London family finds father's memorial vandalized in Gibbons Park

A London, Ont., family is mourning again after a memorial dedicated to their late father was found vandalized in Gibbons Park Wednesday.

The memorial, dedicated to Jamey Ross Swift, a former manager at the City of London, included a small statue that was stolen.

All that was left behind was the original memorial plaque, next to a hole in the dirt where the statue used to be. It's a sight Stefanie Swift, her husband, niece, and nephew were shocked to discover.

"I got quite emotional, actually. It feels almost like a violation. Just, you know, it's someone I love, and someone decided to take that away," said Stefanie, the daughter of Jamey Swift.

Jamey Swift died in 2002 at 43 after a career at City Hall overseeing municipal elections. A tree was planted alongside the Thames Valley Parkway near the entrance to Gibbons Park after his death, which was accompanied by a memorial plaque.

"He was always thinking about the world, the people in it, you know, just a very funny, kind guy," Swift said.
Stefanie and her family installed a small Buddha statue at the site of the memorial 10 years ago.

"My dad wasn't Buddhist per se, but very spiritual and took from a lot of different aspects and traditions," said Swift. "People would put things like coins, flowers, and other momentos. Now it's just a big hole in the ground."

Removing the statue would have taken considerable effort as it was attached to a cinder block buried two feet below the ground.

Swift told CBC News she believes that the vandalism was a long time coming, and is symptomatic of the larger issues facing London communities.

"It's almost like people who are doing these things feel emboldened and that there really are no consequences or anything when you do it," said Swift, who added she believes theft, graffiti, and other forms of vandalism are becoming more prevalent in the area.

"I don't think we'll really do much legally. We have a lot of theft and vandalism, and it usually amounts to nothing when we make those calls [to police]."

In the short-term, the Swift family plans to fill the hole in the ground, and beautify the memorial again with flowers.
They'll be looking at silver linings as well, Swift said.

"It's almost poetic, because part of Buddhism is that nothing lasts forever. Impermanence. At least it lasted 10 years."