Friends, family and landscape professionals from across Canada will begin building a memorial to the late Perry Molema next Monday.
The Perry Molema Memorial Garden will occupy a portion of Zonta Park at King and William streets in downtown Chatham after the project was approved by council Monday night.
Chuck Catton and Sasha Hunter, friends and colleagues of Molema, are helping organize the project to commemorate the memory of Perry who died in a traffic accident just before Christmas last year.
“We have people coming from Moncton, New Brunswick, and British Columbia, so it truly is a national event of sorts,” he said.
Catton said he isn’t surprised by the outpouring of affection for someone he called “a special man.
“The effect Perry had on people was amazing,” he said. “ Anyone who knew him for five minutes felt like they had known him for a lifetime.”
The project is expected to take about a week.
“We have anywhere from nine to 25 volunteers each day, with everyone helping in the grand design,” Catton said.
In addition to being an avid gardener, Molema was a landscape designer and a pioneer in home pondscaping.
He was a long-time member of Landscape Ontario and was president of both the Windsor and Toronto chapters.
His ability resulted in him working internationally in Switzerland, France, Australia, Turkey and Egypt. He was a pioneer in teaching and educating people about the benefits of water harvesting.
Lindsay Molema, Perry’s daughter, said she’s ecstatic about the project.
“I’d just like to say thank you so much to council for approving this,” she said. “I’d like to thank Chuck and Sasha for all of their blood, sweat and tears in getting this started.”
Lindsay said those helping “are really like family to us. It will be so good to see them again and I’m looking forward to getting some dirt on my hands.”
Although some materials are being provided at cost or donated by Aquascape, donations are being accepted to offset costs. Anyone wishing to donate labour or materials should contact Catton at ccatton@aquascapeinc.com or Sasha Hunter at shunter@aqquascapeinc.com.
