Classmates hold memorial for student killed in 2019 crash

GLEASON, Tenn. — Carlie Hugueley was just shy of her sixth grade year when she was killed in a car wreck in May 2019.

Wednesday, her classmates and family held a memorial service for her after a previously scheduled service for March was cancelled due to COVID-19.

“Her class had the thought to get together and fund raise some money for her funeral, which they did. They took up and did a roll block around town and collected other funds to donate to her funeral, and then they had the idea to plant a memorial tree here on campus,” said Gleason School Principal Lee Lawrence.

Her classmates remember her as the happiest kid around school, who never tolerated anyone getting bullied.

“She was laughter, she smiled at everybody, she loved everybody,” said one of Hugueley’s classmates, Luke Lawrence. “And she had this mean, mean cat, and it liked nobody, but it loved her.”

Another classmate, Colt Corbin, says she had the power to make anyone’s day go from bad to good in an instant.

“She was just a friend to everyone. You would see her in the hallway, and you couldn’t have a frown on your face. You’d have to just smile,” Corbin said.

Hugueley impacted so many lives at Gleason School. Not only the students, but the faculty members as well.

They all say that’s what they’ll remember most about her. They say they are grateful for the little time that she did have with them at the school, and that they are happy they could be a part of her life.

“Carlie was a great student. She’s one of those students, as her classmates indicated, always had a smile on her face. [She was] very caring, very loving, very warm toward everyone she encountered, so she’s definitely missed in the class of 2026,” Lee Lawrence said.

Hugueley was known for having a love for butterflies, so her classmates all stood in a circle and chose to honor her by placing a butterfly on her memorial site one by one. They also gave her mother a butterfly balloon.

Classmates designed a T-shirt in her memory. It is orange, Gleason’s color, with the words “Team Carlie #1.”

Principal Lawrence says the October Glory Maple tree planted for her will forever be in front of the school, blooming every fall.