Woman who took in her nieces following their Banbury mother's death renews appeal
A woman took in her two nieces after their Banbury mother died of cancer has renewed an appeal for help.
Annmarie Grant sadly died in Katharine House Hospice last December after a fierce fight with breast cancer.
Her two girls were taken to the USA to live with their aunt, Annamarie’s sister, who promised to care for them.
But the legal requirements to allow Kahlilah, seven, and Thea, 12, to be adopted by Kirsty Gutierrez have proved difficult and very costly.
A GoFundMe appeal set up when Annmarie was ill has raised about two thirds of the £33,000 cost.
Mrs Gutierrez said: “Annmarie was admitted into Katharine House in December 2025 and the girls have been with me in the US since January. My dad and stepmum took care of the girls until I could bring them to the US.
"Annmarie passed away peacefully on March 3. Our Mum went to the UK to be by her side in her last days and her celebration of life was held on March 19.
"We miss her more than words can describe and we're all feeling a big hole in our lives with her gone but we're also finding some comfort that she's not suffering anymore. Even with a terminal diagnosis, she fought like hell and exceeded the expectations of her doctors. I've never seen strength like that before but it was all for her girls,” she said.
“Unfortunately, the adoption and immigration process has been a huge challenge, to say the least. We've been having to travel back and forth from the US to the UK every few months.
"Between adoption fees, legal fees and immigration fees, the process is expected to cost upwards of £33,000. While we were so blessed to raise $21k from prior GoFundMe efforts, almost all of that money went to our legal fees for the custody arrangements and the cost of relocating the girls.
"So, as you can imagine, we're needing a lot of support to move through the adoption procedures. Right now, their relocation is considered temporary, because without formal adoption they cannot stay in the US permanently.”
Mrs Gutierrez is a single mother with two biological children and is now raising four youngsters. She says it was a ‘gigantic’ transition for everyone but mostly for Kalilah and Thea.
“It was beyond heartbreaking for them to lose their Mum at ages 12 and 7 but they've been incredibly strong (like their Mum) and make progress every day.
"Life in the US is quite different from the UK but they've taken it in stride, formed new friendships and started participating in extracurricular activities (like band, taekwondo and dance).
"It's a stretch financially but it's important for them to be able to have fun and participate in sports and activities that they enjoy - they deserve to enjoy their childhood as much as possible, especially with everything they've been through since Annmarie's diagnosis.
"Our Mum has been incredibly supportive, even with living four hours away from us and they have a lot of family here to love on them.”
To contribute to the fund go to the fundraising page here.