Mama Bear was Mara Soriano's last link to her late mother, and thanks to the kindness of strangers and two good Samaritans, the stuffed animal is back where she belongs.
Mara's mom, Marilyn Soriano, made the stuffed animal at Build-A-Bear in 2017. Her creation, dubbed Mama Bear, had a pair of glasses and jacket like one she wore. Marilyn, who had been diagnosed with cancer, also recorded a message for her daughter that was put inside the bear. Mara told The Canadian Press that her mother's voice would later change because of the cancer, and "that bear was basically the last reminder of the mom that I knew — it was her voice that I remembered growing up." Marilyn died in June 2019.
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Mara and Mama Bear were reunited on Tuesday night, and while the stuffed animal's glasses are missing, she is otherwise in perfect condition. "Not a single scratch, not a single thread is off," Mara said. She is getting married next summer, and told The Canadian Press Mama Bear will sit where her mom would have been.Catherine Garcia
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