Last Saturday, September 28, another chapter of something that Lee Fickenworth started six years ago took place. Gabriel Gonzalez Jr., son of Lee, was only 20 years old when in 2009 he was killed by an unknown shooter.
Feeling the pain of losing her son, Lee took responsibility for honoring all murder victims in a vigil. It wasn’t easy, but she was determined to do it. Taking information from newspaper clippings and police reports, she made a list with 114 names, from 1974 to 2014, and that year, on September 27, she realized her dream of remembering all the victims of murder.
With the exception of this year, the ritual had been held in front of Lawrence City Hall and every time the name of a victim was mentioned, a balloon was released into space. Not this year. The ceremony was held under the cozy roof of The Center that this time was decorated with white balloons that could be removed by families as a souvenir of the occasion.
Before a room full of family members, Linette Pérez, Marilyn Fantauzzi, Denise Murray, Michelee Geronimo, Denise Donlan, Frank Campos, Pastor of Community Christian Fellowship; Laetin Martínez and Lee Fickenworth, read this time the names of their loved ones already amounting to 182.
Too many for Lawrence, a city of only 7.4 square miles.
