feature - boston marathon bombing victim
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7/23/2019 Feature - Boston Marathon Bombing Victim
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12/28/2015 Medford native Krystle Campbell's family: New peace garden 'represents joy, not tragedy' - Gate House
http://medford.wickedlocal.com/article/20151021/NEWS/151029452/0/SEARCH?template=printart
Print PaBy Alex Ruppenthal
October 21. 2015 9:00AM
Medford native Krystle Campbell's family: New peace garden 'represents joy, not
tragedy'
Krystle Campbell's parents, Patricia an
William, speak to the press about th
memorial and their daughter, saying "sh
just loved life" following the Kryst
Campbell Peace Garden dedicatio
ceremony on Sunday, Oct. 18. Wicke
Local Photo / Nicole Goodhue Boyd
Bill Campbell stood from his chair Sunday afternoon and leaned forward, craning his neck to get a clear view of the
four white doves waiting to meet the crisp fall air.
In front of the stage where Campbell sat Sunday afternoon with his wife, Patty, were four friends of the couple’s
daughter, Krystle Campbell, who was killed April 15, 2013, in the Boston Marathon bombing at the age of 29.
Simultaneously, Bonnie Fleischer, Matt White and Erin and Elliott Nerland opened the white baskets in front of them.
Bill Campbell, wearing a shirt and tie underneath an oversized black winter jacket, smiled like a boy watching an
airplane soar above his head as the four doves flew off, flapping through the brisk wind.
He clapped with everyone else and watched the doves fly over the crowd and up toward the blue-grey sky. Still smiling,
he reached back and touched hands with his daughter’s friends as they returned to their seats.
As a woman began singing “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” Bill Campbell, still beaming, started clapping almost
immediately, before anyone else, looking toward the singer and soaking in the sounds from the band off-stage.
Oct. 18 marked a turning point for Bill and Patty Campbell, who gathered with survivors of the bombing, families of
other victims, first responders, elected officials and hundreds of community members to dedicate Medford’s Krystle
Campbell Peace Garden, a $1.3 million park under construction on the northwest corner of Riverside Avenue and Clippership Drive, at the site of the Medfo
Senior Center.
Before this day, the Campbells, who live on Park Street, had struggled through 915 days filled with mourning and grief since losing their daughter, includi
several days testifying at the trial of one of the bombers.
But Sunday was different.
“That’s the weight that’s lifted,” Bill Campbell said after the ceremony. “It’s not a sorrow. It’s like a rejoicing now. No more sorrow.”
The peace garden, which the city projects will be completed by June 2016, will feature a brick path inscribed with the names of communities and landmar
along the Boston Marathon route, said Medford Mayor Michael J. McGlynn.
The path will lead to a collection of fountains arranged in the shape of a compass marked by symbols honoring the four victims who died as a result of t
bombing: A police badge for MIT Police officer Sean Collier; a baseball glove for Dorchester Little Leaguer Martin Richard; books for Boston Univer
graduate student Lingzi Lu; and, for Medford native Krystle Campbell, a sunflower, her favorite flower.
A fifth, taller fountain will stand in the center of the compass and serve as a symbol of world peace, McGlynn said, adding that he hoped the garden would o
a place for contemplation, reflection and relaxation.
“Above all, it shall always be about the lives of a courageous police officer, a young boy carrying an adult message, a student with a thirst to learn and a you
woman with a million-dollar smile who was a leader and a loyal friend,” McGlynn said.
Krystle Campbell was also a helping daughter, Patty Campbell said. She often volunteered to help her mother sort through mail or laundry.
Bill Campbell said his daughter was like a “busy bee,” constantly moving, always looking for something to do or someone to help.
“She made everybody happy,” Bill Campbell said. “To me, that was her job.”
Inner Peace
About two weeks ago, McGlynn called Bill Campbell and told him that construction of the peace garden was underway.
Bill Campbell did not tell his wife about the message but instead drove her past the site one day last week.
“I was not in a good frame of mind,” Patty Campbell said. “And when we came by and saw that the fence was going up, I was just so happy.”
As of now, the site of the future peace garden is simply a construction zone. But seeing the space, no matter how mundane, was significant for Patty Campbe
“With the trial and the reminders and the news, it’s been hard,” Patty Campbell said. “Ever since last week, I said, ‘I just feel good.’ I felt a sense of peace
don’t know how to explain it.”
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12/28/2015 Medford native Krystle Campbell's family: New peace garden 'represents joy, not tragedy' - Gate House
http://medford.wickedlocal.com/article/20151021/NEWS/151029452/0/SEARCH?template=printart
After the release of the doves and just before the ceremony’s end, at about 3:15 p.m., hail-like snow pellets started to fall from the sky as a trio of singers bel
“We Shall Rise Again.”
The season’s first snowfall.
“That put the hair on the back of my neck,” Bill Campbell said. “I said, ‘Krystle, what are you doing honey?’”
Following the ceremony, Bill and Patty Campbell joined others for lunch and refreshments inside the Medford Senior Center.
The couple stood in the hallway, chatting with friends and city officials. Patty Campbell told one friend how she was looking forward to sitting near
garden’s fountains.
“I love the sound of water,” she said.
Two years ago, the Campbells took part in another ceremony dedicating a gazebo in their daughter’s name on Harbor Island.
But Sunday’s ceremony meant even more, Bill Campbell said, because he and Patty won’t even have to leave town to visit the peace garden once completed.
“It was supposed to represent the joy of their lives and not all of the sad things,” Patty Campbell said about Sunday’s dedication. “And I felt it.”
At about 4:45 p.m., after the crowd had left, the fence marking the future home of the peace garden held posters showing the faces of Collier, Richard and Lu
Bill and Patty Campbell walked side-by-side across Riverside Avenue, away from the fence. In her right hand, Patty Campbell carried the poster with h
daughter’s face.
“My wife has had such a hard time,” Bill Campbell said. “It’s so nice to see her happy. She’s so happy right now. She’s smiling. She’s communicating. I’ve g
my Patty back.”
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