IRRIGON — Prom is a night to remember for many high school seniors, but a global pandemic made Kaylee Seelye’s prom especially memorable.

Oregon’s seniors saw their school career come to an abrupt and unceremonious end when the state announced schools would not be reopening this year, and seniors on track to graduate would automatically be given a passing grade without needing to complete any more schoolwork. Kaylee said she had been feeling sad about missing out on milestones like prom and a graduation ceremony.

“To be honest, I was a little depressed because I didn’t get those last few days with my friends, and I didn’t get to say goodbye to my teachers,” she said. “It’s just a lot of little missed things.”

She talked with her mother, Rebecca Seelye, about how she was struggling, and it inspired Rebecca to hatch a plan — she would throw a surprise prom for her daughter.

Rebecca called Tyler Lowry, Kaylee’s boyfriend, and looped him in on the plan. She rented out a conference room at Oxford Suites in Hermiston and she and other family members decorated the room.

On Saturday night, she told Kaylee they were going to go get some family pictures taken, and asked her to do her hair and makeup and wear her long red dress.

The family drove to the hotel and walked into the room, where Lowry then made a surprise entrance. After taking a few photos, the rest of the family left, leaving the two teens alone for a couple of hours to enjoy a barbecue dinner, sparkling cider and a romantic playlist of songs.

“They had a candlelight dinner, they played music,” Rebecca said. “They had the whole experience, but it was just for them.”

Kaylee said it was an “amazing” night she would never forget.

“If I could describe it, it’s probably cliché to say, but it was extremely dreamy,” she said.

She said she hadn’t expected to get to experience prom, and she was grateful to her family for making it happen.

Lowry said he was happy to help when Rebecca called him, although it was hard not to say anything about the surprise when Kaylee wanted to talk about how sad it was they would be missing prom.

“It was really hard keeping it all a secret and not being able to tell her,” he said. “I wanted to tell her so bad.”

Rebecca said she hoped that other families would consider ways they might help their children enjoy substitutes for activities that they are missing out on right now.

“Right now is not normal, but I wanted to let parents out there know that even though life has changed, you can still adapt,” she said.