LAWRENCE, Mass. — At the corner of Lowell and Margin streets in Lawrence, a newly dedicated community garden is taking root in the springtime sun.
This garden is a lasting tribute to Denise Murray, a mother who lost her son to street violence, and who later devoted her life to helping other families impacted by homicide.
Denise Murray died suddenly, in her sleep in January, she was 50 years old.
The community garden is a permanent remembrance.
Mae Murray Christie is Denise’s mother.
“Denise is a Wonderwoman! That’s what Denise is, even now, she’s a WonderWoman!” Christie said.
I first met Denise in 2011 for a New England’s Unsolved segment about her son’s murder.
Timothy Walker was sitting on his grandmother’s porch, when a man, seen in surveillance video, shot and killed him.
Our story quickly led to an arrest and a conviction.
I interviewed Denise again, when she had an anti-violence billboard, featuring Timothy’s face, set up in Lawrence.
“I’m hoping that when people are at that stop light and they look at my son’s billboard, that they think, Oh My god, this is real,” Denise told me at the time. “There’s been a lot of murders here in Lawrence. I think people need to know it’s not ok to go around killing people.”
Now, it is Denise’s image peering out into the streets, her face gracing a mural in the community garden named for her.
“It’s just beautiful. My God. Denise did great things, great things, and she don’t stop,” Cleasta Murray, Denise’s sister, said.
The site of Denise’s garden has significance. Right across the street on a porch of a blue building, is where Denise’s son, Timothy Walker, was murdered.
Raquel Centeno, herself the mother of a Lawrence murder victim, worked with Denise, helping other families.
Today, Raquel is honoring Denise, by helping to create this garden..
“I try to remember what I learned from her. And try and find that light again, and bring her back in a good way, do something for the community, like she always did,” Centeno told me.
The Garden now is forever giving voice to Denise’s golden rule: Always Pay It Forward.
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