Crime victims remembered at memorial garden ceremony
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
The Washington County Crime Victims Memorial Garden was dedicated Sunday during the National Day of Remembrance after recent renovations were completed. The work was done by landscaper Michael Gosnik.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Family and friends of those who were victims of violent crimes commemorated their loved ones Sunday at a National Day of Remembrance at the Washington County Crime Victims Garden behind the Washington County Courthouse. Diane Margie, mother of Vincent “Mystro” Kelley, who died while trying to stop a bank robbery in June 2013, was among those who attended.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Dennis Taylor, front, collects a rose in memory of his brother, Bruce Taylor, during the National Day of Remembrance at the Washington County Crime Victims Garden behind the Washington County Courthouse on Sunday. Bruce Taylor, who was a middle school English teacher, was shot and killed in 1974 the day after his 25th birthday. From left are Pam Tarr, Casey Roman, Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh, Cathy Loos, and Suzanne Kelley.
The Washington County Crime Victims Garden contains the names of 194 victims of violent crime. The names are etched into small rocks that are featured in the garden.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
The Washington County Crime Victims Garden serves as a place of solace and community for those who have lost loved ones to violent crimes.
Family and friends of those who lost their lives to violent crimes in Washington County came together Sunday for a memorial event to commemorate their loved ones.
More than 110 people gathered at the Washington County Crime Victims Memorial Garden behind the Washington County Courthouse as part of the National Day of Remembrance to find community with others who have been touched by violence.
“Although nothing can ease the pain of losing our loved ones, the garden is a reminder that you are not alone,” said Pam Tarr, whose son, Thomas Tarr Jr., was shot and killed near the entrance to Woodland Hills Apartments in North Franklin Township in the early morning hours of Jan. 8, 2006 at the age of 24. “Unfortunately, we now belong to the same club that no one wants to be a member of, not even our worst enemy.”
The event also included the dedication of the crime victims memorial, which features 194 small, smooth rocks engraved with the names of crime victims and recently underwent extensive restoration.
The garden was dedicated in September 2008 and has since served as a source of great comfort for family and friends, uniting them in their grief and in their memories.
Among those who attended the service was Belinda Milligan of Washington, whose sister, Donna, was shot and killed by her boyfriend in Charleroi in 1978.
“The garden is beautiful, but it’s sad. They did an amazing job with this garden and it’s so serene,” said Milligan, who struggled to fight back tears. “I come here a lot just to feel that peace and serenity.”
Milligan said that 45 years later, she still struggles to cope with the loss of her sister, who left behind two children, who were 5 and 6 when their mother died.
And Miligan believes her sister’s death led to the death of their mother two years after Donna was killed.
“She supposedly died of a heart attack, but I say it was a broken heart. She never got over it,” said Milligan. “You don’t get over it, you just learn to deal with it, you have to move on.”
Speakers included Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh and Marie Christinas, director of the Washington County District Attorney’s Office of Victim Services.
“As I look around, I see the faces of family and friends of the victims whose lives have been altered forever by a senseless criminal act. I know my words can never make up for the pain and loss you have suffered,” said Walsh, noting 21 names were added to the garden in the past year. “I will continue to prosecute all crimes vigorously, especially those crimes where individuals have such reckless disregard for human life. But as I have said to you before, I can never give back what you have truly lost, your loved one, a life that was needlessly cut short by the senseless criminal act of another person.”
During the service, those who have lost a loved one and who are actively involved with the memorial garden – among them, Tarr, Suzanne Kelley, Cathy Loos, and Casey Roman – read aloud the names of all of the 194 victims memorialized in the garden.
Family members who attended were given a white rose when their loved one’s name was called.
Dennis Taylor accepted a rose in memory of his brother, Bruce Taylor, who was shot and stabbed to death in 1974 moments before he started fishing from the banks of 10 Mile Creek, about a half-mile from his parents’ home.
Taylor was an English teacher at Connellsville Area Junior High and had celebrated his 25th birthday the day before he was attacked and killed.
“My mother became aware of the garden and wanted to have a stone placed here for my brother,” said Taylor. “This is a very comforting place, a place where people who have shared this experience find a sense of community together.”