The other driver received a seatbelt violation.
“Our daughter should be home right now, filling our house with laughter,” her parents said. “No parent should ever endure what we now live with every single day — the loss of a child. Our only child.”
They hope sharing the truth of that night encourages others to slow down, pay attention, and drive safely — especially during the busy holiday season.
Carrying Lana’s Legacy Forward: The Arts Alive Lana Fellows Scholarship
To ensure Lana’s light continues to shine, a scholarship has been established in her name through The Education Foundation of Osceola County. The Arts Alive Lana Fellows Scholarship honors her commitment to creativity, leadership, and kindness, helping other young people pursue their own dreams in the arts.
“It would mean the world to us if the community could donate,” the family said. “Your support helps keep Lana’s spirit, her love for learning, and her bright future burning in the hearts of others.”
To give:
Visit the Foundation’s donation page and scroll to “Scholarships.”
Then type: Arts Alive Lana Fellows
🔗 https://secure.qgiv.com/for/theeducationfoundationosceolacounty
A Family’s Hope for the Community
As they approach another holiday season without their daughter, Rob and Megan Fellows are asking for one thing above all:
“Please, please drive safely. No family should have to endure this kind of pain.”
Their message, their love, and their strength serve as a reminder that even in tragedy, a community can help carry a family forward — and ensure that a bright young life continues to inspire others.
