Outdoor Memorials in Garden City: Estates Section

This week Patch looks at outdoor memorials in the Estates section of town: Tullamore Park, Stratford School, the Unitarian Universalist Church, Garden City Community Church and Garden City High School.

They add up to almost 130 memorials to loved ones.

Tullamore Park has three outdoor memorials.

Located under the Tullamore Park sign: "Maurice Kirby- Husband and father, Trustee, Village of Garden City, Recreation and Traffic Commissioner, President, Property Owners Association of Garden City Estates. Selfless, consummately dedicated, quiet yet forceful, 'the voice of moderation,' an engineering wizard, volunteerism at its best..."

Robert V. Garibaldi- Tree and plaque- "Planted in memory of our adored grandfather."

Jonathan Neff Capello- Tree and plaque- "In loving memory of 'Jono'- Class of 1996- 92919779112001." There is another plaque dedicated to Capello at Garden City High School.


Stratford School also has three memorials.

Andrew Palmeri- A tree and plaque in front of the school- "In loving memory of our friend."

A tree and plaque in front of the school- "Dedicated to the Stratford Avenue School by the sixth grade of 1950."

James L. Kane- It is located in Stratford's back courtyard and features large Hummel-style little boy and girl statues with a plaque that reads, "Fisher girl and boy presented to James L. Kane- Principal, Stratford Avenue School 1970-1978- True friend of children- Donated by faculty and P.T.A."

Unitarian Universalist Church has one memorial. "In loving memory of Lynn Strauber."

Garden City Community Church has more than 80 outdoor memorials in their Nursery School "playscape" area. There are stepping stones with engraved names, as well as benches, trees and outdoor items.

One stepping stone reads, "In memory of George and Eleanor Nohe." The Nohe family was one of the original members of the Community Church.

Marianne Seusser has two stones. "Her love of children shone in all she did" and "In loving memory- Marianne Seusser- teacher and friend." She was an active member as well.

Garden City High School has more than 40 outdoor memorials, recorded by former Social Studies department chair Doug Sheer on a map and information about each. Visit www.CommunityWalk.com for more information.

Mollie Biggane '98- "In Loving Memory- 1980-2000." Mollie died of skin cancer at age 20. Her family has run the Mollie Biggane Melanoma Foundation, which educates people of the dangers of skin cancer, and has saved many lives. Please visit www.MolliesFund.org for more information.

Two memorials are for former GCHS teachers Mark Levine and Bob McGowan.

"Mark Levine was the Foreign Language Department Chair from 1973 through 2002. During the early 1990s when there were few computers in the school district, Mark stood out as the person who grasped the potential of the Internet and frequently explained to the faculty the potential of computers. While computers and the internet are commonplace throughout the district today, Mark was truly years ahead of his time in seeing where education would be heading," Sheer said.

"Bob McGowan was an English teacher from 1969 through 1997. Bob was a lover of both the written and spoken word and shared that love with his students and colleagues for almost 30 years. He served as the advisor to the high school newspaper, Echo, and was a yearly contender in the Intramural Quiz Bowl competition where his love of literature and knowledge of spelling some of the most difficult words proved so helpful to his team," Sheer added.

Do you have a special outdoor memorial in town for a loved one? Do you know someone who has been memorialized? Let us know in the comments section below. (Your comments may be used in a future article.)