Lost classmates remembered at new LMS memorial

LACONIA — Parents, teachers, policemen and firefighters gathered yesterday at a quiet, corner of the Laconia Middle School campus, as a fresh breeze stirred the water of Lake Opechee and a bright sun highlighted the colors of autumn foliage, to consecrate what Chris Ennis, the principal, called "a place of reflection and solace " in remembrance of young lives taken too soon.

A polished granite bench inscribed "in memory of our classmates" faces a crescent shaped flower garden bed, graced with four stones, each bearing the name of a student and an accompanying message. Robbie Mills is assured "I will rememeber you." Craig Shumway is "classmate and friend." Jason Charland "still lives in our hearts." And for Lilyanna Johnson "it's always sunny above the clouds."

Ennis said that the memorial will "remain for years to come and help us stay connected to these students" as well as other students of Laconia Middle School lost over the years.

Eric Johnson, then the principal of the middle and now the principal at Woodland Heights Elementary School, confessed he found himself at a loss for words, but instead offered the lines of "A Young Life Cut Short" by an unknown poet. "Do not judge a song by its duration, Nor by the number of its notes," implores the poet. "Judge it by the way it touches and lifts the soul, Sometimes those unfinished are among the most beautiful," the poet counsels, "And when something has enriched your life, And when it's melody lingers on in your heart," the poet asks "Is it unfinished? Or is it endless?"

The memorial was inspired by the tragic death of Lilyanna Johnson at the hands of a reckless driver in April, 2013. Johnson credited Jeff Derynioski, a landscaper, Mark Padula, a contractor, Sunday Dearborn and Deb Williams, together with a host of donors,with the erection of the memorial.

CAPTION: Chris Ennis (left), principal of Laconia Middle School, and Eric Johnson (right), his predecessor who is now principal of Woodland Heights Elementary School, spoke to mark the consecration of a memorial in remembrance of middle school students who lost their lives before living them to the full. (Laconia Daily Sun photo/Michael Kitch)