Tree of Life Planted At Homicide Memorial

A Tree of Life was planted in the shadow of West Rock to honor New Haveners killed by gun violence.

The tree was planted Tuesday afternoon at the Lost Generation Memorial Garden under construction by the West River.

Marlene Miller-Pratt –- the visionary behind the memorial garden honoring homicide victims, including her own son -– led a gathering of mothers and fathers for Tuesday’s planting. The group assembled at 5 p.m. with shovels, gloves, and hand sanitizer where the fern leaf beech was waiting. The tree was dug up in New Jersey the day prior and then driven to Connecticut.

The golden sun shone against West Rock in the backdrop, and the group paused to admire the view as Miller-Pratt spoke.

“We have come here together to plant the tree of life, dedicated to the children we love and miss,” she said. ​“As we walk down the pathway and see the statue of families, we are reminded of loss, but as we come to the tree, we can see our children living.”

Each of the parents went around and said their children’s names. On the count of three, they all began shoveling.

The choice of fern leaf beech was intentional.

“The blooms are purple, symbolizing royalty and loyalty,” said Miller-Pratt.

Additionally, the tree will always be a source of life as ​“the leaves stay year-round, like an evergreen,” added Pamela Jaynez. ​“I’m excited for the benches around the tree,” added Jaynez. ​“When students come from high schools, we can sit them around the tree and teach them about why this project happened.”

Jaynez, who also lost her son, has been part of the core ​“visionary team” along with Miller-Pratt, Celeste Robinson-Fulcher, and Winifred ​“Winnie” Phillips Cue. Cue passed away this April, and ​“her loss will always be felt,” said Jaynez.

Creating The Park

Miller-Pratt had the idea for the Lost Generation Memorial Garden to make sure her son was never forgotten.

“They asked if I just wanted a few trees, but I didn’t want that,” she said ​“I wanted a full garden where I could make a change.”

Building the garden has also felt like a way she can care for her deceased son, Gary Kyshon Miller. ​“You can’t pray or fight in the courts for your kid to come back,” Miller-Pratt said. ​“The garden was one thing we could still do for our kids.”

Over the last few years, she made the idea a reality. The team, along with community volunteers, secured $300k from the state, got the park approved and found a location on Valley Street. Last May, the ground was officially broken.

The project is slated to be finished in November of this year instead of June, due to Covid-19 delays. ​“We initially had a bumpy start with Covid,” Miller-Pratt note. ​“But now, we meet every two to three days on Zoom because the project’s moving so fast!”

Construction is in the home stretch. This month, volunteers are coming in every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon (except this coming Saturday) to put plants down and build the park.

Miller-Pratt pointed out a batch planted by local high school and Yale student volunteers. ​“Didn’t they do an amazing job?”

Chris Ozyck, project supervisor for the Urban Resource Initiative (URI), led the tree digging Tuesday. He’s been coming in almost every day these past few weeks. Workers from the ex-offender nonprofit group Emerge worked with himn, using permeable pavers to enable water to seep into the ground.

Indeed, the entire garden was built with the surrounding environment in mind. Certain rock walls that Ozyck built, for example, are the same color as the backdrop of West Rock.

“I think West Rock adds so much,” said Ozyck. ​“You can really engage in meditation and reflection.”

William Tisdale initially volunteered with Emerge and then was hired as a staff member. When he heard about the project, he knew he had to help.

“Two of my friends were killed right outside my house, a double murder,” he said. ​“These killings affect so many more people than just the families; they affect communities.”

“Nothing can stop me from working on this. I owe them that much,” said Tisdale, referring to his deceased friends.

Future Visions

The four women developed many of the main ideas for the garden: wind chimes, a pathway with victims’ names, the family sculpture, and the Tree of Life.

After one of Pratt’s students drew an outline for the park, the team met with Svigals + Partners, which did the design for the project pro bono.

Svigals + Partners also designed the Sandy Hook memorial, noted Robinson-Fulcher. ​“So when I met with them, they genuinely asked for my input as a mom. I still keep in touch with someone I met at the firm.”

Pratt led a tour of the park, showing the various ideas in the making.

“Here’s the bricks with all the names,” she said. The bricks, engraved with the name and age of the victim, glowed in the evening sun. Mothers gathered around the bricks, pointing to their children.

The park will have a main pathway, Miller-Pratt explained, where the bricks would be placed in between ​“time bars.” For example, a 2001 time bar would have all the bricks of people killed that year. The path made for an arresting visual: the lengths between the years were different, so people could directly see years in which more people were killed.

The time bars start from 1976 and continue all the way until 2020. So far, there are 712 names, and 2020 has not been updated yet.

“I hope people walk down this path and say ​‘That’s too many names,’” said Miller-Pratt.

Along the pathway, Miller-Pratt mentioned, there will be ​“12-foot tall wind chimes” that begin to play as people walk down the path, so they ​“could start to feel the sense of peace.” There are also flowers, which were primarily planted by siblings, parents, and relatives of the victims. ​“I wanted to foster a community,” said Miller-Pratt. ​“When they’re all together, working outside, they can start to talk about their shared experiences, and ask each other: how did you deal with it?”

In the middle of the park, there will be a statue of families. ​“When you look at the sculpture from the entrance, you’d see a whole family,” explained of Jaynez. ​“But as you’d walk along the path, you’d see family members disappear from view – just like what happened in real life.”

And at the end of the path, there was the Tree of Life.

Planting The Tree

The parents gathered around the tree, attempting to distance while shoveling. There was laughter in the air, and some mothers talked about a new diet. A toy glider flew over the sky, and the group paused to gasp in admiration.

But as each member of the group reflected on what the tree meant to them, the tone grew more serious.

“To me, the tree seems like a way to reminisce and look back, but in a positive way,” said Jaynez. ​“It’s a year-round symbol, a celebration of life.”

“The flowers are purple, the life and spirit of my son Taymor,” said Celeste Bradley. ​“It’s sad, but it’s nice, too.” Every Saturday, she goes to the graveyard after church to visit her son’s grave. Now, she’ll come to the park after visiting the grave for a more peaceful site.

“It means everything,” said Allison DeRoche, whose son PJ was murdered in 2010. ​“It feels like his presence is all around.” DeRoche visits her son’s gravesite every week, but ​“it feels strange stepping where you know others are buried.” Here, she said, she can come to sit or even chat with PJ.

Patricia Brown Edwards agreed. ​“When I go to the graveyard, I just look at a headstone and dirt,” she said. Both of her children – Dennis R. Carr and Kyle B. Edwards – were killed in 1997 and 2014, respectively. She hoped to find a more serene place to visit here, she said.

“For me, the Tree symbolizes hope,” said Robinson-Fulcher, whose daughter Ericka died in 2013. ​“My daughter constantly tried to improve our home community in West Haven, bringing people together through events like basketball tournaments. It’s my job to continue her legacy.”

Others wanted the community to see the site as a warning, and take note.

“I hope this will serve a reminder for young people to not have their names here,” said Augustus Haywood, whose son Reginald was killed in 1989. 

“No one expects it will happen to them; I certainly didn’t,” said Robinson-Fulcher. ​“But when people walk along the path, they might realize it could be their family member. I hope that means when they see something, they’ll say something.”

Beyond all, the garden will be one of healing and peace.

“This park isn’t limited to families affected by gun violence,” said Miller-Pratt. ​“If someone has a cancer, this a spot for them to come with their families. If someone just wants to read, they can come and sit here.”

“I can see myself sitting here and crying,” said Bradley. ​“But that’s part of the healing.”