What started out as an Eagle Scout’s philanthropy project turned into a solemn tribute to a friend and mentor.
Keenan Odenkirk, an 18-year-old Ironwood Ridge High School senior, wanted to build a memorial garden for Mountain Shadows Presbyterian Church, which he attends with his family. He took on the project with guidance from church facilities manager Dean Gibbs.
The pair toured other churches’ gardens and worked for months coordinating the effort, then Gibbs died unexpectedly at age 67 of an undisclosed illness in December.
Gibbs retired from the Air Force in 1989, and along with his wife, Penny, was part of Tucson’s University of Oklahoma Alumni Group.
With a heavy heart, Odenkirk persevered, dedicating the project to Gibbs, who became the first person memorialized in the garden, which was completed Sept. 24.
Located in the courtyard of the church, 14240 N. Oracle Road, the garden has a columbarium wall for those inurned on church grounds, as well as a memorial wall on the opposite side for loved ones to pay tribute to departed church members. There’s a cross in between the two walls.
The Rev. Rachel Srubas said the garden is special to church members.
“It means that no one is forgotten, ever, in the sight of God, and those who have died are remembered and memorialized,” she said.
There came a point where the garden almost didn’t come to be, because Odenkirk didn’t know whether to proceed or choose another project. But the choice became clear.
“Dean was really the guiding factor in what we wanted to do with the project,” he said. “I had a moment where I thought maybe I can’t get it done.”
Odenkirk said the act of pushing forward with the project helped him cope with his grief.
“His death didn’t set in for a very long time,” he said. “I was distracted with school and the project, and the idea of him not being there while I was doing the project became an odd thing. I definitely cried, certainly at his funeral. And when we put him into his own columbarium, it was very tough on me.”
Odenkirk assembled a team of 50 volunteers to help get the job done, including the landscaping and an irrigation system. The group flattened the walkway from the sidewalk to the walls and lined it with plastic to prevent erosion and weed growth. It also covered the area with gravel and placed stones along the pathways.
Odenkirk said he thinks of Gibbs and their shared labor every time he walks by the garden.
“I came to the conclusion that finishing the project was just so much more important than giving up,” he said. “I’d always worked with him, so to not finish would be an insult to his memory. Ultimately, that’s what he was focusing on.”
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