A memorial cherry tree is being planted Friday morning at Nanaimo’s Departure Bay walkway in honour of Lisa Marie Young and other missing and murdered Indigenous women.
The Nanaimo woman was 21 when she was last heard from in a text to a friend early on the morning on June 30, 2002. It said: “Come get me. They won’t let me leave.”
She had been planning to start work at a call centre and wanted to earn some money to help support one of her brothers,, friend Cyndy Hall said Wednesday from Nanaimo.
Young was considering going to school to become a sports broadcaster because she was passionate about sports and a fan of the Vancouver Canucks, Hall said.
Family and friends remember a cheerful, friendly and outgoing young woman who loved clothes. “She was always happy,” said Hall, who said her friend was popular, easy-going and kind.
Young’s supporters, who chose the tree, picked a blossoming cherry tree because Young was “really girly” and her birthday was May 5, Hall said. They hope it will blossom around that time.
Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog said it’s hoped that the dedication of the tree at Departure Bay “will provide comfort to everyone that loves and misses Lisa.”
“The loss of this talented young person is deeply felt by her family, her friends and her entire community,” he said, adding: “We hope, too, that this tree will be meaningful for the families, friends and loved ones of all other missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people.”
A group of family and friends determined to keep Young’s memory alive hold a march through the city every year.
FULL ARTICLE: https://www.timescolonist.com/local-news/tree-planting-to-honour-nanaimo-woman-who-went-missing-in-2002-9666843
