While some communities outside the Lower Mainland have begun limiting the number of memorial benches available, New Westminster’s bench dedication program still has plenty left throughout the city.
Bench dedications, or memorial benches, are available to purchase through the city’s parks, culture and recreation department.
The program has a variety of bench styles in locations across the city, including Queensborough, for people looking to honour someone special.
For New Westminster native Sherry Martin, she always knew she’d one day dedicate a bench, or two, in memory of her parents.
“I think anybody who has done something, and if a family has enough respect and love for a parent, I think this is a wonderful way to honour them,” she said.
This summer, Martin arranged for two bench dedications, one in honour of her mother Dolly Slater, and the other in honour of her father, Capt. Gilbert “Gill” Slater.
“My mother, her bench is in Sapperton, and now dad’s is down at the wharf, of course,” she said.
Her father was the founder and owner of Royal City Towing until he sold the company in 1960, which housed the company’s towboats down at dock two, the current location of the Inn at the Quay.
“Dad had never asked for much in his whole lifetime, but one thing he always wanted, was to have his ashes put on Dock 2 and … always said that was the only thing he wanted,” she said.
In June, Martin and her family took her father’s ashes and honoured his wishes in a unique way.
They dedicated a bench to his memory in Westminster Pier Park.
As for her mother, Martin had her memory immortalized on a bench in Sapperton.
“Mom, she always had fond memories of Sapperton. When I was born, we lived on Elmer Street and it was all self-contained with little shops and so forth,” she said.
When Martin found out there was one bench left in Sapperton, she immediately bought it in honour of her mother.
“I think it’s wonderful. It brings closeness to people,” she said.
When Martin, who moved to Palo Alto, California with her husband, comes home to New Westminster each year, she loves to wander the city and check out the dedications on benches.
“I say ‘Oh, I knew that person,’ and it brings back memories of why you may have known that person,” she said. “I just think it’s a wonderful idea.”
For more information on the program, visit www.newwestpcr.ca/parks and click on Bench Dedications or call 604-527-4567.
