Katrina project to memorialize slain Virginia Tech students
By Betty Backstrom*Virginia Tech student Ryan Clark guts a hurricane-damaged house in November 2005 in New Orleans through a United Methodist ministry. Clark and Leslie Sherman, who also served in New Orleans, were among Virginia Tech students killed during last spring's campus shooting spree. UMNS file photos courtesy of theLouisiana Annual Conference.
NEW ORLEANS (UMNS) - Montreal Farve, an 80-year-old native of New Orleans, soon will live in a special house known as the "Virginia Tech House."
The house was ruined by Hurricane Katrina and is being rebuilt in memory of two slain Virginia Tech students who served in New Orleans through the United Methodist Louisiana Disaster Recovery Ministry.
Ryan Clark and Leslie Sherman were among the 33 Virginia Tech students who died in last spring's shooting spree on their Blacksburg, Va., campus.
"Those two kids came here to help people like me. It's terrible that their lives were cut off so quickly," said Farve, a retired nurse and former Peace Corps volunteer.
Clark worked on a Virginia Tech volunteer team that came to New Orleans during Thanksgiving of 2005. Sherman came the following Thanksgiving.
When both were shot and killed by a mentally disturbed student on April 16, 2007, staff members of the Katrina recovery ministry were devastated.
Student volunteer Leslie Sherman helps make dinner for a Virginia Tech workteam during Thanksgiving week of 2006.
"When the shooting happened, we e-mailed Sandy Wirt, who coordinated the Virginia Tech trips. We just wanted to let her know that we were thinking about the school in the wake of the tragedy," said Jake McGlothin, one of the ministry's coordinators in New Orleans.
Staff members began to discuss possible ways to memorialize the two students. "Building a house in their name was the perfect thing to do," said McGlothin.
Answered prayers
Farve's rebuild project was chosen as a fitting memorial.
"One of the reasons we picked Miss Monty was because of the fact that she, like Leslie Sherman, had an interest in the Peace Corps," said McGlothin. "Leslie told me that she was thinking about joining after college."
The Virginia Tech House is expected to be completed this fall, with a dedication set for Thanksgiving.
Until then, Farve is living in a FEMA trailer in her yard. Farve, whose husband died four months prior to Katrina, has lived in the neighborhood since 1955.
"After Katrina, I wound up in California with one of my sons for eight months. While I was there, I found out about the work that the Methodists were doing in Louisiana from a list they had at the governor's office. There were other names, but I decided that I would go with the Christian organization at a time like this," she said.
The assistance from the disaster recovery ministry was essential for Farve, who like many homeowners did not have flood insurance.
"Our plan was always to complete Miss Monty's house, but this memorial rebuild helped us move her up on the schedule because we now have funding," said Abby McMurry, case manager for the Westbank Recovery Station.
Financial assistance has come from individual donations to the Virginia Tech House and a Church World Service grant.
"After they first gutted my home, teams kept coming doing things like adding a new roof," recalls Farve. "But the day that Jake and Abby came to tell me that they wanted to rebuild my house in honor of those students, it was an answered prayer."
Rebuilding community
Teams serving as volunteers for the memorial rebuild have been honored to be part of the project.
"The fact that they (Ryan and Leslie) were here shows what kind of people they were. From everything I have heard about Ryan, he was such an outstanding young man. He could've been president of the United States," said Leslie Deane, a former student at Virginia Tech, who worked on the house during the summer with other members of New Life United Methodist Church in Virginia.
Virginia Tech's motto is Ut Prosium, which means "that I may serve."
"What a better way to honor Ryan's and Leslie's service than by serving in their name," said McGlothin. "And Miss Monty knows what service is. She was a nurse, served in the Peace Corps and raised five children. I can't think of a more worthy recipient."
*Backstrom is editor of Louisiana Now!, the newspaper of the United Methodist Church's Louisiana Annual Conference.
"When the shooting happened, we e-mailed Sandy Wirt, who coordinated the Virginia Tech trips. We just wanted to let her know that we were thinking about the school in the wake of the tragedy," said Jake McGlothin, one of the ministry's coordinators in New Orleans.
Staff members began to discuss possible ways to memorialize the two students. "Building a house in their name was the perfect thing to do," said McGlothin.
Answered prayers
Farve's rebuild project was chosen as a fitting memorial.
"One of the reasons we picked Miss Monty was because of the fact that she, like Leslie Sherman, had an interest in the Peace Corps," said McGlothin. "Leslie told me that she was thinking about joining after college."
The Virginia Tech House is expected to be completed this fall, with a dedication set for Thanksgiving.
Until then, Farve is living in a FEMA trailer in her yard. Farve, whose husband died four months prior to Katrina, has lived in the neighborhood since 1955.
"After Katrina, I wound up in California with one of my sons for eight months. While I was there, I found out about the work that the Methodists were doing in Louisiana from a list they had at the governor's office. There were other names, but I decided that I would go with the Christian organization at a time like this," she said.
The assistance from the disaster recovery ministry was essential for Farve, who like many homeowners did not have flood insurance.
"Our plan was always to complete Miss Monty's house, but this memorial rebuild helped us move her up on the schedule because we now have funding," said Abby McMurry, case manager for the Westbank Recovery Station.
Financial assistance has come from individual donations to the Virginia Tech House and a Church World Service grant.
"After they first gutted my home, teams kept coming doing things like adding a new roof," recalls Farve. "But the day that Jake and Abby came to tell me that they wanted to rebuild my house in honor of those students, it was an answered prayer."
Rebuilding community
Teams serving as volunteers for the memorial rebuild have been honored to be part of the project.
"The fact that they (Ryan and Leslie) were here shows what kind of people they were. From everything I have heard about Ryan, he was such an outstanding young man. He could've been president of the United States," said Leslie Deane, a former student at Virginia Tech, who worked on the house during the summer with other members of New Life United Methodist Church in Virginia.
Virginia Tech's motto is Ut Prosium, which means "that I may serve."
"What a better way to honor Ryan's and Leslie's service than by serving in their name," said McGlothin. "And Miss Monty knows what service is. She was a nurse, served in the Peace Corps and raised five children. I can't think of a more worthy recipient."
*Backstrom is editor of Louisiana Now!, the newspaper of the United Methodist Church's Louisiana Annual Conference.
posted by TN Conference UMC at 5:32 AM
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