Harley Lawrence remembered 1 year after death
'It means special things to the family,' brother says
People gathered in Berwick, N.S., Thursday to remember Harley Lawrence a year after he was killed.
Songs, art and a memorial garden for the 62-year-old man were unveiled.
Hughie McDonell’s chilling tribute to Lawrence brought the room to tears. He wrote the song after hearing what happened to the homeless man last October.
On Thursday, he performed it for the Lawrence family.
"I just spoke to his sister, which it all kind of came together and she emotionally came over to me and spoke to me and everything came in full circle,” he said.
Ron Lawrence, Harley’s brother, said it’s been an overwhelming year, and the song captured his brother’s spirit.
"The words were very touching. Put my brother right to a T," he said.
A Toronto woman created a painting of Harley Lawrence based on the photo that often appeared in the news. She sent it to Berwick.
"All the way from Toronto. It touched somebody's heart out there and to do something like that it means special things to the family,” Ron Lawrence said.
The memorial garden and bench will further honour Lawrence.
"It's meant to be a memorial. It's meant to be an opportunity to bring the issue to the forefront too; to try to create something good from this tragedy,” said Mayor Don Clark.
Lawrence burned to death in a bus shelter. Two men have been charged with first-degree murder.
