In 2002, my friend Camberly died too soon. She was 14 years old and excitedly anticipating her freshman year at Grimsley when a sudden brain aneurysm took her and left a giant hole in our community. She was a performer at heart: dancing, singing, and bringing music everywhere she went, and after her death, there was a new impalpable silence left in the wake.

From that sadness, and wanting to develop a lasting legacy, her Girl Scout troop and friends built a beautiful tribute: Camberly’s Garden, a place of beauty and memory for Camberly and all other children who died too soon. Amidst the flowers, swings, and beautiful musical sculptures by Jim Gallucci are pavers with tributes to children of all ages.

Among the pavers are too many names I recognize: my sister, my friends, my classmates, siblings of friends. Although I don’t live in Greensboro any more, I visit the garden almost every time I’m back visiting family. While cemeteries feel somber and sad, visiting Camberly’s Garden is a time of peaceful, joyful, and reverent remembrance—keeping their lives a part of our community.

- Caroline Chamblee Lewis