Memories of them can now live on, thanks to Estevan Comprehensive School classmates of 1988 to 1992.
A memorial bench has taken its rightful place at Kinsmen Park in the Hillcrest area of the city, thanks to a concentrated effort by former ECS students who attended or contributed to a class reunion held over a three-day period last summer.
Michelle Farough-Bartsch, one of the main organizers of the event and the subsequent memorial tribute, said the memorial bench has been installed in memory of the 45 classmates, siblings and friends as well as 47 teachers who they've lost over the years.
Farough-Bartsch said that many thank you messages had to go out, especially to those like Tim Gervais and Jeff Gudmundson, who built the bench and Stacey (Kazakoff) Prokopetz who provided many hours of liaison work to make the installation a reality after several setbacks.
"Those who have their names engraved on the bench passed prior to July 2010. Since then (last fall) we've also said good-bye to Darryl Janssen," said Farough-Bartsch.
Local Kinsmen Dave Elliott and Daryl Shirley plus their fellow Kinsmen and Kinette readily agreed to give the bench a proper home and setting and it now awaits visitors who might wish to make use of it ... anytime. In fact, she noted, it appears to be one of the more popular pieces in the park, due to its obvious wear.
"We hope you enjoy our labour of love," she added.
The reunion event was a huge success with a variety of people involved in the festivities and social events.
The bench and its installation took awhile and the classmates, parents and siblings of the deceased awaited its arrival for a long time.
"The retired teachers' association is going to have one of their meetings at the park in memory of our former teachers who have passed away," said Farough-Bartsch.
The original bench placement was put on hold due to a problem with the original contractor, but once the pre-payment was retrieved and other processes were completed last year, a new project with a new bench design came together more quickly this year, she said.
"Some classmates volunteered to make a new one and that, as you know, was then followed by a very long winter in Estevan with massive snowfall which was followed by the rain season and the flood," she said.
"Thanks go out to reunion classmates and local businesses that contributed to the success of the reunion and thanks to sponsors who provided money, tours, supplies and time for us. Thanks also to each and every one who assisted with the massive three-year undertaking of locating our 1,200 classmates. It was a group success," Farough-Bartsch said in conclusion.
